Why do we love marble, travertine, or other types of natural stone countertops in our homes and businesses? The simple answer is that we love the beauty and elegance these surfaces add to the space, plus their durability over time. But at the same time, these stone surfaces can be costly to restore if they are stained, etched, or damaged–so we tend to worry constantly about using them! MORE™ Anti-Etch™ is a product that’s supposed to eliminate this worry by preventing etching and staining of your countertops–but does it really work?
Depending on the type of counters you have, the answer is a clear YES. Let’s discuss this question further.
What is Anti-Etch?
MORE Anti-Etch is a product that, when applied to natural limestone-based surfaces, provides a crystal clear, ultra-thin protective barrier that prevents etching and staining from acidic substances like wine, tomato sauce, vinegar, etc. It also makes the surface more resistant to dirt and other wear-and-tear damage. Anti-Etch can be applied on marble, travertine, limestone, onyx, and even concrete, and it’s available for honed, polished, and leathered surfaces. It is an environmentally friendly compound (no VOCs), and it’s safe for all food-grade surfaces. Best of all, it’s long-lasting. Just one application and your counters are protected for up to 10 years!
What Is Etching?
Etching is a type of damage caused by acidic substances that seep into the stone surface and eat away at it. Limestone-based surfaces are particularly vulnerable to acids and bases because they react with the calcium carbonate in the stone, forever changing it. Etches leave behind microscopic “pits” in the surface, which create an uneven discoloration to the countertop that may look like staining, but is actually permanent damage. Once etching occurs, the only way to remove it is by refinishing or restoring the countertop–grinding down the stone to remove the damage and honing it back to the desired sheen.
What makes MORE Anti-Etch so powerful is that it follows the maxim, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” By applying Anti-Etch, you stop etching before it ever starts.
How Anti-Etch Protects Your Countertops
MORE Anti-Etch is more than just a sealant. It forms an invisible barrier on the surface of your counters that prevents acids, bases, and other corrosive substances from coming into contact with the stone. This makes it impossible for etching to occur, even with repeated spills or everyday use. If the acid can’t touch the stone, it can’t react with it. The barrier is so strong that you can leave spills sitting indefinitely without fear or worry! (Not that you would.)
But this invisible barrier does even more to protect your counters than just protect from etching. It also provides protection on the microscopic level from dirt and grime, making the stone surface more resistant to scratching. It also makes your counters hygienically safer because Anti-Etch is completely non-porous–meaning bacteria and germs have nowhere to take hold!
How Long Does Anti-Etch Last?
MORE Anti-Etch is designed to last for up to 10 years with proper application and with normal use. That means that once your stone service professional has applied it to your counters, you can use your marble and other stone surfaces worry-free for up to a decade! And Anti-Etch is easy to reapply; all it takes is a light buffing and a fresh coat of the product, and your counters are set for the next 10 years.
Want to Protect Your Counters?
You installed your stone counters so that you could enjoy them for many years to come: why be afraid to use them? With MORE Anti-Etch, that worry becomes a thing of the past.
For best results, MORE Anti-Etch should only be applied by a trained stone restoration contractor. At Statewide Stone Care, our technicians are highly experienced in all aspects of stone and tile care, restoration, refinishing, and protection in New York and New Jersey–including proper application of MORE Anti-Etch. And if your stone surfaces have already sustained damage, we can perform a complete restoration and refinishing on them to make them as good as new, then apply MORE Anti-Etch to make sure they stay that way. For a free estimate, contact us today.