When researching surface materials for kitchen countertops, you will no doubt come across a variety of materials. Among those you will find natural and engineered stone surfaces. One of the brands of quartz available is Silestone. In this article, we will talk about Silestone Quartz and the products used for working with and caring for it. Along the way we will also consider some of the characteristics of Silestone Quartz and how those traits come into play when using the products discussed. THis article is written from the perspective of Silestone Quartz, but you can consult our other page for a general discussion about quartz.
Defining Silestone Quartz
One of the first questions that comes to mind may be, "what is Silestone Quartz?" In the event that this question was on your mind, we will briefly answer it. Quartz is a product that is created by man and is designed to function in a way similar to natural stone. In fact, notice how The Spruce explains it:
...there's some actual quartz—sometimes a lot of it. All of this rock material mixed together and held together with binders is what gives a so-called quartz countertop the look and feel of stone.
So Silestone Quartz is related to natural stone materials. In fact, as we mentioned above, it was designed to function very similar to natural stone. So it stands to reason then, that Silestone Quartz would have similar products for it as the natural stone materials do. And it does. Let's briefly consider some of those products now.
Treating Blemishes On Silestone Quartz
At times you may find information in doing research that leads the reader to believe that quartz will not stain. In actuality, No stone material is stain-proof. And even though Silestone Quartz is stain resistant, it can be stained. Even though it is non-porous quartz can still get blemishes on its surface.
Mineral Deposits On Silestone Quartz
One of the surface stains that can develop on a Silestone Quartz surface is mineral deposits (also called limescale). This is a result of water or some other liquid containing minerals being left on the surface and then when the water in the liquid evaporates, the other substances are left behind. Removing limescale is simply a matter of using mineral deposit and limescale remover that dissolves the limescale to take the blemish off the surface. THere are other products though that also make maintaining Silestone Quartz less work.
Caring for & Maintaining Quartz
Taking care of and doing maintenance on Silestone Quartz is a multi-aspect task. Let's talk about some of those aspects now.
Optionally Sealing Silestone Quartz
A big selling point for quartz is that it requires no sealing. That is a true statement. But think about this, Waxing your car is not required either, but doing it has its benefits. Likewise, applying sealer for Silestone Quartz surfaces to the countertop creates a barrier between the stone and potentially harmful oil-based and water-based liquids. This gives the owner more time to easily clean up any spills that occur that could discolor the material.
Daily Cleaning of Silestone Quartz
As is true of all surfaces, Silestone Quartz requires daily cleaning. But what you use to do that cleaning matters. Not all surface cleaners are formulated to be used on stone surfaces. In fact, some household cleaners react with quartz materials and using these can harm the countertop. However, if you select the appropriate surface cleaner designed for stone countertops you will be using a cleaner that won't be detrimental to the material or the other treatments that have been applied to the surface such as the sealer mentioned in the previous section of this article. Some cleaners actually remove sealer that you intentionally treated a quartz surface with.
Silestone Fabrication Products
When it comes to working Silestone Quartz surfaces, there are some tools that make the work as effective as it can be. The tools for fabricating Silestone Quartz are often times the same ones used for hard natural stone such as granite. At other times though quartz will have tools designed specifically for working it. Let's briefly look at an example of each of these cases.
Miter Blades for Working Silestone Quartz
As we mentioned above, some tools that work with other stone materials will work just fine on Silestone Quartz surfaces. One example of a diamond blade that works well on hard natural stone as well as Silestone Quartz is a diamond compound miter blade that works on quartz. That blade is designed to work on many kinds of material, soft and hard stone surfaces, including Silestone Quartz. In addition to tools that work on granite and quartz, there are other products that are designed to accommodate a specific characteristic found in quartz.
Silestone Quartz Polishing Pads
Polishing stone surfaces using diamond polishing pads generates a tremendous amount of heat. In turn, heat affects the materials on which it is operating. Quartz surfaces that get overheated discolor and there is marking that happens. The resin used in the polishing pad makes a difference in whether the pad will bleed onto aSilestone Quartz stone being polished. You can select polishing pads that work well on granite. However, there are pads that work on granite and quartzite but that are also marketed as polishing pads for use on engineered quartz. There are also surface polishing pads for planetary polishing equipment as well.
As we have seen in this article, many aspects of working with and caring for Silestone Quartz run parallel to the tools used for working and maintaining hard natural stone surfaces like granite and quartzite. Yet, although there are similarities, some aspects of fabricating and caring for quartz such as Silestone differ and knowing what is especially needed for these surfaces enables fabricators and owners to get the best results.
