A reader emailed me with a question this week, concerning a chip he encountered in his granite top. He said he accidentally hit the edge of his counter with a coffee mug and chipped the counters edge, near the sink.
I have to say, I never thought that a fight between a ceramic coffee mug and a granite counter top would leave a mark on the countertop. I don’t know what the coffee mug looks like now, but at least that coffee mug can say the countertop knew he was at the fight.
The color of the top was Uba Tuba. He wondered if there was anything he could do about it. The answer is yes, there is.
There are two ways to deal with this problem. One is try to fix it yourself; the second is hire a professional to repair it. By the time this article is over, you will know which path you will wish to take.
It’s important to note, this can happen with quartz counters, as well, and the repair is the same.
The professionals use epoxies and other components supplied by the vendors within the industry, and they mix color toners in the epoxy to blend the best color match, depending on the color of the stone they are repairing.
For a small chip at home, you may have success trying to touch it up yourself. For this question, I asked Chris Hildebrand, owner of Affordable Marble and Granite in Aiken, to assist. He suggested that if a homeowner was determined to be a die-hard, do-it-yourselfer, then there is a simple way for them to approach the repair.
Rather than worry with finding the supplies used in the industry and trying to mix color tones, a quick solution would be to purchase some thick Super Glue.
This would be a medium viscosity CA glue and can be found at a local hobby store. It shouldn’t cost much over $5.
Make sure the area around the chip is clean and dry. To clean the area, you may use acetone or nail polish remover.
If the chip caused the area in and around the chip to lighten, feel free to darken it with a dark-colored Sharpie. A Sharpie is permanent and dries quickly. For lighter colored stones, this may not be necessary.
Tape off the area surrounding the chip and apply just enough glue to fill the chip and rise just slightly above the surface of the stone. Filling the glue up to within flush of the surface of the tape should be sufficient. Once the glue cures and the tape removed, this will allow you to razor off the excess for a smooth finish.
Wait and allow the glue to cure before cutting with the razor. The time it takes for the glue to cure depends on how deep the chip was, the humidity in the home, etc.
If you are in a hurry, you can add a CA accelerator to it which causes it to cure immediately. This may add up to $10 to your supply list, but be careful if repairing light-colored stone because the accelerator can cause the repair to “bloom,” which is a term in the industry for an ugly green stain that could appear that is very hard to remove. For Uba Tuba, this should not be a problem.
Once the glue has completely dried, take the razor and use the surface of the countertop as a guide, angle the blade and, with a quick back and forth motion, shave the glue to conform to the surface of the stone. This shouldn’t take but a minute or two and should produce a smooth repair that will be difficult to notice.
If a higher sheen is needed or desired, use a fine grit sand paper, #320 or higher. Wet sandpaper made for the automotive paint industry works best for this. If a higher sheen is desired, you can polish it with a buffing compound.
For the avid do-it-yourselfer, this repair will probably be too tempting to pass up, if you find a chip in your granite tops.
If you find it too daunting to try yourself, most repairs such as described above can be performed by a professional, for a service call within $75 to $150. With this in mind, you may decide to go that route.
Either way, there is hope for those really tough coffee mugs that go around picking fights with granite countertops.
I would like to thank my friend Chris with Affordable Marble and Granite with his insight into this article.
JD Norris is the owner/operator of DreamMaker Bath&Kitchen and a certified S.C. Master Builder, certified “Aging in Place” Specialist and certified Green Professional. If you have any projects that you would like discussed in an upcoming article, email me at jdn.dm@comcast.net.
