ECLIPSE STAINLESS OUT OF BUSINESS DECEMBER 2017

There are a lot of suggestions on maintaining your granite countertop. Here is one article I found searching the internet. The original article can be found here.

By Brian Gabriel

If you are considering having granite countertops installed in your home you want to know how to care for them so that they stay looking perfect. Granite countertops have a luxuriant, polished sheen and a smooth, natural beauty that is evocative of a rich timelessness. Their rugged durability and elegant look complement any interior design and especially lend themselves well to the rustic feel of a log home.

It’s important to know a few simple tips to care for your granite to keep it looking polished and new. You don’t want to use the wrong product and permanently damage your new countertops.

Short-Term Care

The most important thing to do is a simple daily wiping and cleaning. This is the same as you would do with any countertop, but it’s important to use the right cleaners for granite. Many cleaners are too acidic and can damage the sealant that is applied to granite countertops (more below). This can allow chemicals to seep into the pores of the granite and cause discoloration.

Choose a non-acidic cleaner, such as Formula 409 Natural Stone Cleaner, and you won’t have to worry about stripping the sealant from your granite.

Be very careful not to use an acid called HF or Hydrofluoric acid. It is used in many rust removers and it will severely dull, etch and pit a polished granite countertop surface.

Long-Term Care

In the long-term you should apply a sealant two times a year to seal the pores in the granite and protect the surface. This is as simple as wiping the sealant onto the granite and wiping it off.

One good sealant is called StoneTech BulletProof Stone Sealer, but for a cheaper alternative you can use plain old car wax.

With these simple steps you will keep your granite countertops gleaming with an understated elegance that is both functional and appealing.

If you enjoyed reading about granite countertops, you may want to read more about log home interior design.

Brian Gabriel is a licensed contractor, mechanical engineer and log home builder in the mountains of western North Carolina. He is the author and designer of the website Log Cabin Connection, created to offer advice, tips, ideas and resources related to log cabins.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Brian_Gabriel

If a sink is marketed as a 16 gauge sink you would think it would be about the same weight as all the other 16 gauge sinks on the market. You would be wrong.

Why?

Gauge is a measure to the thickness of sheet metal. For stainless steel the thickness should be .0625″ for 16 gauge and .0050″ for 18 gauge.

When you draw stainless sink from a 16 gauge sheet of stainless steel you are stretching the sides of the bowl out of the steel. This results much of the sink being substantially less than 16 gauge. Some manufactures are careful to talk about 16 gauge steel and sinks on separate lines on their brochures and never talk about a 16 gauge sink. It is perfectly legal even if deceptive. To create a 16 gauge sink you need to start with steel thicker that 16 gauge.

I have compared the Eclipse 18 gauge (18 gauge is lighter than 16 gauge) to a sink sold on the internet as 16 gauge. That sink is light than the Eclipse 18 gauge. Eclipse has documentation from independent labs regarding compliance with ASTM 112.19.3 and the gauge and grade of the steel. Others talk about it. Eclipse proves it.

A few years ago when ANO began talking about the fact that the major model codes require sinks to be certified to meet the ASTM requirement to fabricators other sink manufacturers said it did not matter but we began to see misleading practices to imply certification. Some sinks had sticker that said “meets UPC standards.” This did not mean they were certified to meet the standards only that the manufacturer who was already cutting corner was telling you that they met the standards. Also the standards require the certification be stamped on the sink. The sticker itself indicates it does not meet the standard.

Some sink importers claimed certification based on Chinese certification of the factory. One importer had brochures with a Chinese certification printed on the brochure. A few months later the brochures disappeared and I was told that they were recalled because the certifying agency forced them to recall the brochures because it was not the correct certification. The new brochure from the importer made no reference to certification.