Can the bullnose seam in a prefab slab be helped?

BrilorH · 05-04-2007, 02:53 PM

HI-

I recently bought 2 prefab granite countertops at a local dealer. They were installed as our bathroom countertops, a “Paradise” and
and a “Brass Blue”. The pre-existing seam on the front bullnose edge on one, the “Paradiso”, is just too visible, in my opinion. There seems to be just too much adhesive or epoxy visible in the seam. The Brass Blue is fine, and the new bullnose edges that were added and finished by the fabricator/ installer were fine. Unfortunately I did not notice this till the installation was complete.

Question is:

Can this one seam that was already on the prefab “Paradiso” be worked on to minimize its appearance? I see too much epoxy. Could it be sanded down, and the bullnose edge re-polished? Could a different color epoxy be used on top, perhaps darker to minimize the seam’s visibility? Or any other suggestions? I asked the installer, and he just quickly responded that the seam "came with the slab" and there was nothing he could do about it.

Could I find granite fabricator/ installer who could take a look at this on a ‘housecall’ type basis? I'm in the So Cal area.

Thanks and any help is appreciated.

Brian

Huligar · 05-04-2007, 10:13 PM

Brian, yes your seams can be improved. I will check to see if we have a restoration guy in so cal area that can help you with this. It would would be great if you can upload an image of your seams. It may be possible that we can tell you how to fix this yourself.

BrilorH · 05-05-2007, 09:24 PM

Hi-
Over at 'granitehelp.info' I was informed that this is actually a 'lamination Joint' I am talking about, not a seam.
It is in the middle of the front bullnose edge, two pieces joined together. the epoxy is
obvious here, as opposed to where the fabricator did the other bullnose edges.
I will try upload a pic. It's not terrible, just doesn't look as nice as the rest of it, you know?

Huligar · 05-05-2007, 10:31 PM

joint, lamination, and seam means the same thing "area in which two peaces of stone meets".
As long as you have an issue with the way it looks, we will do our best to make it perfect in your eyes.

BrilorH · 05-06-2007, 03:53 AM

this is the joint, or seam, the glue doesn't really match either side of the stone..

here is the other edge, done by the fabricator:

BrilorH · 05-06-2007, 04:09 AM

I was thinking of the coloring kits, of mixing a couple of colors that actually match-
this is a "paradiso" slab, so a dark gray/black., and a tan, and there is some purple or
magenta in it also...
and then spotting the joint or seam with these colors???

StoneBuddy · 05-06-2007, 07:43 AM

Brilor, you have some options and this is VERY repairable. If you have ANY doubt about your abilities or know-how to do the repair, I strongly suggest finding someone to help you. It would be easy to mess this up.

Most pros that would do this repair would probably just dig out enough of the old glue to allow new adhesive to bond, 1/4" or so at most. I agree that that is a horrible color for that lamination joint, it matches no color in the stone at all.

If you want it PERFECT, hire someone. A qualified restoration guy would go with multiple colors to "tease" your eye, and break up the monotony of a single colored line.

Who is by L.A.? Lou?

How far is LA from San Jose? James Stephens?

Huligar · 05-06-2007, 05:12 PM

BrilorH, you have the right idea. But as buddy said, this can become a mess is you do not pay close attention to your adhesives, harder, and the amount of color that is used. the biggest challenge to you would be, re-polishing the seam. It would serve you no good if you got all the colors to match perfect and still have a dull line in your profile.

BrilorH · 05-06-2007, 05:52 PM

I would rather pay a pro than mess it up...but I have not found someone interested yet out
here. It's about a 4 foot long edge. I've called a few shops who are not interested.
But they are interested in selling full kitchen/bathroom countertops, I suppose.
Are there people who specialize in "housecall" type repair situations? I have no idea about
this stuff, really.

I am in Santa Clarita, which is like 15 miles north of the San Fernando Valley, between the 5 and 14 freeways.

Huligar · 05-06-2007, 06:23 PM

See if this guy could help. http://www.nsraweb.com/restoration-3...ouch-2346.html