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Polishing a Bullnose Edge on a Granite Countertop
By: Danny Lipford 
I had new granite installed in my bathroom and the bullnose edge is dull. The granite installers told me it’s just the way some granite species are. Is this true? – Gary
Hi Gary,
While it’s true that granite can occasionally have a dull vein here or there, the fact that the top is polished means the edge can be just as shiny. With a bullnose edge molding, though, a little extra time and effort has to be taken to get it right.
The rounded edge on the bullnose trim makes getting a uniform finish more difficult, since the angle grinder used to polish it has to be rotated to produce an even surface. Make sure your granite installers progress slowly from coarse to very fine grit on the sanding pads in the following sequence: 50 grit, 100 grit, 200 grit, 400 grit, 800 grit, 1500 grit, 3000 grit.
If they won’t do the added work it takes to polish the granite bullnose right, have another professional stone finisher tackle the job, and deduct the cost from the installer’s invoice!
Good luck with your project,
Further Information
- How to Polish Granite (article)
- How to Install a Granite Tile Countertop (article)
- Granite Countertops for Your Kitchen (video)
- How to Join Seams in Granite Countertops (video)
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April 8th, 2011 at 10:16 pm
I have new granite called Uba Tuba. Installed yesterday, the fabricator polished it with Pledge. This gave it a very smudged look…and it is hard to see any flaws. How can I get a clean smudge-free counter that won’t hurt the sealer?I also have an extremely dull edge which is demi-bullnose. (looks like someone took sandpaper to most of it) He said that it might be the sealer soaking in to the edge. Also, he said that I would never have to seal this again.
What are your thoughts?
Thanks!