Soapstone with A & C CABINET

[Bob Marino]

Bob,

Our stone company has fabricated and installed a lot of soapstone. Here in the Southeast the standard overhang for countertops is 1.25 to 1.5 inches; however, when we fabricate for a furniture piece we typically go with 1".

Soapstone can be shaped with diamond hand pads, or a router. Finish work can be done with sandpaper and a scotchbrite pad. Be sure to wear your mask/respirator.

Are you going to seal the soapstone, or leave it unsealed?

Belinda,

Thnaks for the comments. I will seal it with mineral oil. I made a test roundover with my router and a rip with my saw - works well.

Bob

[Belinda Barfield]

Bob,

Failed to mention that you need to use carbide router bits on Soapstone. You probably already know this, but wanted to mention it just in case.

[Jim Becker]

Bob, mineral oil "conditions" the soapstone, but doesn't "seal" it. It also takes a long time and many applications to get the saturation level that "stays" in force. Since this is for furniture rather than a countertop, you could substitute a drying oil to provide the rich, dark color without the need to continually re-coat the stone as well as aleviate any transfer to objects you might set on it. Traditionally, this might be pure tung oil, but BLO will also work nicely. Do some tests on some scrap to see what you like the best.

[Belinda Barfield]

Jim is correct about mineral oil not being a sealer. It will "waterproof" the stone, but it can be messy. If you place a piece of paper on top soapstone treated with mineral oil, the paper can absorb oil from the stone. This can also happen with clothing, and may leave a stain. There is a stone treatment product called Ager that is a color enhancer. This product will also seal the stone, and leaves a nice matte finish. I have 15" soapstone caps on my porch rails and I use Ager rather than mineral oil to treat these. We eat outside a lot in the Spring and Fall! Will post pics if you would like. Even treated soapstone scratches easily. If you use mineral oil or Ager you can buff out the scratch and reseal that area only. You can get Ager (made by Tenax) from any stone supply company.