Whiteout pen

[Seth]

I recently purchased a green prearl granite island and the fabricators used a whiteout pen to mark the line of where the curves start and end.  So I have 2 long lines down the middle of my countertop.  I guess it wasn't sealed before, because the whiteout is inside the pits of the surface and I cant get it out with steel wool or a razor blade.  How can I get rid of this?  Thanks!

[Mark D.]

Try mixing some diatamaceous earth with denatured alcohol, leaving it a soupy paste. Put it on the stone over the marks and cover with wet paper towels, then cover it with plastic wrap to keep the moisture in. Let it sit overnight and the marks will be either gone or smaller. If smaller repeat the next night.
This is a poutice which will reactivate the stain and draw it into the DE.
When the stain is completely gone rinse thoroughly.
By the way, if you had used a quality contractor he would not only have known how to do this, he would have left your counter in pristine condition!

You said "I guess it wasn't sealed before" - is it sealed now? If not you should seal it. For an excellent quality low cost product you can try Hydrex. It is easy to use and leaves no residue on the stone. Here is the link:
http://www.defusco.com/Tenax-Impregnator-And-Sealer-1-Quart

For daily cleaning of your natural stone we suggest tenax countertop cleaner as it is a Ph balanced cleaner that will never hurt your stone nor remove any sealers from it. You can find it here:
http://www.defusco.com/Tenax-Countertop-Cleaner-For-Stone-32Oz


Glad to be of service,
Mark

[Aaron]

If you have access to a stone CNC the solution is within your reach. The very fine silt,a by-product of tooling the stone, works very well to remove the white pen. Take a hand full of the sand-like material,add water,then with a rag, gently scrub. The sludge should remove the marker without dulling the finish on most granite and quartz surfaces. Try a tiny patch to test your stone vs. sludge.