Guess what?
THE MARBLE ETCHED!
Even with FIVE coats of BulletProof.
Wow, I'm so surprised. (I'm being sarcastic, I need a sarcasm font).
As a reminder, marble, limestone and travertine are all calcium based stones. So when anything acidic gets on them it causes a chemical reaction and the stone etches.
So, what etched?
The lemon slice, lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, jam and the hot sauce. All the things that were acidic!
Nothing stained when it sat on the marble for 10 minutes. This was the only thing that surprised me in the experiment. I thought the olive oil and the hot sauce would definitely stain the unsealed portion of the marble and I thought it might stain the sealed portions. Nothing stained though! The only thing that stained was the hot sauce that was left overnight, and it only stained the unsealed portion and the BulletProof portion. It did not stain the Tiger Ager portion!
Tiger Ager was definitely the winner of the experiment.
Here is a look again of the marbles with all the different foods on it.
Here is a look at the etching. These pictures were kind of hard to take, so hopefully you can see them well enough.
Here is the lemon juice that was on the unsealed, polished piece for ten minutes.
Again the lemon juice, it's the spot next to the lemon. You can also see the Balsamic Vinegar etch.
Here's a picture of the hot sauce and lemon slice that I left on each piece of marble overnight.
In the morning the hot sauce was all dried up, but you could already see the stain.
Here is the polished marble after I cleaned the hot sauce off. As you can see it etched all three areas of the piece, but it only stained the BulletProof and non-sealed areas. The Tiger Ager did not stain!
Below is where the lemon slice was overnight. It is pretty gnarly, it's rough to the touch and you can see the little segments of the lemon.
Here is the honed piece. Again, the hot sauce left on overnight etched both areas but only stained the BulletProof portion.
The next five pictures are just different views of the etching. 
I decided to put these on display in our showroom, so I circled each area that etched and then wrote what it was that etched it.
So the lesson learned today? Don't waste your money & time applying five coats of BulletProof! NOTHING prevents etching!!!
Thanks for sponsoring these blog posts Italia Granite! :)
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19 remarks:
Wow! That's so amazing and scary! I don't know if I would use marble now. :( It's great that it didn't stain in the 10 minutes though.
Great experiment!
Oh man! Beckie, that was NOT my point!!! I don't want to talk you out of marble!
I do want you to be educated though, so I can't be too mad. :)
Check out Super White, it looks like marble but it's a quartzite. So it won't etch.
Thanks for this Steph. Seriously, I've been waiting for this for ages. Would you think me strange if I admit that I like it that marble etches?
Totally with you Paul, I love when marble shows it's softness and porosity except the one in my kitchen. Wahahahahaha. The stone guy said "no" but I said yes, to travertine counters in the kitchen, which now, ahem, pit, stain, crack...
It can be a great material even in a kitchen but it needs the right person and the right overall look, no?
V: I tell my clients that using calcium-based stones like marble and travertine requires a specific personality type. I dislike pristine surfaces and I like it when things age in. Some people will never be OK with that. So yes, it's a matter of the right person, even more than it being the right setting.
This is very interesting! Thanks for taking the time to post the results to your experiment. It's good for people to know what they're getting into with stone selection, b/c they could potentially be living with their decision forever.
Paul- I don't think it's strange at all, because I like that marble etches too! :)
It does take the right person and personality though. Thank heavens for quartz for some clients!
I did a similar experiment on a sample from a slab of honed Vermont Danby (Imperial) marble that I fell in love with. I sealed it and then tested various substances for an hour. Yes, the lemon juice, wine, catsup and vinegar etched. Nothing stained.
THEN....after wiping the sample clean and drying it, I rubbed a half lemon all over it and let it sit for 10 minutes. Then I cleaned it off and, viola, it looked the way it had started, i.e., beautiful, honed marble with a consistent surface. No etched "spots". Any downside to doing that on a countertop surface occasionally to "even out" the surface if multiple etchings have occurred?
Thanks!
Yes, I have heard of people consistently etching their marble.
That's why I'd recommend honing your marble in the first place in a kitchen.
Hey - I've just discovered your blog while searching for carrara marble kitchen images. I love that you did this experiment and posted these amazing photos! Thank goodness for people like you! Anyway, I have a client who really loves the look of carrara and wants to use itin her kitchen. She is reluctant about using it because of the maintenance issue and so we started looking at composite quartz options...but they're just not as beautiful. I've managed to talk her into using the carrara (honed) - yay, but have told her that she just needs to treat it with some love and patience. I think etching adds to the beauty of this products (maybe not hot sauce stains so much). Enough with the perfect shiny unblemished look. How about a little interest and a story that goes along with it! I'm now going to explore the rest of your website - BRAVO.
Seana-
Thank you so much!
I'm glad it helped.
I think you're client will love the Carrara, especially honed.
Good luck!
OMG...I am really scared!! I have fallen in love with Marble but with this experiment!! I think I should think more than twice. I am the one that freaks with any sign of spill or what you all call etching?? this would literally make me crazy every time I saw it. I want Marble in my bathroom - the vanity counter top, floor and the bath tub back splash...AM I CRAZY TO DO THIS?? or is the Marble pretty free of this etching in the bath room?
Anonymous-
Marble does much better in bathrooms. Usually you don't have nearly as many acids in a bathroom as you do in a kitchen.
It still won't look perfect forever though. Based on your comment I'd highly recommend quartz. Good luck!
Hi, I live in Australia & would love to buy 'Natural white quartzite tiles' for a home we are about to build. I would like to go to China and buy them wholesale, but am having so much trouble even locating them anywhere for that matter! Do you know where in the world I can find this Quartzite???
Antoinette
I'm thinking of putting bianco carrara marble in my kitchen and the company I'm working with is going to give me a 15 year warranty against food stains through Bulletproof/Dupont - have you heard anything about that? Would you recommend honed vs polished? I have heard polish marble offers one additional coat of protection and is less porous, is that true?
Antoinette-
I'm sure you can find it in Australia and China. Unfortunately I don't know the market in Australia to be able to direct you on exactly where to go.
Have you had any experience with Danby marble, (American marble)? I heard it's more durable than Italian marble. It's not suppose to etch or stain as easily and be more comparable to granite. Anybody out there heard of it?
Hi Antoinette
Im looking at marble and quartz in both tiles and slabs too.
Ive come across Cairns Marble www.cairnsmarble.com who quarry and distribute their own stone.
They have 2 really beautiful products called Bianca Mist (Marble) and White Pearl (Quartz) both mined and produced in Australia.
You can buy it directly from Cairns Marble rather than a wholesaler/distributor for a seriously great per sqm price.
Hi,
at first english is not my motherlanguage.
The best and old fashioned way to protect marble and limestone is a mixture between natural!Turpentine and Beeswax. The wax must be warmed, so it is light fluid. In a metal bucket ist the cold Turpentine. Fill slowly the wax with "agitation?" into the Turpentine until its like a paste. For Countertops a little bit more fluid, for window ledges and tables a little less fluid.
The result is after a coouple of applications that the pores are closed and the surface is lightly sealed. Such protected marble and limestones are not so sensitive aganst natural accid.
Dont use waxing in showerwalls or on a heated floor.
>To polish light stains from food the oldest way is using"Potassium hydrogenoxalate" a natural salt of Common wood sorrel. But its not easy on the first time. This chemical brings polish, but although takes it. Its a standard polish in europe.
If you are able to read or to translate german, I can send you a lot of further informations
bye
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