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Granite - Honed or Flamed Finish
Cleaning - Problem Solving - Protection - Care
Honed - soft look and feel |
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Polished - highly reflective - not discussed on this page.
(see page for polished granite) |
Honed
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Flamed -
soft finish |
Flamed - rough finish |
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| Honed and Flamed Granite |
Granite is a very dense stone and is most familiar with a highly polished finish. A "polished" finish (see it's separate page) is extremely low in absorption and therefore, needs little protection from a sealer. However, the characteristics and needs change quite a bit when granite has a honed or flamed finish. |
There is no need for confusion or problems brought about by misidentification of a surface type, yet it happens all too often. If you would like to see why this is the case and how to properly identify a surfacing material .....
Click here
If you are concerned about doing it yourself - consider that the satisfaction of a project is directly related to your knowledge of what needs to be done and how. Who actually does the work is less important. We estimate that 25% of the usage of Aldon products is by "do it yourself" homeowners and we know they are happy because we hear from them.
INSTALLATION:
A "honed" or "Flamed" surface will now have some degree of absorbency and texture. Absorbency means it can absorb a staining liquid and should be sealed. A textured finish will trap grout that is difficult to clean out of that texture. Do not pre-seal. Prevent grout smears, surface scratching and keep grout residue out of any surface texture by coating with Aldon
 Grout Easy before grouting. "Grout Easy" is a water soluble coating that comes off easily while grout is being cleaned up with water and a sponge. |
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Honed granite kitchen island top - soft feel and very little reflection
ADVANTAGES TO THIS MATERIAL
- Dense, very tough
- Colors and patterns available allow for any taste.
- Many choices for finishing gloss - from none to high gloss
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CONSIDERATIONS (All Are Preventable!)
(Click links for Aldon's solutions to these issues!)
- Do not use a sealer as a grout barrier
(pre-seal). Prevent grout smears, surface scratching and keep grout residue out of surface texture by coating with Aldon "Grout Easy" before grouting. "Grout Easy" is a water soluble coating that comes off easily while grout is being cleaned up with water and a sponge.
- Efflorescence (subsurface originating white powdery stains) can occur. This can appear even before installation. However, it is
easily cleaned.
- Colors can "fade". The appearance of fading is actually from light efflorescence and
can be stopped by sealing with the appropriate Aldon sealer.
- Can scratch during installation, however, one of the "solvent-penetrating" sealers tends to make the scratches disappear.
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Following are product recommendations (in sequence of use ) for whichever of the categories applies to you. Please review each and mark your printed
worksheet accordingly.
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Layed, But Not Grouted
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Grout Easy
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 Efflorescence Treatment
 Grout Residue
Remover (should not be needed after Grout Easy) |
Grouted, But Not Sealed
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Grout Residue
Remover
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Efflorescence Treatment
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.............Sealer ( see below )
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 Lifeguard
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Care ...........
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Sealer Has Been Applied
Important! - First -
Click here!
 Premium Stripper- ...........Cleaners ?
- ...........Sealer ( see below )
- Lifeguard
- Care ..........
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Regarding The Sealer Results Shown Below
An Aldon sealer does far more than just bead water and look pretty! To see what that is
click here.
Your results may vary somewhat from these pictures due to variations in computer display and the surface materials themselves. Nevertheless, you will be able to see the differences well enough to make good choices.
Different areas of the same piece are used as much as possible to minimize raw material variations.
Of all the sealers Aldon manufactures, the ones shown are recommended as best suited to this surface type.
(Important: If your project has had any sealer applied in the past, it must be evaluated differently. To see why,
Click here!)
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"S-B-S Sealer"
Solvent Based - Penetrating Type
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This is a piece of slate with similar absorption characteristics to honed granite. Because of the low absorption of the granite, S-B-S Sealer is usually the best choice.
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* Note: will add another level of gloss to any of the above sealed surfaces.
It also prevents traffic wear to the sealers finish.
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