What To Do If You Have An Imperfection In Your Natural Stone

Nothing is more frustrating than when your gorgeous natural stone shows its wear and tear with flaking, cracks, and other imperfections. The most important aspect of fixing the imperfections in your stone is understanding what causes them and what kind of ramifications you are dealing with.

What Causes Cracks And Fissures In Natural Stone?
 

Fissures are an extensive crack, break or fracture in the stone. Fissures don’t usually go through the entire stone, but they sometimes can and often occur naturally.

Cracks can result from stress on the stone, whether it be from handling, fabrication, transport, or installation.

How Can You Repair Your Natural Stone’s Imperfections?
 

Fissures and chip repairs: If your stone has fissures or chips, use a clear resin, epoxy, or acrylic adhesive to repair it. Using a special epoxy is your best bet. Because it is very runny, pour the epoxy over the cracks and fissures and leave it to set overnight. During its setting time, the epoxy will penetrate deep down into the crack and solidify. The next day, you can scrape off the residue with a razor blade.

Surface scratches: When it comes to fixing surface scratches on your natural stone, you have two options: resurface the stone or use a stone color enhancer. Resurfacing your natural stone is the more costly of the two options, so if your scratch is not severe and you don’t want to pay a pretty penny, using a color enhancer and sealer is your best option.

How Do Color Enhancers Work?
 

With a color enhancer, all you have to do is apply the sealer to a drag rag and wipe it on top of the scratch. The color enhancing sealer is designed to fill and camouflage the scratch to make it much less noticeable.

Can You Do All Of This Yourself?
 

We recommend that you first speak to the company that installed your natural stone to make sure this isn’t something that they need to handle.

If you are introducing a new chemical to your stone, it is recommended that you introduce the chemical in a discrete location on your stone just in case it does not react well to the chemical. An adverse reaction can cause discoloration, rendering an eyesore into an even larger issue.

Most of the chemicals that are used to treat scratches and cracks are chemicals that can be used at home and repeated every three to four months as needed.

If you are considering installing natural stone in your home or need maintenance done on your existing natural stone, contact us at GMS Werks and we would love to help you out!