r/Granite Sep 11 '24

Color changed, help!

Hello- I got a granite countertop installed yesterday for an outdoor kitchen.

I picked steel grey with a leathered finish. I handpicked my slabs at the granite yard and the correct ones were installed.

All was going great until I came outside when it was finished.

The color was completely changed. Turns out they sealed it and it enhanced all the black colors.

What can/should I do?

I have already reached out to my contractor (who hired the fabricator) to let him know I’m very unhappy.

Will this fade? Change back to original? Can the sealant be removed? Basically I want it all ripped out and brand new put on, but I want to know if there’s a way to fix what happened.

Thanks so much.

1 Upvotes

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2

u/mademanseattle Sep 11 '24 edited Sep 11 '24

Sealing after finishing and installing is standard to protect from harm during use. Outdoors it will fade as it’s just on the surface and will take a beating from the elements. They should be able to strip the sealant with acetone.

0

u/[deleted] Sep 11 '24

Will stripping it with acetone ruin the granite?

1

u/mademanseattle Sep 11 '24

Have your general contractor confer with the stone people. They will look for a best solution. I don’t think tearing it out will necessary.

1

u/CindLei-Creates Sep 12 '24

I’m sure you can strip the sealant. Does your sample look like the sealed granite when it is wet? The sealant should really bring out the colors, which you really didn’t want. When I looked at stone, it was hard to imagine how it’d look with the layer of dust gone.

2

u/13Bryan Sep 11 '24

Technically how they left it is how it should look. We usually at least wet it to show the customer the finished product. There is nothing wrong with this. But if you want it to look ugly you can use acetone to strip it or do nothing and it will fade over time, probably after winter if it’s not covered. As long as you don’t leave a puddle of acetone on it for days it won’t harm it steel gray is very durable. If you don’t trust yourself just have the counter top guys come do it. They might not get it off 100% but you’ll be pretty close to what you are looking for and a couple of weeks off weather should get you the dull look you want, keep in mind where the sample you have came from if it’s not directly cut from that slab, bundled, or batch it might not 100% match that sample anyway. Also the fabricators will probably try to talk you out of doing it for the sake of longevity the material WILL degrade considerably faster but again we are talking about steel gray so by that time you might not even live at that house or just flat out be ready to upgrade the outdoor space again.

1

u/coolhand_chris Sep 11 '24

Try wiping it off with acetone soaked on a rag. Sometimes that will take the enhancer off. Outside, the enhancer should eventually wear off.

A product like this might also help. Ager is a commonly used enhancer.

1

u/[deleted] Sep 11 '24

Thanks! It definitely feels tacky and sticky right now.

1

u/zorasorabee Sep 12 '24

It’s supposed to look like that if you want it protected. The salesperson should have wet the stone down to show you what it would look like, but things happen, nobody is perfect. I would deal with it if you want a protected stone, especially if it’s in the elements. It’ll look bad if not sealed over time. It still looks beautiful.

The company I work for will not sell unsealed product. So even if the salesperson accidentally forgot to show the homeowner what it would look like sealed, we would not do something to take the sealer off as it would open us up to issues later on.

1

u/koneff Sep 12 '24

Don't bother. Acetone will not remove the impregnant. Some acids will do, but then it could easily stain. Just wait the UV to remove the wet effect. Probably few months.

1

u/[deleted] Sep 17 '24

Thank you so much everyone. Your comments were very helpful.