Putty or silicone?

[Sc0tt28]

Hi,

I'm in the middle of replacing my kitchen faucet and the instructions in the manual say to use plumber's putty.

As a side note, if I remember correctly, the plumber that installed the original faucet used silicone.

So anyway...I was looking into getting some putty however, I couldn't help but notice that it says not to use it on stone (granite/quartz/etc.) countertops, which I have. On the other hand, the faucet is connected to the sink, not the counter and so no putty should come in contact with the counter right??

My next concern is that the putty says to not use it with plastic. Well, the instructions say to apply putty to the plastic plate that secures the deckplate to the sink.

This is probably a very minor detail but I really am kinda clueless here and so any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I suspect I may hear differing opinions and so I look forward to hearing from anyone that may have some input.

Thank you!

 

[frodo]

puddy, not silicone on the drain also

 

[Sc0tt28]

Thank you. Thankfully I don't have to replace the drain...just the faucet. Hard water has made the faucet fairly immovable which then caused part of the hose to break, making using the sink far more frustrating.

Thanks again.

 

[Mr_David]

putty is oil based and when used on natural stone tops will discolor the stone around the fixture. look for a no stain putty specifically designed for using on stone tops. Not an oil base. The plastic under the fixture will be fine with the standard putty.
Don't use silicone. it makes a mess and hard to clean off the excess.

 

[ServicePlumb]

Use putty, silicone is messy and makes harder to remove later down the line