Sorry to hear our sample did not meet your expectations. The "white colored sublayer" you are referring to is not worn down or scuffed off, our panels are hand painted and the white is intentional as it mimic's real stone. The panels are also actually quite durable, while you can scratch it intentionally, we have conducted many durability tests including throwing our panels off a second story balcony and running them over with a truck, both of which GenStone was undamaged. In the end, we hope you find the right material for your project and hope if possible, you may reconsider GenStone.