The last photo of the island is the day it was installed. Here are 3 more photos, 2 of one of the slabs, and 1 of the piece that is the most affected pictured above, when it was first installed.

Wow, that is crazy! I wonder if it has a high iron content that has gradually oxidized and turned more orange. Was it sealed or did you apply sealer regularly?

A lot of the white/gray quartzites are hard, but still porous and they definitely need to sealed regularly.

Did you do any tests on the slabs before buying them? Read the Geology threads by karin_mt for information on the tests.

Here is an article by Karin.

https://usenaturalstone.org/definitive-guide-quartzite/

https://usenaturalstone.org/how-to-be-your-own-stone-sleuth/

If you are selling this stuff, you probably want to understand what your clients are buying, so you don't end up having to cover the costs of repairs/replacement.

Do you have a piece of your stone that you could do the tests on?

Thank you for your response. Yes, it’s quite the difference in the photos. And yes, mostly we are selling and installing quartz from a multitude of manufacturers, but some clients are starting to request natural stones.

My stone was sealed twice when it was installed which was February 2022, not 2021 as I accidentally mentioned above. So it has been 2 years of use. We use our kitchen HEAVILY. We have had absolutely no staining, water damage or spots, nothing at ALL… besides the veins changing colors in some areas. I have not re-sealed, but again we still have no issues from water or stains so I have liked to imagine that the initial sealer is still holding up. In fact, the area that gets the most abuse and water is the best looking area lol.

The vein discoloring started forming from cut edges, then began traveling through the veins, to what you see now. And we have watched the process continue for some time now.

Wow. I'm definitely following this thread. Thanks for those photos.I'd like to see what experts say.

Iron inclusions. I have granite counters that had some iron visible when purchased. I used the leftover from my island to make an exterior table. My island has developed some rust spots, my outdoor table has significant orange areas. Fascinating really.

Another quartzite horror story to add to the stack here.

It's "naaattttuuuurrraaalll".

I am trying 2 homemade poultice recipes I discovered online, both using hydrogen peroxide, one with baby powder, the other with baking soda. Let’s see what happens.

Orange is the new black, James?

Thank you all for your comments. Would repeated sealer applications have limited this? My thought was that it was inside the stone, so no additional sealing would help. I hope I didn’t assume wrong.

I have no idea how you could get it into the cracks (veins) but I had a rusty water problem in my house. Barkeepers friend was great for it in my white sink. I assume it’s the oxalic acid.
Maybe there’s a liquid rust remover that might penetrate and work, then reseal?
Btw I don’t mind the colors either- maybe make it look intentions if all else fails.
Also - my daughter has quartzite, Taj Mahal. At least two years, small kitchen, lots of cooking/use. No staining so far and they don’t seal it. Maybe it’s a crapshoot… but I would look carefully for any veins that are porous-looking? And warn customers?
Salespeople always discouraged me from marble in my kitchen and I’ve done it twice with no regrets!

" My thought was that it was inside the stone, so no additional sealing would help. "

Correct, "may" have slowed it a bit but you are not stopping mother nature (and the sealer is also a liquid so there is that as well). It is the iron deposits in the stone rusting.

Ok thank you. I am going to continue to try to remove the rust from the veins, on that particular piece (right of range), as it is much more red than anything else in the kitchen. The rest has started to become “warmer” turning the grey veins to gold, but that I do not mind.

Again, the kitchen is used HEAVILY, and while kept clean, we haven’t necessarily taken any precautions. We have some oil splatter stains on backsplash behind range from heavy cooking use, and to me it just adds character. We have unlacquered brass hardware in the kitchen that has begun to patina as well.

While my wife and I prefer more natural materials, but as a supplier and installer of countertops on our projects, I am OK with 99% of my clients wanting Quartz….but there’s still nothing like natural stone.

I totally agree! Quartz could be the next formica.
Try soaking the counter with a liquified barkeepers friend. Somehow it seems to work better than other rust remover products. And it might penetrate just enough to work on the top layer of rust.
That is a beautiful stone!

You are not going to remove minerals from inside the stone. Or change it back to the way it was. Look at it as wabi sabi. Yes, it's resulted in a much more interesting stone as the end result!

Thank you both for your comments. I will try the liquid BKF, we use that on our fire clay sink and it works wonders, not sure how it would do on the stone. I would like to, at least, slightly lessen how vibrant the red/pink is, but if not then it just is what it is.

Since my personal issue worsened in the last 6 months or so, I started saying something like this when discussing natural stone surfaces with clients:

The stone has been extracted from the earth after thousands of years of dormancy, and there can be a price to pay for that. Not only monetarily, but in additional maintenance, using caution with spills and products, and possible future “surprises” like color changes. It’s up to you to decide if having a little piece of the earth in your kitchen, one that no one else has, is worth it to you.

My own mistake was thinking Mother Nature would make it easy! I love the quartzite either way, and I’m glad I decided to live with it and learn from it for 2 years before starting to offer Natural Stones to my clients.

Cosentino makes a big deal about its Sensa granite's 15-year guarantee. I didn't read the fine print, but the website talks about Sensa's stain resistence--not exactly what you are seeing.

Maybe it is a product that would be a good choice for your customers instead of the stone suppliers that you are currently using?

Sensa is complete BS marketing in order to up the price significantly.

" but the website talks about Sensa's stain resistence--not exactly what you are seeing. "

That would be topical stains from spilling, etc.. You are not seeing that here. This is classic iron deposits in the stone getting wet.

@Capri Construction & Design with that speech you wrote, you are incorrectly painting all stone counters with with same broad brush. You ignore the hundreds of granites that have low absorption rates and never need to be sealed at all. I've had 3 different granite counters in 3 different homes, never gave them any care, nor sealed them, and they all continued to look like the day they were installed. You also ignore the various soapstones that also never etch or stain (there are a multitude of soapstones that are on the harder side and more durable). Your speech is saying all stones made by Mother Nature are problematic. That is simply not correct, and you are not putting your best foot forward with clients if you tell them that.

M Miller in all fairness, nobody’s buying granite right now, (at least from me) and most people know that granite is very resilient, as it has been common place in most kitchens renovated within the last 20 years and is usually what we are demolishing. I am speaking more in terms of marble and quartzite. Soapstone I have very little experience with, however, I did look into it for a project of my own and ultimately decided it wasn’t for me. I love the look though. Also, often times, both homeowners work full-time, struggling to juggle their own professional lives, with their kids social and educational commitments, etc. and maintenance is a huge concern for many clients. So it would be a great disservice to not make my clients fully aware of any possible downside to any and all products that I sell. So while you may view my statement above as a “blanket statement“, as it may be…but it generally trends closer to true that a good portion of natural stones, especially in the marble and quartzite category, tend to require higher maintenance and carry a greater risk of staining or discoloring, than the man-made countertop materials we also offer.

I gotta tell you, there are many tales of woe here about Quartz. Spots, streaks, burn marks from the range, inconsistent coloring, inconsistent sheen, cloudy patches, scratches, steam damage from the dishwasher, and, worst of all, the dreaded resin pooling (not covered by manufacturers' warranty). I am of course not saying all Quartz counters have these issues. I am saying that we see a lot of posts on here about these issues. Murphy's Law says you'll assure your clients that Quartz has no risk, and then the counter will have one or more of the problems I've listed. There are just too many posts on here about them.

I never said Quartz counters are no-risk. I said that natural stones carry a greater risk of discoloring or staining than man-made materials, and it would be a disservice to my clients if I didn’t point that out.

My last comment on this topic. I once again say it is incorrect to say "natural stones" in that context, since that incorporates the hundreds or even thousands of stones that are indeed impervious to problems. Think of the office buildings, monuments, plazas, memorials (Lincoln Memorial and Vietnam Veterans Memorial for example) made from various stones. Clearly you are set in your thoughts on the matter.

You are taking this way too literally lol. When I am discussing Oak vs. Pine, I do not discuss where else in the world those materials have been used, or the trees in my yard, I would be referring to stair treads, handrails, etc. When I say “natural stones”, I’m referring to the materials which I offer related to Kitchen & Bathroom renovations. Mount Rushmore is also a “natural stone”, and has no bearing in this context ie. K&B remodeling. So yes, if we are in fact including Mount Rushmore and the Lincoln Memorial in the natural stone conversation, then I apologize for my generalized criticism of natural stones LOL.

Capri:

The natural stoners are nearly cult-like in their devotion. While those of us from other aspects of the countertop universe have a more pro-and-con approach to different materials, the natural stoners struggle mightily there.

While you certainly need to know what is happening with your stone for the sake of your customers, I think it is more beautiful now!

Much prettier now!

Thank you all for the comments and interaction on this post!

Joseph Corlett, “the natural stoners” that’s great! Yes, I see that, but regardless, I am obligated to educate my clients on not only the pros of everything we sell/supply/install, but also the CONS. I won’t steer someone in a direction that doesn’t make sense for them. Our job as professionals is to listen to the wants and needs of clients, and design the best project for their lifestyle and budget.

Did you try the BKF? It may not penetrate deeply, but it could maybe reduce the red bear the surface?

I am looking at quartzite and I have to say, if those changes occurred in my home that I was not anticipating or wanting those colors, I would be extremely disappointed. What other quartzite stones have this potential to change colors over time? I am leaning toward Taj Mahal, Perla Venata, and would love your input if this happens with those stones as well.

I believe any natural stone has the ability to change over time. I was able to lighten the darkness of the veins with a few poultice applications and it certainly is less noticeable now, more of a pale pink than the dark deep brownish red you see in the photos above. Again, 99% of my kitchens use Quartz these days, so we don’t have to worry too much. I will say, we are just finishing a kitchen that we installed a Calacatta Quartzite and all was well except for one 13’ run in which the 2 pieces that were seamed together are off color from one another and my client was not pleased. It was imperceptible when looking at the slab as a whole, but when joining 2 pieces together it becomes apparent. We are working on a solution for them by cutting a 3’ section of stone out and replacing with an inserted butcher block cutting board.

You sound like a honest dealer. May the universe thank you for that. And while I absolutely love — and slightly prefer —the new countertop colors, I can understand that you might not. What a shock that must have been.