Sealing &
Treatment Services

Canvastone’s professional granite, marble, and travertine sealing and treatment services can give these natural stone surfaces a high level of protection while prolonging their natural splendour.

Natural stone – as opposed to engineered quartz – is porous and unless treated will absorb liquids over time, resulting in staining and discolouring.

2 common forms of staining are:

1. It occurs when dissolved minerals within the stone are drawn to the surface, forming a gritty deposit, typically white.
2. This happens when salts expand on crystallisation in capillary gaps and cause surface stains.

Further, the calcite that’s naturally present in marble can react with acidic substances, such as wine, vinegar, lemon juice and citric fruit drinks, leaving dull marks on polished surfaces over time, and eventually deep pitting. Stronger acids will cause irreparable damage within seconds.

Sealing worktops in the kitchen will guard against these problems.

Use of sealants

Compared with granite, marble and travertine are softer and more porous. Therefore, they’ll absorb greater volumes more quickly, particularly viscous substances such as cooking oil and some detergents.

Sealants are used to make the stone resilient to spills that can damage it and to maintain the surface’s original appearance.

In the bathroom, sealing a marble vanity top and its backsplash will ensure water resistance of these surfaces and protect them from damage by products such as cosmetics and soap.

Use of treatments

Marble floors can also be particularly susceptible to slipperiness.

Treatments that can be applied to floors to increase their friction are:

• An anti-slip chemical agent that reacts with the minerals in the flooring, thereby partly releasing them to roughen the surface by forming tiny depressions.
• A water-based varnish which will improve the friction of the surface.

Canvastone helps you determine when sealing is needed

If you hire a reputable company to install your stone surfaces, they’ll have been sealed during fabrication and/or installation.
However, sealants don’t last forever, and need replacing on a regular basis to ensure ongoing protection of your countertops or flooring.

Further, regular resealing of stone surfaces to keep them in good condition can work out far less costly than having to re-polish or even replace them.

Considerations for frequency of resealing

• Usage. For worktops, like kitchen countertops, that are subject to heavy-duty use, sealant tends to wear off more quickly, so the interval between resealing will be shorter – roughly every 3 – 6 months. Where tasks performed on stone surfaces such as dining or coffee table tops and vanity tops are much lighter than kitchen tops, the resealing interval would be 6 – 12 months.
• Porosity, absorbency, and density levels of the stone. For example, marble, being a softer stone, should be resealed more regularly than granite. The colour of the stone has a role to play too. Dark-coloured granite is denser than light shades, and stains are usually hardly noticeable. So, resealing of predominately black and brown stones by a professional granite cleaning and sealing service can be less frequent than white or cream counters.
• Type and quality of the sealant, and how well it’s applied.
• Cleaning products and methods. Harsh cleaning agents will degrade stone sealant.

More on granite countertop resealing frequency.

The stone surface resealing process of Canvastone

1. Clean the stone surface thoroughly

The resealing process for stone surfaces begins with careful cleaning to get rid of any residues or other deposits.

Old layers of sealant may also need to be removed, depending on the type of new sealer.

2. Apply appropriate sealant

2 types of sealant are in general use:

1. Topical sealants coat the surface with natural wax or an acrylic or other plastic substance. They’ll protect the surface against water and oil and other contaminants.
2. Impregnating sealants are generally water- or resin-based solutions that afford the same protection as topical sealers but penetrate beneath the surface. While keeping contaminants out, impregnators also allow the stone to “breathe” by letting moisture escape from inside the stone. Penetrating sealants are often applied to kitchen worktops and bathroom vanity tops.

Stone surface sealants used by professionals are generally solvent or resin based and penetrate deep into the pores of the stone, closing them up.

Penetrating sealers typically have a matte finish, so they don’t alter the appearance of the stone.

3. Test whether the stone surface is properly sealed

The procedure:

• Drip a few droplets of water onto the surface in a high-use area and see what happens over the next 10 – 15 minutes. If the water remains as beaded droplets on the surface, the sealant is still doing its job. However, if you find that the drops of water have been absorbed into the stone, it’s time for a new sealant.
• Alternatively, pour a little cooking oil on the surface and observe it for 10-15 minutes. If the stone darkens, it needs resealing to protect it from oil-based stains.

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