The same piece of granite takes on a completely different character depending on its surface finish. For buyers of decorative stone, finish directly affects slip resistance, stain resistance, and outdoor durability. The three most common finishes on Chinese decorative stone are polished, flamed, and lychee.
Polished Finish
A polished finish is produced by grinding the stone through multiple stages of abrasion and buffing to a mirror-like effect. It brings out the stone's natural colour and veining to the fullest, making dark stone appear deeper and light stone more luminous. In decorative stonework, polished finishes are used mainly for indoor ornaments and carvings where fine detail matters — white marble Buddha statues, granite planters, stone lanterns, and fountains are typical applications.
The limitation is outdoors: the higher the gloss, the more slippery the surface becomes when wet. Prolonged exposure to acid rain or coastal salt spray can also gradually dull the surface of some dark granites.
Flamed Finish
A flamed finish is created by exposing the stone surface to a high-temperature flame. The heat causes surface crystals to pop off, leaving a uniformly rough texture. This is the most widely used outdoor finish for Chinese granite, with lower production cost than the other two.
Its key advantage is slip resistance. The rough surface retains excellent friction even in rain or standing water, making it the default choice for garden paving stones, stepping stones, and step treads. Aesthetically, it appears matte and one shade lighter than polished — an effect some designers use by alternating flamed and polished surfaces for contrast. Flamed finishes work best on medium-to-fine grained granites such as sesame white and sesame grey.
Lychee Finish
A lychee finish is produced by hammering the stone surface with a specialised tool, creating densely packed, uniformly shallow pits — named for its resemblance to lychee skin. Unlike flaming, this is a cold process that does not alter the stone's crystal structure or produce colour shift.
Slip resistance is comparable to flamed, but visually it is more restrained. The fine pitting reads as a matte plane from a distance, revealing the hammer marks only up close — a quality that suits modern minimalist gardens. Production cost is slightly higher than flaming due to the longer hammering time. On decorative carvings, it is often applied to sculpture bases, pedestals, and non-display faces of stone lanterns where a tactile finish is wanted without visual distraction.
How to Choose
Indoor ornaments, Buddha statues, lantern bodies — polished, to showcase colour and detail. Outdoor paving, stepping stones, step treads — flamed, for slip resistance and cost-effectiveness. Modern minimalist paving or areas where neither gloss nor heavy texture is wanted — lychee. Multiple finishes can also be combined on a single piece. The key is to match the finish to the actual conditions in which the product will be used.
Post time: Jul-15-2026