So, I am not at all handy and neither is my husband. Recently I have noticed that my granite counter top (4 years old) is dull and one section seems to have water stains - I can get rid of those but they seem to come back. I never use granite cleaners as I find they dull the finish. I use a clean sponge with just water and I dry and buff immediately with a cloth or paper towel. Anyway, I think i may need to re-seal the granite. Does anyone know, can a DIY challenged person do this easily or will I risk making things worse? Anyone have any suggestions on a good product. Or maybe I should ask pro to do it? 
Sealing granite is very simple - it’s just wipe on, wipe off. There are tons of good products on the market. Here’s a link with some good information and a product recommendation: http://www.countertopspecialty.com/granite-sealer.html
Thanks. But, although it says wipe on wipe off, I’m notorious for missing spots - like with self tanner. So if I miss spots, how bad will it look. I’m also not sure if my granite needs sealing. Its dark and its one section that gets water spots. I’m not sure if sealing helps that?
As far as I know, sealing granite won’t change the color. Mine is light, though, so I don’t know how it might act on a darker surface. Can you test a hidden spot and see?
Thoroughly clean the granite & before you go to bed pour some sealer on (consistency of water) and wipe down the entire surface. Continue wiping until ALL excess sealer is removed. Whole process takes maybe 10 minutes.
Our installer recommended using Cinch to clean the granite and that’s all we have used for the last 15 plus years with no issues.
I am not an expert but there are probably 100’s of varieties of granite with different levels of hardness and grain tightness which probably effects how well it polishes during fabrication.
Ours shines like the day we got it & sealing does not increase the shine.
That is a good idea. I will give it a try.
That’s kind of my problem - my granite is dark and I’ve done the lemon test and it’s fine. The water bead up test is good too in some spots but not others. I’m concerned I can to more harm than good!
Mine is like that. Some areas soak the sealer up, some areas don’t. Once an area is done absorbing the sealer, the rag just keeps moving it until it finds a spot that is still absorbing. After a while, there are no spots still taking it in. That’s when I use a fresh rag to be sure I get all the excess off & let it sit overnight.
I understand your concern given the cost of granite. To put your mind at ease you could have a professional granite fabricator come out, evaluate & seal it for you at a reasonable price. After watching them, you could then do it yourself in the future.
Thanks,Tom. I may actually have to go the pro route. Maybe I’ll test a small section first.
Is this the Cinch you are referring to? I was told no glass cleaner on Granite so I want to make sure before I look for it locally
Yeah thats the stuff.
You could also get advice on a cleaner from the professional who seals it for you.
I went on the company website and they say to wash surface with warm water then spray the cinch and wipe with dry cloth. I tried it - very nice!! Thanks for the tip!!
Glad it worked
There’s a simple way to ensure you don’t miss any spots. Assuming your counters are 24" deep, lay something of that length with a straight edge on the counter, say about 12" in from the end of the run. Apply sealer in the entire area, working from back to front, always overlapping. Now move the marker and do it again.
If that doesn’t provide enough of a guarantee for you, use a 4-6" interval. The key is overlapping strokes.
Duffy
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