Repair chip / ding in granite countertop

mmonacel · 09-05-2007, 04:07 PM

I hope someone can help out. I have a "granite" countertop (unsure of actual stone) that appears either be black galaxy or something like it. In opening up a wine bottle, the bottle slipped as I was pulling the cork and slammed into the counter, shattering the bottle, and unfortunately leaving a small chip / ding in the countertop. It's basically a very small divot whose contents appear crushed. Some questions and a picture:

This is a pretty minor chip as you can tell in the picture. Ideally, I would like to get a professional to fix it however, I don't want to spend over $100 on something so minor. Can I safely assume it will cost me more than that to have a professional fix this? If this can be fixed adequately for under that cost, what is the best way to find a reputable contractor to do the work?

The actual chip doesn't bother me so much as the discoloration compared to the rest of the stone. As you can see the chip is basically white against a black / grey backdrop. Is there an inexpensive way to color this section in to blend better either using a touch-up marker or a home repair chip kit? If so, any suggestions on particular brands or outlets that sell these?

Thanks so much in advance!,
Mike

Huligar · 09-05-2007, 04:23 PM

I can not speak for all the NJ guys, but most restoration guys have a basic charge of $250.
If you are worried only about the color and the feel of the divot, I have a quick fix for you. This will only work if this repair is done in an area that is kept dry.
you will need, a sharpie, clear nail polish, 3 razors, and a finger nail buff board or toothpaste.
If you have these things handy, let me know and i will give you step by step instructions. This information will come at a small price. You will need to take pictures of each step and post them here for the rest of the world to see.

mmonacel · 09-05-2007, 04:42 PM

Thanks for the input! I have no problem taking pics and posting them to help out others and I do have those things at home already. This is a kitchen island so it typically only gets wet whenever we clean it after eating or food prep. Since it's near the corner I don't expect it to see too much moisture, however I can take care to avoid that area if needed. Would any moisture be too much? If so, is it possible to reapply this quick fix if needed?

Huligar · 09-05-2007, 05:16 PM

If it is just to clean the counter with stone care products you would be OK.

1: Take the black sharpie and darken the divot.

2: Apply a little drop of clear nail polish over the divot.

3: Take one razor and level out the edges of the nail polish, so that the edge is almost level with the surface, but slightly higher. Allow the nail polish the dry 100% before moving on to the next step.

4: Take your second razor and shave the nail polish flush with the stone; "do not worry the razor will not harm the the stone".

5: Take your finger nail buff board or toothpaste and simply polish.

If done correctly, you will end up with a very natural looking repair.

mmonacel · 09-05-2007, 08:51 PM

Great - thanks!!! I'm out of town until mid-next week so I will update this post with step by step pics when I do it.

Just a quick clarification:

You said:

Quote:

This will only work if this repair is done in an area that is kept dry.

I asked: I only wipe down the area after eating / food prep (with soapy water).

Quote:

Would any moisture be too much? If so, is it possible to reapply this quick fix if needed?

You replied:

Quote:

If it is just to clean the counter with stone care products you would be OK.

I'm a little confused. So is soapy water OK every now and again?

Thanks!,
Mike

Topshop · 09-05-2007, 08:56 PM

Soapy water would be fine for daily cleaning. The use of a real good cleaner like the Lustro (found in the store) once a week will protect and keep your tops looking spectacular.

Huligar · 09-05-2007, 11:36 PM

Soapy water is ok in most cases, it all depends on what type of soap you use. This is not just for the repair, this is for the stone on a whole.

Using a stone cleaner like Lustro Italiano or Crystal Clean will make a world of different to your stone.

NuTech Floor Pro · 09-14-2007, 01:13 AM

Nice, what is the third razor for?
I have to drive 25 miles to someone's house for free to tell them that. I swear I'm sending the link to this page to my office manager (mom) to give to people who call for this from now on. Thank you and I really hope we get the pictures or I might have to go and put a ding in my own countertop!

mmonacel · 10-02-2007, 01:29 AM

Sorry for the delay. Well, everything turned out great - thanks again for the great advice! Attached are pictures. I got the fine point sharpie at Home Depot (they always have them) as well as the razor blades. The nail polish I got at the supermarket. Total of about $7 or less. I was unable to get very close pics of me doing the actual work such as filling it in, etc. (the pics were all blurry) so I'll be as descriptive as possible.

You can see the ding in the original post as well as this pic:

Tools purchased:

I prepped the area by wiping it down with a damp paper towel and letting it dry completely. I then used the sharpie to dot the ding and fill it in. Once I dotted an area, I generally didn't go back over it. The ink kind of soaked in a little. I wiped any excess ink off with a quick wipe of a dry paper towel. I let this dry for about 15/20 min. and then I applied the nail polish:

The picture of the amount of nail polish here is a bit excessive for the size of the ding. It appeared that the polish was also pulling out the ink and it became a big black blob. At this point I bugged out and wiped off the polish.

Everything was fine though and I retouched a dot or two. I then let the ink dry for an hour just to make absolutely sure. Probably overkill, but whatever.

I then reapplied the polish. Tips for the polish: pull the brush out and wipe off the excess on the inside lip of the bottle. Then use the corner of the brush to dot it on. You get much more control over the amount of polish applied in this manner. I then used the first razorblade to reduce the amount of polish to leave just a very small amount of polish rising over the countertop when looked at at tabletop level. Tips on using the razor blade: you can use the corner of the blade to dip into the polish and essentially lift out some of the polish. Holding the blade perpendicular to the tabletop and lifted just ever so slightly from the tabletop you can essentially "zambonie" or push the polish off the top. I then used a dry paper towel to wipe up any excess around the area that didn't need any polish. It still looked like the polish was diluting the ink, but I left it alone and let it dry for a few hours while I did yard work.

I came back and shaved the polish off with the second razor. I did this by holding the blade on about a 20 degree angle to the tabletop and ran it along the stone, shaving the dried polish off. this brought the polish flush with the tabletop and the results looked great. I didn't even bother to use the nail buffer. Pic below of the finished work. The key is pointing to the spot that was fixed. Without something actually pointing it out or taking time to stop and look for where the ding was, you never notice it (and unfortunately, I'm the kind of guy that notices little things like that). All in all great advice Huligar - I can't thank you enough!!! It's like having a few hundred bucks put right back in my pocket!

Huligar · 10-02-2007, 09:47 AM

Very nice.
Your report will help others.
All you need to do now is get the stone cleaner and stop dropping stuff on the stone and this surface should give you a life time of happiness.

Some of you guys sent me a pm saying that the home owner could never make this type of repair and this repair could not work. Well what do you all have to say now.

I would have charge this guy $350 to do the same job. The only thing i would have done different was use a stronger adhesive. Yea Yea Yea this was a great secret that we could have use in the field and now my big fingers told the world. Natural stone is serviceable and if we do not leak this information out, the man-made stuff will continue to say that natural stone can not be repaired. for too long now, natural stone has been sold as a surface that is indestructible, but we all know better and so does the people that buys it. What they do not know, is how it can be fix. by us given them these low skill tips to the home owners, we are reassuring them that they made the right choice when they picked natural stone over all the other surfaces that is on the market today.

Who wants to spend a whole day making $350 when that same person who now trust you is going to tell his/her friends how they fixed the top and who help them do it. You will get a call back and more work by given away i few seconds on the phone.