Before you try anything: always speak to a professional before cleaning, treating or applying any product to your stone. Every slab is different, and the wrong product can cause permanent damage. Contact us or a qualified stone restorer first.
Quick answer
Porcelain does not etch from kitchen acids the way marble does. Porcelain does not react with kitchen acids, so it does not etch. So a dull or cloudy mark usually has another cause: cleaner residue or hard-water film on the glaze.
First, check what you are dealing with
- Dull mark that wipes away with warm soapy water: residue.
- White crust you can feel: hard-water deposit. See the hard water guide.
- Anything else: ask a repairer before trying abrasives.
What you need
- Warm water and dish liquid
- Microfibre cloth
- Lemon (for testing an offcut)
Step by step
Clean the area
Wash with warm soapy water and dry. Residue often looks exactly like a dull etch.
Check for deposits
Run a fingernail over the mark. A crust means minerals; see the hard water guide.
Think about what touched it
Most dull patches on this surface come from cleaners or water, not acid.
Get it assessed
A porcelain repairer can fill chips with colour-matched resin; scratches through the printed layer cannot be polished back.
What not to use on porcelain
- Scourers, steel wool and abrasive creams on a polished surface.
- Mixing cleaning chemicals, especially bleach with anything else.
When to call a professional
A porcelain repairer can fill chips with colour-matched resin; scratches through the printed layer cannot be polished back.
Understanding etch marks on porcelain
Porcelain does not react with kitchen acids, so it does not etch.
Porcelain problems are usually residue, metal marks, chips on edges, or scratches through a polished glaze.
A porcelain repairer can fill chips with colour-matched resin; scratches through the printed layer cannot be polished back.
Good to know
Porcelain cannot etch. Dull or cloudy patches are almost always cleaner residue or hard-water film that has built up over time.
Stop it happening again
Whether yours is large-format marble-look and concrete-look porcelain slabs, repairing it fixes today's mark; protecting it stops the next one. Our clear Stone Protection Film sits over the surface, so marks stay on the film, not the surface. Choose Gloss for polished porcelain or Matte/Satin for honed and matte finishes. The protection is identical. It is installed across Sydney with a 10-year written warranty.
How we protect porcelain · Fixing etch marks · Etch marks on every surface