subject: Is Your Black Granite Really Black [print this page] Is Your Black Granite Really Black Is Your Black Granite Really Black
Black granite has been prized for its elegant blackness and toughness. This combination made it a favorite for granite countertops and other granite top installations. According to industry standards, the blacker, the better, also the more expensive. This led to some unsavory practices in some stone suppliers. These suppliers manipulate the natural color of the stone by adding oil or some other blackening agent. The problem is that this "blackness" fades away after a few months. This leaves you with a faded color and some ring stains on the surface.
The good thing is that there are things you can do to protect yourself from this deception. Here are some things you can do before buying black granite for your countertops.
You should do a thorough physical inspection of the slab. You can look at the underside to see the stone's natural color. If the underside is lighter compared to the surface, then you can suspect that the stone has been altered.
The edges also give away signs as to whether a stone has been artificially blackened. If the edges look like something dark has been spilled on top of it, don't buy it. The supplier might say that it's just resin, which may be true, but black granite are usually not treated with resin. In these occasions, it's best to just walk away.
You can also use. the Lemon Juice Test devised by Maurizio Bertoli. To do the test, you can place lemon juice or any acidic substance on the surface of the stone. If you find dark spots or any change in the texture of the surface, you can suspect that the stone has been blackened.
Another test is by lighting a match on top of the surface. If some black oily substance can be wiped from the surface or if the texture changed, then that slab has also been rigged to look blacker.
These are some of the ways to protect yourself from fraudulent black granite suppliers. Since black granite has been a prime choice kitchen countertop applications, some unscrupulous suppliers are taking advantage. So be aware of the steps on detecting frauds. Doing so ensures that you would only get natural and genuine black granite for your kitchen countertops. You would not only ensure that your countertop would look great for a long time, you would also help curb the fraudulent selling of artificially dyed black granite.
