Technical experience needed...

[Rory Donelson]

Recently we have experienced some issues with Black Absolute polished 2 cm and 3 cm. The problem is when we engrave an image on granite, there seems to be some type of sealer that bubbles up on the finish of the granite. My question is has anyone experienced this with any granite that you have engraved? If so, how did you deal with it? Is there any products that you used to take off the sealer?

Please advise. Thank you.

[Frank Corker]

Someone did report that there are some absolute black granite that is faked. It is sprayed with a type of dye. You might be experiencing such a piece.

[David Arana]

I had a similar problem with a piece of absolute granite as well.
I found that lowering the power and increasing the speed helped get rid of the problem. I think that whatever they put on it, its some kind of waxy almost clear coat polish.

[Rory Donelson]

Thank you David for responding to my question. If we may ask you?
At what setting did you engrave at?
We have three more projects that we will have to complete and we would like to not waste material.

Thank you,
Rory Donelson

[Belinda Barfield]

Rory,

I'm not aware of any sealer that would bubble up when you engrave the granite. That doesn't mean someone hasn't come up with some new treatment to darken stone. What you are dealing with is most likely a color enhancing impregnating sealer that is wax based. It is unusual to see this used on a polished granite as it can be difficult to remove from the surface, but it would help to seal in any dye that might have been used. If you are dealing with a wax based sealer there is nothing that I know of that will remove it from the stone.