No matter what the surface is, knowing about chips is an important aspect of working with or owning it. Natural stone materials like granite, marble, quartzite, and others can chip. And if you prefer other kinds of surfaces such as ceramic, sintered stone, or even porcelain surfaces, the same is true. Simply put, natural stone and engineered surfaces are all capable of being chipped. Therefore, it is good to be aware of some basic information as it relates to stone chips. Can you get rid of stone chips? Are They common? How do stone chips happen? What stone chips can be repaired? How can you fix chips in stone countertops? In this article we will examine the answers to those questions.
Can You Get Rid of Stone Chips?
It depends on the meaning of the question. If the question means can chips in stone be completely prevented? The answer is no. There are going to be cases where hard engineered or natural stone surfaces get chipped. It is virtually inevitable and is a simple reality. How common these occur is something that we will cover a little later. But for now, we'll leave it with the statement, stone chips cannot be 'gotten rid of' in the sense that they can be completely prevented.
However, if the meaning of the question is, "can existing chips in stone surfaces be removed?", then the answer is yes. In this sense, you can 'get rid' of stone chips. There is a stone chip repair process through which stone chips can be removed from a surface that has been chipped. This too, we will cover later in the article. But to sum up the answer to the question, "Can you get rid of stone chips?" The answer is, it depends on whether you are talking about an existing chip, or one that might occur.
Are Stone Chips Common?
Earlier, we said that we would talk about how common stone chips are when it comes to natural stone and engineered stone surfaces. It can seem like a chip in countertops is very common occurrence because when you do a search for "I have a chipped countertop" the results are well over 15 million. But keep in mind that many of those results are for solutions to the problem and not simply a record of how many times that particular event has occurred. Still, when a stone surface - or another hard, stone-like surface - gets chipped, it is not only costly for the owner, but it is also something that largely detracts from the appearance of the surface, the design, and ultimately the space it is in.
Stone surfaces and other hard materials such as sintered stone, ceramic, porcelain, and engineered stone materials are very hard materials. Saying that these "prone" to chipping is considered a mischaracterization to some people. Chips do happen, but many would say that they are not common occurrences. And when stone chips do happen, it is usually a direct result of an unintended event, an accident, or by mistreating the surface. Let's now look at how stone chips happen.
How Do Stone Chips Happen?
Up to this point in our discussion we have mainly mentioned stone chips in the context of stone countertops; perhaps kitchen countertops made of stone. However, natural stone and engineered materials are used in many projects and for many purposes. And there are various ways that stone chips happen. Some uses for stone and stone-like materials include:
Countertops
Benchtops
Fireplace
Floor Tile
Worktops
Dining Surfaces
Wall Tile
From the list above, you can see that the use of the material will determine what kinds of chip hazards it will be exposed to in everyday use. One chip risk they all have in common is a sharp impact from another hard object. For example, a fireplace hearth made from granite may get chipped due to a fire poker being dropped onto the surface. Similarly, a kitchen countertop made from quartzite might get chipped from a stock pot with a heavy disc on the bottom being accidentally banged on the edge of the countertop. Both of the chips occur from a hard object being banged against the surface material. So stone chips usually happen from the jarring impact of a hard object used in conjunction with the surface.
What Stone Chips Can Be Repaired?
Stone chips occur in a number of places on a surface. But having effective stone chip repair equipment allows you to fix chips correctly. Additionally, choosing a
universal stone chip repair kit affords you the opportunity to repair virtually any color of surface made from a wide variety of materials. But using the kit effectively requires knowing how to repair a chip. Let's look at that next.
How to Fix Chips in Stone Countertops?
As we have already stated, stone chip damage occurs in several contexts and on many kinds of material. One such type of surface is the kitchen countertop. This stone surface is prominent and is not easy to hide if it happens. Therefore, owners of stone countertops may be desirous of a solution for fixing chips in stone countertops. Because of this, there are cases when it is good to have a stone chip kit in the truck or shop. You never know when a slab is going to get dinged on an edge after the fact. Being able to repair a chipped kitchen counter as it sits installed in the kitchen is also a valuable service to offer clients. In fact, entire stone repair businesses have been built around fixing all sorts of damage; including chips.
So, how would one go about fixing these? How to fix a chipped kitchen counter is not complicated if you have the right tools, skills, and knowledge. Check out the video below for a step-by-step repair.
As we have seen in this article, you can get rid of stone chips if they have already happened even though you cannot completely prevent them from occurring. And while chips in stone and other hard surfaces are not a common problem in the sense that they happen to the majority of stone surfaces, they do impact the appearance of the surface. Stone chips usually happen because of a sharp impact. But as we also seen, virtually all of them can be repaired with know-how, skills, and the right tools.
