Should You Mind Resin on Your Marble and Granite?
Natural stone is supposed to be pure, and as the name goes, “natural”. You would think that when you get marble and granite, it would come in its pristine state. That may be true in the past, but now you find that most natural stone are treated with resin. Now, does that lower the value or “purity” of natural stone?
It may depend on who you ask. Purists would like to get their stones unprocessed, but there are very good and valid reasons for using resin curing on marble and granite.
Resin curing is an industry standard for the past 10 – 15 years. Using resin resolves a lot of issues with regards to small cracks, holes, and imperfections that are naturally found in natural stone. Resin enters these cracks and reinforces the stone while also improving appearance and color. It also allows for the stone be cut in thinner slabs which helps the polishing process. And since more slabs can be generated, the cost of natural stone is also decreased.
In the long run, resin curing makes owning marble and granite countertops more accessible to everyone. This makes it easier for people to choose natural stone to adorn their bathrooms, kitchen countertops, fireplaces, and vanity areas. And though lesser in cost, durability is not affected in anyway. If anything, durability is even increased due to resin curing.
Aside from being made more affordable to the public, resin curing also adds more flexibility to natural stone. Before, you can only work with thick slabs of marble and granite for countertops. Thanks to resin and the thinner cuts, designers now have more room to fabricate and work on different surface areas. Fabricators also have more freedom to cut shapes and dimensions that would better fit a home’s existing design.
Of course, not all is good about resin. There are cases where resin affects the color of the stone, and when added with certain sealers, makes the stone’s texture cloudy. But these can easily be avoided so long as you know the resin used and whether a sealer is compatible with it. This setback is considered minimal compared to the benefits that resin gives.
In general, having resin is good for the natural stone industry. Most probably than not, without resin, most people won’t have stone countertops in their homes due to cost and installment limitations. You still have the option to go “pure”, but having resin on natural stone does not lessen its value at all.
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