| How to Care for Soapstone & How to Remove Scratches from Soapstone |
How to care for soapstone is the number one question people ask when they are considering a soapstone counter top or sink. Soap stone is soft and can scratch but the good news is that you can easily remove scratches from Soapstone countertops and sinks by sanding them out with common sandpaper. Start with a low grit (100) and move up to a (200) and finally with a 400 grit paper, small circular motions will get the best results. Once you are satisfied that you have removed all the scratches apply a light coat of mineral oil. Your sink or top will look brand new. Here is a link to How to oil soapstone.
When you first get your soap stone installed, it will arrive un-oiled. This is intentional so that epoxy used to create seams will have proper adhesion. Your soap stone will require multiple coats to maintain that dark "wet look". Within a week of the first coat the oil will have soaked into the stone enough that it will appear to dry out, the second coat will typically maintain the wet look for a month before it starts to appear to dry out, after that the frequency of coating with mineral oil will be months or years before the surface starts to look dry. How much you use your counters and what you clean them with will affect the frequency of oil as much as how "wet" you desire the surface to appear.
Most people who buy soap stone are selecting it because they desire a weathered or aged look. The worn rustic look of years of use is exactly what they are trying to achieve. If this is the look you are after, soap stone is a good material choice for you. If you are looking for a perpetually new and shiny look perhaps Soapstone is the wrong material choice for your project. Soapstone slabs, soap stone sinks and installed soap stone jobs are on our website to read about and look at the many design options and see how others have used soapstone to warm up their kitchens.
Caring for and removing scratches from soapstone is easy, use common sense and observe what you are doing as you are doing it so that you don't get carries away. If a scratch is particularly deep it may be best to fill the scratch with pigmented epoxy and then sand it smooth and oil to your liking. Your local Soapstone fabricator is skilled and experienced at this and may be called in to take care of the problem for you.
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