How to Repair Granite Countertops Yourself
Granite countertops are a great idea if you do not have them yet in your kitchen or bathroom. They are very durable, virtually heatproof, and won’t stain easily even with no sealer.
Granite Countertops are an excellent idea, especially if they are not yet installed in your kitchen or bathroom. Granite countertops are durable and practically heat-proof. They also resist stains even when sealed.
Granite can sustain damage from certain conditions. Insufficient support at stress areas such as overhangs and around cutouts, sitting on the edge, or a massive blow can cause granite to chip, crack, or break.
The good news is you will not have to replace damaged granite countertops. Granite countertops can be repaired easily by you. Here is how to do that.
Make sure it is not a natural feature
The thing with granite is that it is a natural stone. There might be some features that you can mistake for small damage, such as chips or cracks. Fissures appear like cracks and pits are like chips in stone. These natural characteristics of stone do not affect its integrity and don’t need to be repaired.
For instance, a fissure can be described as a space between the crystal clusters. It can also run quite a distance. Although they appear like a crack on the surface, they can be seen as a fissure. These fissures do not usually reach the depth of the stone. There is no danger that the stone will cleave along this fissure. Sometimes, a fissure could be wide enough to be a problem, but a reputable supplier would not even sell these stones to customers.
Pits are small craters in stone that look like bubbles and can be found in slabs. However, these are so small that they pose little danger to the stone. In most cases, suppliers fill in these holes with epoxy if they are noticeable enough to keep the surface even.
Natural characteristics aside, granite slabs can be damaged during shipment, fabrication, and installation. Kitchen countertops slabs are usually thin at 2 to 3 cm thick. If not handled correctly, they may chip, crack or break.
Knowing the difference
It is quite easy to tell the difference between a natural feature and a defect in granite. It all depends on how you feel about it. One thing is that a fissure runs around rather than through crystal clusters. Physical cracks tend to run across crystal structures and veins in a more or less straight line. A fissure should be the same level as a crack.
Permanent features of the stone include pits and fissures. These permanent features should have been apparent if you were diligent when inspecting granite countertops after installation. These cracks may not have been noticed by you if they suddenly appeared overnight.
Fissures and pits can also occur in random places, not just around stressed areas. These usually occur in areas with little or no support and around cutouts.
Repairing granite countertops
Cracks in granite countertops are not automatically catastrophic, but it can get worse over time. You need to arrest its progress before it does, as an ever widening or progressive crack can compromise the stone itself, and you don’t want that.
While chips are not as dangerous, they can make countertops look ugly, especially if it occurs around the countertop’s edges. This is also true for actual cracks. They can be repaired easily if you are skilled enough.
Cracks and chips
The most common method for repairing cracks and chips in granite countertops is to fill them in with epoxy, acrylic, or other kind of colorless resin or adhesive. You can easily find products designed to make these kinds of repair online, and they are quite affordable.
These products can be purchased as kits. One of these is the the Granite & Marble Acrylic Repair DIY Kit – Light Cure. The product is a paste, which you can mold to the shape you need, and will not harden until you are ready. The acrylic binder will only harden if you shine visible light on the product, which is included in the kit. A kit that can fix a few chips and cracks costs about $20.
Another product you might want to try is LiquaGlass. This costs a bit more than the first kit does at about $50 for 3 ounces of product, but this is enough to repair more cracks and chips. LiquaGlass is an epoxy, so you have to mix two materials together to activate it. The epoxy hardens to a lustrous, clear and durable surface similar to glass, which is excellent for repairing larger cracks without being noticeable. It will not change in color.
One problem with epoxy is the fact that once it has been mixed, it hardens very quickly. It usually takes less than 60 seconds. You need to prepare the surface for repair before mixing it, and mix only enough to cover what you need.
Breaks
Liqua Glass or similar epoxy binder is also particularly useful when repairing granite where a piece of the stone has broken off completely. However, this will not work if the broken piece is very small and not burden bearing and the pieces are complete. The epoxy should fill in any gaps that are not obvious.
You will need several things to reattach broken granite pieces. These are acetone and a razor blade, hairdryer, scrubbing pads, and paper towels. You will also need to follow the steps below:
- Use a dry and clean scrub pad to remove any oil and dirt from all the exposed surfaces. Use the paper towels doused with acetone to take care of any remaining contaminants, which can interfere with a complete bond of the pieces.
- Although the acetone will evaporate by itself, it should be dried with a hair dryer on both surfaces.
- Take out equal amounts of the two materials of the epoxy, enough to cover the surface of each piece with a think and even layer. You need to spread the compound quickly, but carefully on all the surfaces before putting them together. The epoxy will harden if you keep the pieces in contact for a while.
- Some excess epoxy might leak out and you should wipe it off with acetone-water soaked paper towels.
- Some excess product might remain that will not easily wipe away, but you should not attempt to remove it for at least 24 hours. You can then use a razor blade to cut it away carefully.
- If there are any gaps, use some more epoxy to fill them. Wait 24 hours before attempting to scarpe away any excess epoxy.
- Use a granite sealer to protect the area.
Conclusion
Repairing granite yourself is not rocket science, and it is unlikely that you will need to do it anyway. To make sure you don’t, have professionals supply you with and install granite countertops for your home. The staff at Granite ASAP knows everything there is to know about granite and other stones, and can help you choose the right one for your kitchen countertop.
We stock a variety of natural stone slabs, as well as top brands in engineered Quartz. Our showroom in Chantilly, Virginia has over 100 marble and granite slab colors. . We will ship it as soon as possible!
If you prefer engineered stone, we can offer you products from the Cambria, Caesarstone, Silestone, and MSI brands, each one carrying the manufacturer’s warranty.
We serve the entire state of Virginia, including Alexandria, Falls Church and Fairfax as well as the cities of Tysons, Centreville, Centreville, Tysons and Washington DC.
You can check out the website and chat with us online, or give us a call to request a free estimate!
