Rancho Cucamonga Custom Countertops is San Bernardino County's trusted specialist in stone countertop polishing in Rancho Cucamonga, CA, specializing in etch removal, diamond honing and repolishing of marble, limestone and travertine. We offer spot etch repair and full surface restoration for tops that have lost their shine.
Get a free template visit or a bid
Or call (909) 922-1858. Calls only, we do not receive text messages.
Our team provides countertop finish matching on site, delivering an even polish or a consistent honed look for kitchens and baths and restored surfaces for both residential and commercial projects. The same crew that diagnoses each mark does the honing, and the work is backed by a written warranty.
From working a single wine-glass ring down through finer diamond pads to blending a restored patch into the untouched polish around it, our team handles every detail. Serving Rancho Cucamonga, Glendora, Claremont and Chino Hills, we bring the equipment to your kitchen and leave the stone with one even finish.
How we work
Homeowners get a free template visit. Contractors, cabinet shops and builders get tops to their schedule.
An etch on a marble countertop in Rancho Cucamonga is a dull, lighter mark where acid has eaten the polish off the surface; a stain is a darker mark where something has soaked into the stone. Polishing removes an etch, while a stain has to be drawn out with a poultice, so naming the mark correctly decides the fix. Marble is made mostly of calcite, a calcium carbonate mineral that dissolves in acids. Lemon juice, wine, tomato sauce, vinegar, soda and many bathroom cleaners react with that calcite on contact and leave a rough, matte ring or drip mark. Wiping it does nothing, because the mark is a change in the surface texture, not something sitting on it.
Look at the mark from a low angle toward a window. If it is dull and lighter than the stone around it, and you can feel a slight roughness with a fingertip, it is an etch. If it is darker than the stone and smooth to the touch, it is a stain from oil, wine or coffee that has been absorbed. A mark can be both: red wine can etch and stain in the same spot.
Granite, which is made mostly of quartz and feldspar, is prized for its natural acid resistance and rarely etches. Engineered quartz does not etch either. If your top is one of those and shows dull patches, the cause is usually a film of residue or hard water, which is a cleaning job, not a polishing job.
Etch removal is done in place by honing the damaged area with a sequence of diamond abrasives, then polishing it back up to match the finish around it. There is no need to remove the top, and most kitchens are back in use the same day. Light etches, the faint rings from a glass, often come out with a polishing compound alone. Deeper etches, the rough patches left by a spilled cleaner or a bottle of vinegar left standing, need the stone honed down past the damage first. Each finer grit removes the scratches of the last until the surface is ready for the final polish.
A single ring can be treated as a spot. When etches are spread across the top, restoring the whole surface gives a more even result than chasing dozens of patches that each look slightly different. We show you a test area before committing to either approach.
Honing is done wet to control dust and slurry, and cabinets, walls and floors are masked before any work starts. The slurry is collected and removed, not rinsed into your sink drain.
A honed marble finish hides etching far better than a polished one, because the surface is already matte and a dull etch blends into it. On a high polish, the same acid mark stands out as an obvious dull patch.
That gives marble owners a real choice during restoration. Polishing brings back the mirror shine the top had when it was new, and it will show the next etch as clearly as the last. Converting to a honed finish trades some shine for a surface that ages gracefully in a busy kitchen, where etches become part of a soft, even patina rather than a series of spots.
Honed stone can absorb stains a little more readily, so a converted top is tested for absorption afterward and sealed if it needs it. Sealing is a separate service and does not prevent etching.
Stone polishing and etch removal in Rancho Cucamonga is typically estimated at roughly $200 to $600, with the depth of the etches, the area to be restored and the finish you choose moving the price most. A few light rings on a vanity sit at the low end; a full kitchen restored to a high polish sits at the top.
Deep etches that need several honing passes take longer than surface rings. A whole-top restoration costs more than a spot repair but usually looks better when the damage is widespread. Converting a polished top to honed, removing stains with a poultice at the same visit, and resealing afterward each add time. Masking a kitchen with finished floors or open shelving also adds a little.
All of these figures are estimates for Rancho Cucamonga and may change with the condition of the stone. We set the final price in a written quote after seeing the marks and agreeing on the finish.
The simplest way to keep a restored marble top free of etches is to wipe acids off quickly and clean only with a mild, pH-neutral soap. Vinegar-based and citrus cleaners etch marble even when they are sold as natural.
Use coasters under glasses of wine or juice, a board for cutting citrus, and a tray under oil and vinegar bottles. In the bathroom, keep toiletries with acids off the vanity top. None of this makes marble immune, but it slows the return of the rings and stretches the time before the next polish.
Hard water is common here, and some people reach for acidic descalers to remove mineral rings around the faucet. On marble that trades a mineral ring for an etch. We point you to a stone-safe cleaner for those deposits instead.
Commercial marble in reception desks, restaurant bars and hotel vanities etches faster than a home top because it sees more acid and harsher cleaners. Businesses in Rancho Cucamonga use restoration to bring those surfaces back without replacing them.
We can schedule work around opening hours and treat several surfaces in one visit. Where staff use acidic cleaners, we recommend a stone-safe product so the restored finish lasts longer.
The process
Four steps, and nothing is cut until you have approved the slab and the seam layout.
Homeowners book a free template visit. Contractors and builders send plans and a finish schedule for a bid.
You pick the material and the slab, and we mark where every seam will fall before it is approved.
We template on your installed cabinets, then cut, edge and polish the tops in the shop.
The same crew sets the tops, fits the sink, joins the seams and leaves the room clean.
Questions
Etch marks are removed by honing and polishing the stone with diamond abrasives until the surface matches the finish around it. Cleaning products cannot remove them, because the polish itself has been dissolved.
An etch is dull, lighter and slightly rough; a stain is darker and smooth. Etches are polished out, while stains are drawn out with a poultice.
Etch removal and polishing is typically estimated at roughly $200 to $600 in Rancho Cucamonga, depending on the depth of the marks and the area restored. Your written quote sets the final price.
No. Sealer slows staining, but etching is an acid reaction with the calcite in the stone, and sealer does not stop it.
Rarely. Granite is made mostly of quartz and feldspar and resists acid. Dull patches on granite are usually residue or hard water film, which is cleaned off rather than polished out.
If the kitchen is busy and etches keep returning, a honed finish hides them far better. If you prefer the original shine and the top sees light use, repolishing keeps the look.
Yes. All honing and polishing is done in place, with the area masked and the slurry collected, and most kitchens can be used again the same day.
Yes. We polish and restore stone tops in Rancho Cucamonga and nearby cities including Glendora, Claremont, Upland and Chino Hills.
Homeowners get a free template visit. Contractors and builders can send plans for a bid.
Licensed, bonded & insured · License #585047. Calls only, we do not receive text messages.
