Keeping it Simple

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Tutorial Tuesday: Painted Counter tops

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I have already posted this, but that is when I had about 30 followers. So I’m posting it again. I thought that this would be a great project to do for Memorial Day weekend

 

Before: After:

I always knew that you could paint counter tops. My parents had nice orange ones that we painted and the previous owners painted my counter tops cream. They didn’t do a good job though, they used a brush and you can see the brush marks. I have never liked my counter tops, they stain and just don’t look good. I wanted to replace them and have look into all kinds of material. We really looked into laminate counter tops. They are durable and look good, but it still would cost us $500+ to replace them and that’s if we do it ourselves. I wish that we could just get the pre-cut counter tops but with our bar, we would have to special order them. So when I saw that you can paint them AND make them look good, I did more research that night. The next day, I was painting my counter tops :).

The cost was a little over $150, that is for all the supplies and I have 40+ square feet of counter tops. From start to finish, it took about 4 hours (this does not include the waiting time for the glaze to set).

I got several granite and laminate samples from the store. I studied them and decided what colors I liked and what kind of texture. I bought a 12×12 tile that was about the same color of my counter tops and practiced on that first. I tested out my colors and made notes of how I moved my hand or fingers and what results I got.

1) I first cleaned the surface with water and soap. I then sanded the all of the counter tops and wiped away the dust.

2) I prepared the counter tops for painting. I decided to do the splatter painting method. This is a messy project, so cover everything. Put plastic or paper on all of your floors, even if it’s three feet away from the counter, it may get paint on them (this happened to me)

3) This is what I used. I used six different colors, mostly different shades of brown, a mustard yellow and a sage green. I did most of the splatter paint with the kitchen brush. I also used a damp rag for the spots

4) The painting began. I was very random. I started with one color and did the whole surface and then moved onto the next color until I had all the colors on there. Then I started to mix all the colors together and painted. When I first did the spots, they were a little dark, so I lighted them up with a cream and that seemed to help a lot. If you make spots, don’t make them all round or it may just look like a cheetah. The more paint I put on, the more I liked it. Towards the middle I was getting really nervous, I thought to myself “what have I done?”.
It just wasn’t looking right. I was just hoping that it would work out in the end. I promise that it looks a TON better once you get the glaze on!

5) Finally, I am done with the painting. Here is a close up of my bar without the glaze.

6) Next the hard and expensive part, the glaze. You can get this at a craft store or home improvement stores.  It says that it only covers 6.4 sq ft, so I got 6 boxes and had a bunch left over. So I would guess it covers about 8 to 9 sq ft. Read the directions carefully and do what it says. On the back of the box it tells you what you need, you DO need everything on the list. We used the blow torch to get the bubbles out. This is a two person job.

Here are a few tips that I learned through the whole process:

When painting:
-If you decide to make dark spots like you see in granite, you may want to practice that BEFORE you do it on your counter tops. To see if you really do like them. Luckily I figured it out and I really like the look of them now.
-If you are doing the splatter method, when it is all dry, take your hand or a dry wash cloth and get the loose pieces off. Also, if there are any bumps of paint, flatten them with your finger because it will leave a bump in the glaze.
When using the glaze:
-The box says to do it one box at a time, a blog said she wished that she did it all together at the
same time. I’m not sure what is better, but when it is mixed, you only have about 20-25 minutes to get all set. So you may feel a little rushed.
-The glaze is stinky and if you get it somewhere besides the counter tops, clean it up immediately, the longer you wait, the harder it is to clean.
-The sides and the back of the sink are tricky. I used a paintbrush on both. I wish that I could have just spent an hour doing the sides, to catch the drips but you just don’t have the time to do it.
-When you applying the glaze, or waiting for it to dry (it takes 8 hours), don’t let your 3 year old son come any where near it or you may have a lasting impression of his hand in the glaze.

My counter tops are not perfect, but they look so much better than they did. The stains are gone, they are so shiny and I love them! I decided not to do the back of the counter because it would have been super hard to do the glaze on it. I made the bold decision to paint it brown because I really like the light/dark contrast. It really makes the counters pop.
This actually was a fairly easy process, when it comes to home improvement. The hardest part is that you have to wait 8 hours to touch it and 72 hours until you can put anything on it. Good thing that there is fast food :). I am really thinking about doing my bathroom counter tops, that are yellow, sometime in the distant future.
The box says not to use bleach or harsh chemicals while cleaning. I use windex all purpose wipes on them and made them really shine! Feel free to email me any questions that you might have.
For more pictures of painted counter tops, go here or here
UPDATE:

I have had my countertops for about 6 months now and they are doing great, much better than I ever expected! I still love looking at them!
Here are a few things that I thought that you should know about them:
~Then can get scratched, so use a cutting board!
~Use hot pads, the heat sticks to the glaze
~When cleaning, don’t use too many water. Sometimes it leaves streaks.
They are very durable, if they can stand up to my three boys and my lack of cleaning, then that means they are tough! 🙂

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Comments

  5. Whow.. first I've seen anyone post this project… very nice job! I want to do this to my up-bath vanity top.. but it's old laminate with a seam on the front overhang? Not sure if I can seal the seam to hide it? Hmmmm some more thinking to do here… thanks for the great post!
    Following from Domestically Speaking…

  20. I love your counter tops! I used Rustoleum counter top paint when I painted over my 70s orange counter tops. I only spent around $75 on mine…wouldn't have spent that if I had chosen the right color first. I'm wondering if I can use the glaze you used on mine now. They are beautiful as is, but it might make them *pop* even more. You did a super job!

  22. Wow another fabulous transformation! I love the colors that you used – the technique and finsihed product is incredible! Thanks so much for joining The Sunday Showcase. I greatly appreciate it! Hope you are enjoying your week! ~ Stephanie Lynn

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