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August 9, 1998

Topic: Corian

Guests: Doug Groves, Pres. Carapace Corp.

Mike Van Splinter, Dir. Env. Services, Foxwoods Resort Casino

Stepping in for Elaine as host of the show, Don McAndrews

Don: Interesting show today…maintenance, cleaning…in our house we have a cherry table that needs to be oiled by hand and a floor that has to be paste waxed…this gentleman takes maintenance to the extreme; his place is open to 50,000 guests each day…introduce Mike Van Splinter, Director of Environmental Services at FOXWOOD RESORT CASINO in Connecticut…

Don: Not the best value in buying the least expensive…

Mike: Functionally we like to separate price from cost…price is what you pay…cost is what it costs in the long run…even if it’s cheaper, it can cost more…weird house here…32 years in health field…joke here: left health care and moved to casinos…all I did was change my form of gambling!…odds are better on roulette; 38:1…3 million sq. ft. of public area, 50,000 visitors on average per day…never close…we have a key someplace, but I’m not sure anyone knows where it is…broken, replace, repair is handles by maintenance engineering management…I handle environmental; recycling and cleaning of entire facility…

Don: Found out about you through an article in a Dupont magazine…primarily about your use of Corian…this has become a very cost-effective product for you…

Mike: When we were having a meeting of the design committee…whether I wanted marble or granite…I chose Corian…caused consternation…took the position that I could maintain Corian and repair Corian unlike granite without immense expense closing down guestrooms, closing down lavatories…we have 42 public lavatories here…468 toilets, sink enclosures, counters…take a beating here…

Don: Want to continue to operate…scratches?

Mike: The thing that I like about Corian…if you scratch it you can sand it, not lose any of the color…buff, shine, unlike granite…marble is terribly susceptible to acid; acid from lemons…think about the cocktails that are served that are high acid…

Don: Marble and granite are porous…

Mike: What really sold everyone…designer sent me three pieces: marble, granite and Corian…each one they had ground cigarettes, essentially trying to damage the surface…messenger brought them, a note said to send them back…I just cleaned the Corian with toothpaste and sent them back with the messenger…because the marble and granite were porous, they went back with some residual stain…toothpaste is really talc and flavoring…talc is a mild abrasive…like jeweler’s rouge…

Don: Doug Groves, President of the Carapace Corporation as well as Joe Comastro, the residential sales manager from Carapace Corporation…

Don: Mike, I’m interested to follow up, again, on how did you look at the various products and tested them…

Mike: I tend not to believe advertising because everybody’s got the best of everything…if I go out to buy a good car and everyone starts telling me this is almost like a Cadillac, I quickly come to the conclusion that I want a Cadillac because everyone is trying to imitate it…this is what I found with Corian…other products had serious drawbacks, but there almost like Corian…can’t afford to be almost…

Don: Elaine’s not known for her culinary skills…she picks good restaurants…she took a hot pot and set it on her countertop and totally ruined her countertop…here’s a lady who’s in the business, like the plumber who has a leak…damaged countertop…now has Corian…cigarette burns…

Mike: Yes, people put cigarettes on the edge of the counter…use toothpaste or a crème cleanser…if you have a granite or marble counter and it gets chipped…at home you might drop a razor or a bottle of shaving lotion…in a casino it could be from someone hooking the edge of a cap to open a bottle…if it’s granite or marble and you chip the edge we have to put the room out of service…wouldn’t rent a room like that to a guest…call in a company, dust wall the area, grind the surface, out of service for one or two days…unthinkable…

CALLER: MARIE (ROCKVILLE)…I HAD A HOT PAN, LOST CONTROL… HIT MY CORIAN AND DAMAGED IT…KILAMANJARO PATTERN…LEFT WHITE MARK THAT I CAN’T GET OUT…

Joe: Couple of things can be done…bring someone in to sand out that ding or make a pie-cut repair…do you have a cutting board left behind on the job?…MARIE: YES…Joe: good, then there’s color-match material…have you tried to sand it yourself?…MARIE: YES, I CALLED THE DEALER AND THEY TOLD ME TO USE THAT LITTLE SCOTCH PAD…DAMAGING, DULLING THE AREA AROUND IT, NOT RETURNING ANY OF THE COLOR…THOUGHT COLOR WAS THROUGH AND THROUGH…Joe: the color is through and through and sometimes you have to do a larger area with Scotchbrite pad and Ajax…heavy scratch use 180 grit sandpaper…MARIE: SHOULD I ATTEMPT IT OR IS IT MORE REASONABLE TO BRING SOMEBODY IN?…Joe: you can attempt, use the 180 and try to get the area where it’s scratched, then take the Scotchbrite pad and Ajax and do a larger area…blend…MARIE: WHY DO I HAVE WHITE SPLOTCHES?…Don: with any product, no matter how durable, there are limits, but the beauty is it is still reparable…Joe: without question…MARIE: I DO LOVE IT AND GET COMPLIMENTS…Don: what do you think would have happened if your counter were laminate…you’d be buying a new countertop!…Mike: granite would have chipped and you would live with the raw edges or replace it or spend some very serious money on grinding…I would use 180 emery paper with water…smoother sanding surface…Don: she can give it a shot and if she’s not happy with it, she can call in a professional…feather it in…

Mike: Even in the extreme case of replacing…with my experience in the health field, I just love it in the OR, better than stainless steel…when you do have to repair or cut it…invisible seams…bacteria won’t grow…

CALLER: STEVE (ALEXANDRIA)…HAVE 12 YEAR OLD KITCHEN…CORIAN WITH CAULKED ON BACKSPLASH…SEPARATED…WHAT DO YOU DO TO FIX?…Joe: take a razor and break that caulk line to remove backsplash…clean…denatured alcohol..get residue off countertop, deck and backsplash…tube of Dupont Corian silicon…reinstall putting bead of silicon…

Doug: Fabricators use cove backsplash…cannot be done with laminate or stone…it’s top and backsplash are fused together by joint adhesive system…no silicon, no grout, cleaner look…eight year old technology…

CALLER: JACK (BETHESDA)…AT LEAST TEN YEARS AGO WE HAD A CORIAN KITCHEN COUNTER PUT IN AND SINK…ALSO CORIAN…NO SEAMS…LISTENING TO PROGRAM…FOR YEARS HAD STAIN IN SINK…JUST USED TOOTHPASTE AND THE STAIN’S GONE…REALLY PLEASED…LIVE ALONE; DON’T TAKE TOO MUCH CARE…SINK SMELLS SO GOOD NOW!

Joe: Just to add…people who properly maintain their Corian will get a lot of years of great use…18 years…still performing…

Doug: We have a 10 year installed warranty with Corian…warranty is a term probably overused…product that’s been made for25 years with a 10 year installed warranty…300 year old company…what you get performs the way you want it to…two parts to an installation; Dupont material and the other is fabrication and installation which is done locally by certified fabricators…stand behind the fabrication and installation for 10 years…

CALLER: CAROLYN (MC LEAN)…HAVE STAIN IN SEAM…SIX MONTH OLD CORAIN…LOOKS LIKE COFFEE…TRIED THE TOOTHPASTE WHILE I WAS WAITING; DIDN’T WORK…NEED ADVICE…Joe: Take some Ajax or Comet …CAROLYN: DONE THAT..DONE BLEACH…Joe: Give the 1-800 –4CORIAN a call and get a warranty agent out…try 180 grit sandpaper…don’t stay right on stain…circular motion…

CALLER: MARY (ALEXANDRIA)…HAD CORIAN COUNTER…STOVE INSTALLED HALF INCH BELOW CORIAN COUNTER; NOT FLUSH…WHEN I USED LARGE FRYING PAN, THE HEAT WOULD GO TOWARD THE CORIAN…SOUNDED LIKE A GUN GOING OFF…Joe: heat transferred…stove butts up against Corian…MARY: NOT A MANUFACTURER’S PROBLEM…CONTRACTOR…OVER THE GUARANTEE OF ONE YEAR…FOURTEEN MONTHS AFTER…IVORY COLOR…SOLID…DIFFERENCE IN COLOR WHICH STILL EXISTS…NOT NICE EXPERIENCE…HAD TO PAY TO RAISE THE STOVE…NOW FLUSH…

Joe: most other countertop surface that countertop would have been ruined and would have to be replaced…all certified fabricators leave a piece behind in case of repair…she doesn’t have a burn mark anymore…Doug: in the case of a large pot touching the counter…Mike: granite would have cracked or ended up with a real fire hazard…range installation was the problem and Corian was the saving grace…

Don: Mike, you have some unusual installations…

Mike: Foxwoods is located in Connecticut woods…rests in the environment…walk into main lobby…two-story columns that everyone admires as granite, but they are, in fact, curved Corian…shaped by heating…use Corian on baseboards…people think it’s marble…around planters; finish shelving…damage resistance…areas where we have cherrywood planters where rolling stock can bump…

Don: What is Corian?

Joe: Three key ingredients…methylmethacrylate which is an acrylic, natural mined material that comes from bauxite ore called aluminumtrihydrate, ATH, and pigment…

Don: Acrylic used on cockpits…tough material…

Doug: As well as paint on cars…will not fade…same reason Corian doesn’t fade or crack…

Don: Want to mention HOME INNOVATIONS does have website…in process of building that site…

Mike: For people considering home renovations…can’t go wrong with Corian…unconventional uses…doorsills, baseboards, seamless, washable, damage resistant material…

Don: Do you have any flooring?

Mike: The only flooring we have is using it on doorsills…hotel is on the drawing boards…considering Corian flooring…

Joe: Wonderful application for windowsills…

Doug: More traditional uses in kitchens…great for wetwall areas…shower, tub surrounds…cleaned with mild abrasive…squeegee soap down…nonporous…real performer compared to other materials…

Don: Don’t have time to take the call, but JEAN from Silver Spring was on line to ask if Shower Clean works on Corian…almost any abrasive cleaner can be used…is there anything that will hurt Corian?

Joe: Paint remover, but if you spilled on Corian and flushed it immediately…don’t let it sit…