Quartz and granite are the most popular materials for kitchen and bathroom countertops. The reason for that is that both are highly resistant to mechanical loads, such as high pressure or heat. If you are looking for new kitchen countertops, you want them to be able to resist accidental knife slips. So, which one is better in such circumstances, quartz or granite?

Quartz is ranked 7th on Mohs scale

Mohs scale is a scale that is used to measure the hardness of the material by its resistance to scratching. The materials are ranked from 1 to 10 from the lowest to the highest resistance, and quartz is ranked 7th. This means that quartz is highly resistant to scratching, but it is not entirely scratch proof. In everyday use, knives and sharp objects will not scratch your countertops easily. Granite, on the other hand, offers hardness between 6 and 6.5 on the Mohs scale.

Quartz is an engineered stone

Quartz is a man-made product that is made of 93% natural quartz and 7% resins. Such high quartz percentage is the reason why quartz is highly resistant to scratching. Granite is, unlike quartz, a natural stone, which makes it less resistant to other impacts, like resistance to staining.

You can cut directly on both

You can cut without using a board on both without any worries of scratching. Just be sure not to use too high pressure.

Removing scratches

However, if you have used high pressure that has left scratches on your quartz countertops, you can repair the damages with polishing compound. The polishing compound contains resin, one of the components of quartz countertops. The repair is easy and you can do it without professional help.
To remove the scratches from granite countertops, you will need steel wool. Gently scrub the scratched area with the steel wool. When you are done, you should do the sealing.

To conclude, both materials are highly resistant to scratching but are not entirely scratch proof. However, they will handle everyday use without any damages. Quartz is slightly better at resisting scratches because it is ranked higher on the scale of hardest minerals. Even when you use such high force and you scratch your countertops, you can remove the scratches easily.

For more information about the materials, please feel free to contact us and ask out everything you need to know.