Monday, February 1, 2010

Viola! New Countertops!

Before, boring tan laminate.Notice we had wood along the edges of the countertops.





With the cost of the kit, brushes, and a few other things, it cost about $278.00. Not too bad!

First, you sand...


just to be sure, sand a little more (it's actually very light sanding - you just need to make sure there's scratches all over the top)...


Next, paint on the black basecoat then quickly spread on the chips using a little hand machine exactly like you use to spread fertilizer on your lawn. See those chips all over the floor!


Then you let it sit overnight (that was the hardest part - waiting!), vacuum off the excess chips, and use a little plastic scraper to knock down any high chips and remove any loose ones. A light sanding and another vacuum then you put on the protective top coat.

It was much easier to do than I thought it would be, yet it was also much messier than it thought it would be too. But, I definitely think it was well worth the little effort and huge mess! Don't you think it looks better with the edges done too - make it really look like granite!


I love it! I think we'll do all the bathrooms too! Anyone else going to try it?

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

I've been waiting to see how your turned out. It looks great. I read that it is shinier with two coats of the topcoat. It sounds like you only used one. I will be doing my bathroom this weekend! Thanks.
Jen

JACKI said...

looks great! We're doin it!!!

Jodi said...

Great Jen, have fun and make sure you have a vacuum with a hose and soft brush attachment!

Jack, you'll love it! May want to have grama Val come over for the day to help keep Kole out of the chips on the floor.

kate said...

Oh my god, it looks FANTASTIC!! I LOVE the black! It really updates your kitchen so much. What do Ival and Adam think?

Thanks for bein' the guinea pigs! Now the rest of us know what to expect. I'd love to see a close-up of the countertop.

Sheri said...

Does it feel grainy or smooth to the touch? It really turned out nice but the mess would be a pain!

Jodi said...

I tried to get close ups but they weren't good. I'll keep trying.

Sheri, it's not as smooth as real granite but it's not grainy either. I think if you had a polisher, you could probably make it feel just like real granite! The mess wasn't fun, but hey, it made me hand vacuum with a brush, the entire kitchen floor. It was probably time I did that anyway!

I won't say it looks just like granite, but for the price, it sure looks a heck of a lot better than the laminate I had on there before!

Kate, I'm really glad I chose the black. It's really added some contrast to the kitchen.

kate said...

I clicked on one of the photos and could see it up close. It looks great! I'm going to show this to David and see what he thinks...

So how DID you get the flecks on the edges of the counter??

caseyoconnell said...

Wow, that turned out great! I think before I decide to do it, I'm going to give you a couple of years to see how well it wears. :-) I'm a patient woman.

Dee said...

I went over and saw it and it looks beautiful. A second coat will really finish it off and make it smoother. I love it-----good job Jodi, Ival and Adam !

tallulah said...

It looks great!

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jaci said...

I love it! the contrast is perfect - you made a good color choice.I'm not up to doing it in my kitchen just yet, but it's definitely something I'll consider when we reach that point. thanks, Jodi (and Ival & Adam)!

Anonymous said...

I realize its two months later, but I just found your site and it so happens I found it because I was looking for information on the countertop transformation stuff. Thank you! I am going to throw this idea at my husband tonight.

God bless.

Amy Rozeboom said...

Did you have any trouble while sanding the edges of the counters? We started last weekend and find we keep sanding thru the chips to the base coat. I'd appreciate any hints you can give.
Thanks!
Amy

Jodi said...

Hi Amy, we didn't sand the edges too hard. Where we did sand the chips off, we touched up with black paint. This certainly isn't the most perfect solution to bad countertops, but all in all, we're pretty happy with the way they turned out. Let me know if I can help you more!

Amy Rozeboom said...

Thanks Jodi!
I think our problem is that we're trying to make it smoother than its really intended to be.

Anonymous said...

Jodi, your kitchen looks fantastic with the dark countertops! Just wondering, how's it holding up after several months of use? Thanks! :)

Jodi said...

Actually, they're holding up great! The only thing is that I wish we had sanded them smoother before we put the final coating on. Other than that, they look just like granite!