How to Care for & Maintain Nacarado

When you install a quartzite surface, what do you recommend to the consumer as a care and maintenance program? For example, if you finished up a job installing a Nacarado quartzite surface and the customer asked how to care for it, what would you recommend? When it comes to recommending a care and maintenance routine for Nacarado, or any other quartzite countertop surface for that matter, we have a recommendation. We will examine it in this article. For a discussion of why sealing quartzite can be challenging checkout out article entitled: Meeting the Challenge of Sealing Quartzite. Now, on to the topic at hand.

Wet Cutting Nacarado Quartzite

Nacarado quartzite undergoes wet cutting during fabrication. This is important to preserve the performance of the tools used during stone fabrication. Yet, quartzite slabs, including Nacarado are porous and even though they are durable and hard, keeping as much liquid from being absorbed by the stone is not only practical, but makes good sense. Reducing the amount of moisture that gets absorbed by a quartzite stone as it gets cut can be done by sealing the stone prior to cutting.

Caring for and Maintaining Nacarado Quartzite

When thinking of a care and maintenance routine for Nacarado quartzite surfaces, one might immediately associate the task with caring for the slab as a countertop in the home after installation. Yet, in the home after installation, or in the shop prior to installation, it makes perfect sense to use an effective sealer on Nacarado quartzite countertops. Even though sealing stone does not make it stain-proof, it does increase the stone's ability to resist the dirts and liquids that can discolor and mar natural Nacarado quartzite surfaces. Many water and oil based liquids in a shop or in a household can make their way into the pores and stain a stone. So, applying a natural quartzite sealer is an easy way to increase the resistance of the slab against these liquids.

Recommending Nacarado Quartzite Sealer

A question that is sometimes found to be on the minds of professionals and consumers alike is, "Is sealing Nacarado quartzite required?" The answer to that question would depend on how much importance the one asking the question puts on getting the very best results. Why? Because not every single quartzite slab that is made into a countertop will be sealed either correctly or often enough. By the same token though, those countertops will not have the highest level of stain resistance either.

The NSI is a trade association representing every aspect of the natural stone industry. Its current membership at the time of this writing exceeds 2,000 members in over 50 countries. It serves as the authoritative source for safety and technical standards and information regarding the use of natural stone. What does it say regarding sealers?

The NSI says in this document that "sealing makes the stone more stain resistant", which implies the importance of using sealer to improve stone's resistance to water and oil based liquids. Additionally, we recommend that a care and maintenance routine be used by consumers after installation. Doing so gives the owner of the stone the best performance opportunity.

So in closing, there are a number of reasons for fabricators and homeowners alike to use a stone sealing and care program to maintain a Nacarado quartzite countertop, or other surface. First, it keeps potential stain-causing liquids out of the pores and it ensures the slab will look its best longer. Whether you are working on a Nacarado quartzite or if your client has one and want to know how to treat it, following the recommended care an maintenance program wil yield great results.