Question: I recently had this natural stone installed for kitchen countertops. I was told by the fabricator/installer that I did not need to seal it because it was vacuum resined and polished at the quarry in Italy before it was shipped. Sadly, if any water splashes on the counter and is not immediately wiped dry, it leaves a water stain. I was hoping to find a product to remove these stains before adding a sealer. I saw your Etch and Water Mark remover, but read that it is not for use on Granite. I am not sure if Natural Quartzite is similar in makeup to Marble or Granite. I have attached a photo showing the small black spots in the countertop where water splashed and left water stains. Do you have a product that will help remove these?

Answer: I can assure you that EVERY Stone needs to be sealed, even if it has been resined. Quartzite is totally different from marble. It is more in the granite family. It is heavily concentrated Quartzite stone (extremely hard). Based upon the the picture above, the quartzite appears to be honed-not a high gloss finish. This is even more of a reason to seal your stone. I would even say every 6 months to a year. Honed stone has more open pores than polished stone. This allows the stone to take on liquids more readily, as you are experiencing with the water splashes. If it is simply water that is causing the spots, logically it should evaporate (may take a day or so) and come back to the original color. If it is something in the water, such as lime, that is causing the stain, it can be removed using our Lustro Poultice Powder.Once the stain is out, I would highly recommend using the Lustro Italiano Ultra Premium Sealer. It will initially darken the stone but in less than an hour the stone will come back to its original natural color. The Lustro Ultra Sealer is one of the best sealers in the stone industry. I say that not just because we sell it. But it is really really good and will seal that honed counter top extremely well. Using these 2 products, your water splashes will come out and the sealer will keep them out.