How to Lighten Granite Countertops?

Despite the remarkable strength and resilience of granite countertops, they might get dark enough not to match their remaining lighter parts anymore.

What makes granite darken over time, by the way? When you’re not taking proper care of your countertops by not cleaning the food, oil, and beverages residues properly, granite’s original color and clarity fades away.

The ultimate result is that the countertop gets darker and darker gradually. Now there are two ways to fix this issue.

Either you can darken all the remaining parts of your countertop that are still light to make the entire thing consistent. Or you can lighten the darker areas by following a simple technique.

Let’s discuss both ways to fix the darkening of granite!

Fixing Granite Countertop by Darkening!

Firstly we’re going to talk about how to darken the remaining lighten parts of your granite countertop so you can get an overall consistent appearance!

Things You Need:

• Stone Color Enhancer
• Baby Oil
• Clean White Rags

Step-By-Step Guide

• Firstly clean the granite countertop using any oven cleaner or any other cleaner properly.
• Splash a little amount of baby oil into the clean white rag. Make sure that you are using a clean rag because you will mess things out if it’s dirty.
• It’s time to rub the rag containing oil onto the lighter parts of your countertop. If there’s no proper sealing on the countertop, the oil may stain over it.
• Rub it until the counter darkens and you achieve the desired color. Ensure that all the light parts are dark to create a consistent dark color.
• Ensure the surface is free of debris or any dust before you move on to the next step.
• It’s time to apply a sound layer of Stone Color Enhancer to make the color permanent using another clean rag.
• Wait for at least 15 minutes to give enough time to let granite absorb the enhancer before you wipe off the excess one.

How to Lighten Granite Countertops?

Let’s get right into the business!

Things You Need

• Soap
• A clean cloth
• Oven cleaner -preferably containing sodium hydroxide
• Water

Step-By-Step Guide

There are two ways to get the job done; either using an oven cleaner or a soap solution. Let’s talk about both separately!

Using Oven Cleaner

Step 1

The first step in lightening a granite countertop is cleaning it using an oven cleaner by spraying a small amount of it onto a clean cloth.

But never sprinkle oven cleaner directly onto the darkened granite stone. Always keep things mild by absorbing the cleaner in the cloth and then rubbing it on the granite surface.

Step 2

How about if we apply this onto a small hidden area of the countertop to test the results? Sounds interesting, right! Then don’t hesitate in taking the start from a small space.

If the results are satisfactory, then you can move on with these further steps.

However, if luck isn’t with your right now and you don’t get desired results, you should better go for the darkening method mentioned above instead of lightening.

Step 3

If the test goes positive, you can continue rubbing the cloth on the surface, working in smaller sections. It’s better to target smaller parts instead of going for the whole surface because your focus remains.

Step 4

Once you are done applying the oven cleaner, it’s time to wipe it off using soap mixed with water.

Just like you started applying oven cleaner onto a smaller patch, immediately wipe it with a soap solution before you move onto the next part.

It will prevent further absorption of oven cleaner in the stone that may continue it lighten beyond your demand.

The ultimate result would be a lighter patch that will even be lighter than granite’s original color.

Step 5

Once you’re done with the process, inspect the countertop as the final step to ensure no dark area is left behind. There’s a chance that you may need to reseal it and start the process again.

Using Soap Solution

Regular cleaning demands nothing more sophisticated than liquid dish soap mixed with a sufficient amount of water.

It’s not necessary that your granite countertop has darkened due to light only, and it demands much effort to regain its original condition back.

There are good chances that darkening might have occurred due to improper cleaning. A mild soap solution, along with a bit of effort, would be more than enough to treat it.

Step 1

Take a sponge and soak it in water. Add a decent amount of liquid soap into the center of the sponge when soaked.

Keep in mind that despite being a sturdy stone, granite is prone to scratches.

If you want to maintain its shine and sleekness, use a soft sponge or a soft microfiber cloth that doesn’t scrub the surface abrasively.

Step 2

Once you mix the soap well into the sponge, squeeze it to excrete extra soap until bubble forms. Now it’s time to rub it onto the surface and massage over the darkened area gently to form the suds over the surface.

Wring the sponge out once you see the suds to prevent over abrasion on this highly absorbent stone.

Step 3

It’s time to wipe off the countertop using a smaller circular motion.

Dried stains of food or oil splatter are pretty stubborn, so you must be persistent with these non-abrasive methods unless you remove them.

Once you wipe the counter, you have to dry it completely. It’s essential because granite may get water damage if it is remained wet for quite longer. Moreover, drying leaves an eye-catching shine on the stone.

Additional Tips to Lighten Graphite Countertops

• If you accidentally add too much stone color enhancer, there’s nothing to worry about; you can remove the excess using mineral spirits.
• It’s always worth applying a stone color enhancer before sealant. If you have sufficient time, you can even wait for 24 hours to apply sealant.
• If you don’t succeed with any of the tips mentioned above, the least you can do to maintain integrity is spread the dark color bed sheet onto the lighter area. The color should be as same as darkened parts of the countertop. At last, shine it by lighting a UV light bulb on that area. Do this every night until the area is shaded enough to match.

Conclusion

We can’t resist the darkening of granite countertops because they darken over time upon exposure to light, food residues, and oil spillage.

A sufficient amount of care is needed to maintain them and bring them back to the original.

However, if you ignore this darkening initially, it would be much harder to regain its original color and shine back. Follow any of the above methods and, with a bit of effort, get the job done.