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Repairing Chips and Cracks in a Countertop
Etching and staining, covered in Etching Versus Staining on Marble and Other Stone, change the surface. A chip or crack is different, because material is actually missing or split. Knowing the cause tells you how serious it is.
Chips
Chips usually appear at edges and corners, where a dropped pot or heavy jar hits a thin point. A small chip can often be filled with a color matched epoxy or resin made for stone. Save the fragment if you still have it, since it can sometimes be glued back in. Clean the area, fill it, level it and let it cure fully before using the counter.
Cracks
A short hairline crack at a sink or cooktop cutout often starts at a sharp inside corner, where stress collects. Cracks can also come from uneven support, a heavy item on an overhang, or sudden heat next to the cutout. Filling a hairline crack may be a cosmetic fix, but a crack that keeps lengthening or a counter that flexes under a load points to a support problem that filler will not solve.
Preventing a repeat
Use trivets and avoid sitting or standing on overhangs. Keep cabinets under the sink and cooktop level and fully supported.