What is the difference between man-made stone and quartz stone?
Stone material is a common material we use for food display countertop. What is the difference between the two? In fact, quartz stone also belongs to man-made stone. Man-made stone belongs to a large category, and they are all man-made stones made by equipment. But people are accustomed to calling ordinary calcium powder board or aluminum powder board, composite acrylic and other stones as man-made stone, and classify quartz stone.
1. Classification of artificial stone:
Generally speaking, there are five categories of man-made stone, ordinary slabs, crystal jade slabs, aluminum powder slabs, composite acrylic slabs, pure acrylic slabs, and quartz slabs. Stone countertop generally include man-made stone and natural stone. Natural stone contains minerals and heavy metal radiation, so it is best used in open indoor or outdoor areas, such as hotel bank lobbies or squares.
Man-made stone is roughly divided into man-made acrylic stone and man-made quartz stone. Of course, there are also some new types of stone, but they are basically a small group. Each business has a different name and it is difficult to classify.
There is no good or bad distinction between acrylic stone and quartz stone. They have different compositions and characteristics. Therefore, when purchasing, you must know which characteristics of the countertop you value more and make the choice between acrylic and quartz stone.
2. Characteristics of acrylic stone:
As the main countertop material in the current cabinet market, acrylic stone has beautiful processing shapes, mainly arc-shaped backstops, absolutely seamless splicing and special-shaped processing, which cannot be achieved with quartz stone. In addition, acrylic stone has better toughness than quartz stone, especially pure acrylic is the best.
The advantages are:
The splicing is seamless, the shapes are changeable, the colors are diverse and soft, and problems are easy to repair. After being used for a long time, it can be polished again and it will be as bright as new.
The disadvantages are:
The hardness is slightly worse than that of quartz stone. If rough objects rub against the countertop, it will easily damage the brightness of the countertop. Composite acrylic can withstand high temperatures up to around 90 degrees, while pure acrylic can withstand temperatures up to 120 degrees. But do not touch overheated objects for a long time.
3. Characteristics of quartz stone:
The hardness and wear resistance of quartz stone are better than those of acrylic stone, and its heat resistance is better. However, whether it is acrylic stone or quartz stone, hot pots cannot be placed directly on the countertop. Thermal expansion and contraction will cause local molecular structure Variety. Whether it is quartz stone or acrylic stone, if you do not use a pot holder and place high-temperature objects directly on the countertop, over time, the surface exposed to high-temperature objects will be different from the bright parts of other countertop.
The advantages are:
It is more resistant to high temperatures and scratches than man-made stone.
The disadvantages are:
The shape is single, complex shapes are not allowed, and problems and bumps are difficult to repair. Because of the high hardness and density of quartz, it cannot be seamlessly spliced and it is not easy to make complex shapes.
4. The difference between artificial stone and quartz stone
First of all, man-made stone will easily and naturally burst, which is its fatal weakness. Secondly, man-made stone is not very hard and wear-resistant. The hardness of man-made stone is only greater than that of wood and hard plastic, and metal can easily scratch its surface. This causes many scratches on the surface of man-made stone countertop after being used for a period of time, and requires re-polishing to restore them to their original appearance.
(1) Man-made stone has poor heat resistance. Accidentally placing a hot pan on the countertop during cooking can cause serious damage, so you need to be careful when using it.
(2) The surface of man-made stone is prone to chemical reactions with other chemicals, causing local discoloration. If colored plastic bags are placed on a humid countertop, the color will react with the countertop surface, causing the color to stick to the countertop and become impossible to clean off. If tea stains are not cleaned in time, they will leave white marks that cannot be removed.
(3) Dust in the processing and installation of man-made stone is another disadvantage. Today’s man-made stone processing rarely uses water saws and water grinders. The dust during processing is extremely large. Even if workers wear protective tools such as masks, they still cannot stop the dust. This is serious damage to the health of workers and is not conducive to The development of man-made stone industry. In addition, during the cabinet installation process, on-site polishing and polishing will also create a lot of dust.
Quartz stone: resistant to high and low temperatures, with obvious joints.
(1) Quartz stone is extremely hard, scratch-resistant and wear-resistant. Iron objects such as shovels, wallpaper knives, and steel balls cannot scratch it.
(2) Quartz stone is extremely resistant to high temperatures and fire. Natural quartz crystal stone is a typical refractory material with a melting point as high as over 1300 degrees. 95% of quartz stone made of natural quartz is fully flame retardant. It will not burn due to exposure to high temperatures, and it also has high temperature resistance properties that are unmatched by artificial stone and other countertop. Hot pots will not affect it.
(3) Quartz stone has better stability: strong acid and alkali resistance, corrosion resistance, and can resist the corrosion of concentrated sulfuric acid and strong alkali.
(4) The processing dust of quartz stone is small, and dust-free installation can basically be achieved. Quartz stone processing uses water saws and water mills, which greatly reduces dust. During the installation process, there is no need to polish the area. Through precise measurement, all processes except on-site splicing are completed in the factory, which greatly reduces the dust on the installation site and basically achieves dust-free installation.
Whether it is man-made stone or quartz stone, each has its own advantages and disadvantages. The material composition determines the quality. Quartz stone is more expensive than man-made stone but not mean better than man-made stone. You can choose it according to your specific needs.
