Quartz Worktop Repair
Quartz is a lovely surface to look at and feel and it’s great for kitchens but like all worktops it’s at its weakest on the open edges at the front of the units and around the sinks.
It usually has a whitish speckled finish and to repair this it’s a case of filling in the chips, then making the individual colours that constitute its spectrum of colours, then blending in a replicated pattern.
Like granite Quartz countertop chip repair can also be done in commercial situations like shops and restaurants. In fact we repair quite a lot of stone based materials that are used to dress door surrounds etc in offices.
Quartz worktop repair full step by step procedure:
We only repair chips in Quartz worktops.
We do not repair cracks.
We do not remove stains.
We do not repair burns.
We do not repair chemical damage.
The first action that is needed is to build up the individual colours that are needed for the section that is damaged. This is based on the spectrum of colours that exist on the general surface. This will usually require making several independent colours simultaneously and tinting and adjusting each.
Perception, judgement, experience, skill and a deftness of touch are required of the operator at all points of a worktop repair.
The second action of the repair is to prep the original surface so that it will accept a bond with the new material. There is no point in going to considerable lengths to reconstruct a part of something if it falls out later.
The next step is to replicate the form of the surface which means to rebuild the area that has been chipped with a colour pattern.
Sometimes it is best to incorporate the pigments into the filling compound; sometimes it is better to rebuild the area with filling compound and then, when it’s been faired to match the original contour, the colours are layered up. This filling and fairing step unusually needs to be repeated many many times in order to recreate a flawless reconstruction of the base material.
The next step, if one has not built the pigment into the filler, is to layer up the various colours into a similar pattern to the original in the area you are repairing. Every marble repair needs to be addressed individually.
You really have to be a bit an artist to do this well. Patience is a necessity as you just have to keep going until you get to the sweet spot where you know that one more adjustment will be too much and you will have to start again. Many repairs go like this so you have to have the patience to keep at it but know when it’s as good as it’s going to get.
When I get to a point that I don’t think I can improve on and think I might go backwards I confer with the client to make sure the result is fully acceptable to them before risking over-repairing.
The point is that the purpose of such a repair is that it will not flag up on a rental property check out survey but we can’t always hide it from the person who knows where it is and takes steps to study it in detail in reflected light.
As you can see it’s a complex procedure requiring many different materials and good judgment and an artistic touch.
I was on a new build property site de-snagging for a site agent last week and I repaired a number of nibbles out of a quartz worktop for him. What he said that made me laugh is what many people say that makes me laugh:
“I can’t even see where it was!”
As though that was not what should happen!
Get in Touch
07967 182 599
4 Halsbrook Rd, London SE3 8QY
Monday - Friday: 8am - 8pm
Saturday 8am–5pm
Sunday Closed