Natural stone finishes: eight surfaces compared

At a glance

Descriptions are indicative: names and processes vary between makers. No gloss or slip values are given because none could be sourced; ask the stone workshop for gloss readings and pendulum results on your own sample.

Eight finishes on one sheet

A finish is the last step in making a stone surface, done after the slab is cut. It changes the look, the grip and the upkeep of the same stone, so a polished and a leathered piece of one slab behave like two materials. The drawing shows eight finishes on one sheet.

It is a drawing, not a photograph. The colour, veining and grain of your own slab decide how a finish really looks, so judge a finish from a sample of the actual stone, and write its reference into the specification.

Names: the same word does not always mean the same finish

Finish names are trade words, and one word can describe slightly different surfaces from one workshop to the next. Two published lists show the spread. Stone Federation Great Britain lists nine finishes in its guidance for homeowners: polished, honed, bush-hammered, flamed, sandblasted, leathered, broached, brushed and sawn. A Singapore government guide to natural stone finishes (Building and Construction Authority, 2018) lists polished, honed, sandblasted, abrasive and exfoliated (flamed), with antique, bush-hammered and natural cut as others.

• Leathered and brushed overlap. Leathered is usually a soft texture made with diamond brushes over a honed face. Some makers treat it as a kind of brushed finish and others use the two words for different textures.
• Antiqued shares ground with tumbled, aged and distressed. Ask what was actually done to the stone: tumbling, brushing, sanding or a mix.
• Matt can mean honed, or any finish that is not glossy.

The European standard for natural stone terminology, BS EN 12670, is where formal definitions would sit. We have not read it. Until then, treat each finish word as a request to see a sample.

Slip: what a finish can and cannot tell you

The rule of thumb is that rougher finishes grip better and polished grips least when wet, and published guidance agrees in outline. The Singapore guide says most natural stones have good slip resistance when clean and dry whatever their finish, but that slip resistance may drop when the surface is wet or contaminated, especially if it is polished.

It is only an outline, because the stone, the texture, the contaminant, the footwear and the cleaning all count. HSE's slip potential model names the floor material, cleaning, contamination, footwear, environment, use and behaviour. HSE's preferred test for floors is the pendulum test described in BS 7976. Its technical information sheet, Assessing the slip resistance of flooring, reproduces the UK Slip Resistance Group's 2011 bands: a pendulum test value (PTV) of 0 to 24 is high slip potential, 25 to 35 moderate and 36 or more low. It also gives roughness bands for water-wet pedestrian areas, measured as Rz: below 10 micrometres is high, 10 to 20 moderate and over 20 low, and a thicker contaminant needs more roughness. For shod pedestrians the sheet points to Slider 96 rubber, and for barefoot areas to Slider 55.

We give no pendulum value for any finish, because none of the sources we read gives one that holds across stones. Ask the stone workshop for a pendulum test on a sample from your approved slab, in the condition it will meet in use: wet, if water will reach it. BS EN 14231 is the European pendulum method for natural stone; it is named here, not read.

Marks, stains and cleaning

• Polished shows damage most. Scratches, and the dull marks left when an acid etches a calcite stone such as marble, limestone or travertine, show clearly on a gloss face. A honed or textured face hides the same dulling better. Our stone and marble guide recommends a honed face for a surface that will meet acid every day.
• Texture hides marks but holds dirt. Leathered, brushed, flamed and bush-hammered faces hide fingermarks and water spots, but dirt lodges in the texture and a rough face is harder to clean.
• Etching is about the stone more than the finish. A sealer buys time to wipe up a spill; it does not stop acid etching marble and does not make any stone immune to staining. Quartzite resists etching far better than marble (see quartzite worktops and surfaces).
• Cleaning. Stone Federation Great Britain advises regular cleaning with a pH-neutral cleaner, and says dull, etched or marked surfaces can often be refinished by a professional.

One point does not hold across sources: how porous each finish is. The Singapore guide describes a polished face as not porous and a honed face as more porous, and other trade writing disagrees on whether honed or brushed is the more porous. Ask the stone workshop to test a stain on a sealed sample of the real stone, with the cleaner you plan to use.

Which stone takes which finish

Any finish is a process applied to one stone, so the same word gives different surfaces on different stones: flamed granite and flamed limestone are not the same thing. The table shows typical practice, not a rule.

Typical trade practice, not a standard. Sources disagree about which stones suit a flamed finish, and a particular slab may or may not take a finish well. The stone workshop confirms what it can offer on your slab.

Common mistake: choosing a finish from a photograph of a different stone. Also say whether edges and cut-outs match the face, and approve the finish on a sample cut from the production slab, not from a catalogue piece.

Finish: [honed] on [stone name, quarry reference], to all exposed faces [and visible edges and cut-outs], to match approved sample [ref] cut from the production slab. Gloss reading [ ] GU on sample [ref], instrument and measuring geometry stated by the stone workshop. Finish applied after book-matching marks are set.

Floor surface to be tested on a sample from the approved slab, wet, to BS 7976 (pendulum), [Slider 96 / Slider 55 for barefoot areas]. Target pendulum test value [36] or more. Test report to be issued before fabrication; a failing result is to be resolved with a different finish or stone before work starts.

Approved sample [300 x 300 x [20]] mm, finished and sealed as the works will be, signed and dated, retained on site as the reference for the finish, colour and veining. Cleaning and sealing products to be those recommended by the stone workshop and the sealer maker.

Standards and sources

• HSE, Assessing the slip resistance of flooring (technical information sheet): tables 1 and 2 (PTV and Rz bands, from UKSRG 2011). Read 5 Nov 2026; web page updated 5 Jun 2023.
• BS 7976-1, -2 and -3: pendulum test, as cited by HSE. Named; not read.
• BS EN 14231: natural stone: slip resistance by the pendulum tester. Named; not read.
• BS EN 12670: natural stone terminology. Named; not read.
• Building and Construction Authority (Singapore), Natural Stone Finishes (Enhancement Series, 2018): finish descriptions and the slip-resistance statement quoted above. Read 5 Nov 2026.
• Stone Federation Great Britain, Natural stone in your home: list of nine finishes and cleaning advice. Page undated; read 5 Nov 2026.

Questions we are asked

What is the difference between honed and polished stone?

Both are ground with diamond abrasives. Polished is taken further and buffed to a mirror gloss; honed stops short, leaving a smooth, matt surface. Polished shows scratches and etching most clearly and can be slippery when wet. Honed hides them better. One guide describes honed as more porous than polished, so seal it and test a stain on a sample.

Is leathered the same as brushed?

Not always. Leathered usually means a soft texture made with diamond brushes over a honed face, and some makers class it as a kind of brushed finish, while others use the two words for different textures. Ask to see a sample and write its reference into the specification.

Which stone finish is the least slippery?

Rough finishes such as flamed and bush-hammered are the ones usually chosen where grip matters, especially outdoors. But the finish alone does not decide it: the stone, the contaminant and the footwear count too. HSE's preferred test is the pendulum, where a value of 36 or more is low slip potential. Ask for a wet pendulum test on a sample of your own stone.

Can marble be flamed?

Sources disagree. Flaming is usually described as suiting hard, crystalline stones such as granite, and marble is a softer calcite stone, so it is seldom flamed. Ask the stone workshop what it can offer on your particular slab.

Which finish hides etching and fingermarks best?

Honed and textured finishes hide the dulling left by acids, and leathered, brushed and similar textures hide fingermarks and water spots, but texture holds dirt. A sealer buys time to wipe up a spill; it does not stop marble etching.

Does the finish change the colour of the stone?

It changes how light reflects, so the same slab looks richer and deeper polished and flatter or paler when textured. Stone Federation Great Britain says a polished stone looks very different from honed, brushed or textured versions of the same material. Judge from a sample of the finish.