Volga Blue slabs with severe surface problem

[BluePearlFan]

Hi guys!

I'm a self employed stone guy from Norway, with a problem I'm hoping some of the knowledgeable members here might be able and willing to advice me on.
I've bought 4 slabs of Volga Blue directly from Ukraine for my own kitchen.
They're excellently polished, but turned out to have tiny pitting all over the surface.
My guess is they should have been resined, but were not.
I've done a fair amount of polishing sides and edges before, but I think top polishing four entire slabs to good result is beyond me. Also, getting the slabs completely redone at one of the few stone companies here in Norway that can do that is way too expensive.

I've read many post here in this excellent forum about filling chips or pits with the epoxy and razor blade method, but to me it seems impractical for repairing large surfaces.
I was hoping someone could give me a tip on a practical way to fill all these tiny pits, so they're flush with the surface, and as little visually noticeable as possible.

I would be very grateful for any tips on this!

[steven nenzel]

Unfortunately, I have now answer other than the one you have. If you do find a solution please let us know.

[Dan R.]

No solution here.

But,.....welcome. Norway, eh? Wow!

[Ken Lago]

If it's your own kitchen you have time on your side. Once it's installed do a small area at a time with epoxy and razor. A little patience and it won't be too bad.

[BluePearlFan]

Thanks for your replies!

Steven: Thanks, I will!
Dan R: Thank you! Even here, in the last bus stop before the North Pole, this great forum is read and appreciated
Ken Lago: Thanks! I've considered that, but this being my own home, it would probably be finished in 5 years that way
(In Norway we have an ancient saying that goes like this: The shoemakers kids have no shoes)

On a more serious note: I've thought of some possibilities, but I don't know if any of them have any merit. I have almost no experience with touching up/repairing stone.
Wax: Is there some kind of transparent wax that could work? The pits are shallow, max 1-1,5mm.
UV Glue: I have no experience with it, but I've heard that UV glue hardens transparently with a shine, and controlled hardening time would be helpful on a large surface, I think.
Polishing: Is there some kind of filler or glue that can be polished with the last grits and buff only, or a felt pad, to get an ok shine?

Thanks for your time on this, everyone!

[Dan R.]

We have the same saying here about the shoemaker.
The UV glue is probably what Ken was referring to. Probably your best option.

I would start with the most offensive spots and then work your way down to the smallest pits. You know you are done when you get sick and tired of the process.

The process is very easy and straight forward.

[Caleb]

Fillachip is probably the best option- I wonder if Eric is selling in it gallons yet actually the kit goes a long way and you can do a bunch of spots fast. We just finished a countertop for an aircraft inspector... said there were a some spots with 'pits' in the Crema Pearl we installed... when I got there they had over 100 pieces of tape all over the top... only took a little over an hour for all of them!

[Matt Lansing]

Fillachip is an excellent product and is what I would also recommend for the bigger pits.
http://www.fillachip.com/

Once you have gone through and filled everything with the Fillachip that you think will hold glue then you can go back and use Tenax Pectro Black on the entire countertop.
http://www.tenax4you.com/product-p/1mrt01bg50.htm
It does a fantastic job filling in all those really small pits. I typically do two applications of it waiting about 20 minutes between applications. Then let it set up for about 30 minutes. By hand I buff the surface with a coarse steel wool to remove the excess Pectro and then buff with a fine steel wool. You have to change the steel wool often otherwise it takes forever. After that I hit it with some 3-1 spray cleaner to take care of that last little bit of tacky feeling and it will feel like glass.
https://www.granquartz.com/Pages/ItemPr ... eId=100019

This is the same process that I use on any stone that winds up being a bit pitty or gritty feeling after installation.

[BrentP]

I'd be hesitant to use a razor blade on Volga Blue. It will scratch when scraping or shaving it the same as a marble will.

[bsorcs]

I am puzzled by the pits in your Volga Blue, because it is nearly mono-mineralic. Geologically it is an anorthosite, composed largely of labradorite, a calcium-sodium aluminosilicate mineral. Typically its accessory minerals are magnesium- and iron-rich silicates and ilmenite [titanium-iron oxide]. The key anorthosite features are a lack of mica and a very coarse grain size..ie, relatively large crystals. Pitting in silicic rocks typically is at sites where mica is at the surface, as micas are relatively soft and easily eroded during honing and polishing.

I had VB installed in a kitchen several years back and the slabs were absolutely smooth...no pits, only a very few detectable micro-fractures around olivine grains.

Based on all of this, I suspect that your slabs were mis-handled at some point in their removal and manufacture. Might it be possible to deal with the supplier? If no, I'd say the slabs need to be ground, as I cannot imagine that the pits could be filled such that they would not be readily seen when examined at an angle to the surface. You shold give it a try on a small area, and I would not worry about razor damage, as anorthosite is just slightly softer than quartz. ;Tis a sad story indeed.

[BrentP]

I am puzzled by the pits in your Volga Blue, because it is nearly mono-mineralic. Geologically it is an anorthosite, composed largely of labradorite, a calcium-sodium aluminosilicate mineral. Typically its accessory minerals are magnesium- and iron-rich silicates and ilmenite [titanium-iron oxide]. The key anorthosite features are a lack of mica and a very coarse grain size..ie, relatively large crystals. Pitting in silicic rocks typically is at sites where mica is at the surface, as micas are relatively soft and easily eroded during honing and polishing.

I had VB installed in a kitchen several years back and the slabs were absolutely smooth...no pits, only a very few detectable micro-fractures around olivine grains.

Based on all of this, I suspect that your slabs were mis-handled at some point in their removal and manufacture. Might it be possible to deal with the supplier? If no, I'd say the slabs need to be ground, as I cannot imagine that the pits could be filled such that they would not be readily seen when examined at an angle to the surface. You shold give it a try on a small area, and I would not worry about razor damage, as anorthosite is just slightly softer than quartz. ;Tis a sad story indeed.

Volga Blue scratches fairly easily, far easier than most blackish colors. The blue labradorite part is not the part that scratches. It is the black areas that scratches. A razor blade will scratch it.

[BluePearlFan]

Thanks for all the advice guys!

Dan R. "I would start with the most offensive spots and then work your way down to the smallest pits. You know you are done when you get sick and tired of the process."
Too true

Matt Lansing: Thanks for the product links and the step-by-step, I think I'll try your approach
I've never tried out Pectro Black before, and I didn't know it could be used like that, great tip!

bsorcs: I have already talked to the supplier in Ukraine, and have got a 50% refund, since returning the slabs in exchange for new ones is highly impractical (there's the small issue of a 2500 mile roundtrip).
What went wrong with these slabs got lost in translation, but I believe they should have been resined, but were obviously not.
I now know one large quality fabricator in Ukraine, and he says they routinely resin all their slabs.
Which makes sense I think, since Volga Blue (like Emerald Pearl, its geologically close Norwegian relative which I'm very familiar with) has much "spider web", and tiny fragments of some kind that easily comes loose during sawing and coarse grinding.

BrentP:
As for the razor blade making scratches: I tested this on a tile originating from the same quarry just now, and it didn't scratch, even when I tried to by applying force with just a corner of the blade. And I tried it on the black parts too.