Monday, April 16, 2012

I Did it Myself: Faux Granite Countertops

I have hated our Formica counter tops since the day we moved in. To make matters worse, we accidentally flooded the kitchen 2 years ago, which caused a lovely bulge underneath the Formica next to our sink.


Recently, I had enough. The hubs was out, so I took to the bulge with a kitchen knife, hammer, and nails. Can we say Ghett-o-fied? On top of this tactful approach, I decided it was time to paint the counter tops. If it turned out tacky, so be it. I would replace them with granite after my retirement.

After some quick research, I ran to Wal-Mart and picked up some supplies. Total cost? Less than $100. This included:

• Fine Sandpaper
• Rust-oleum Tintable White Primer (Water Based)
• 1 qt. Black Paint (Water Based)
• 5 Acrylic Paints
• 1 Sea Sponge
• 1 Gallon Polyacrylic
• Face Mask
• 6" Roller

What I already had
• Small Paint Brush (for hard to reach places)• Tarp
• Painters Tape
• Paper Plates

Below are my lovely Formica counter tops.


First, I taped EVERYTHING!


Next, I did a super quick sanding job.


Then I took my tintable white primer and added black until I had a decent grey primer. I rolled on 2 layers of primer, allowing an hour for drying between layers.



Next, I tore my sea sponge into a few pieces. Then I set out my acrylic paints in order of light to dark. I emptied the first paint I planned to use onto a paper plate.


Then for the fun part! Seriously! Applying the paint with the sea sponge was fun, and quick! No rhyme or reason. It was pretty much impossible to mess up. First I applied the light grey, then the metallic grey (gives it a little flare).



Next I applied the brown (I skipped the brick acrylic I picked out - was thankful later).


And finally the black! I did not allow time for drying between paints, which did not pose a problem. After all of the paints were applied, then I let the counters dry for about an hour. Then I applied 4 coats of polyacrylic, allowing 2 hours between each coat. Voila! Here are my new counter tops! Now all I need is a stainless steel sink, track lighting over the bar, and under cabinet lighting ;)



7 comments:

  1. Lovely! This project seems pretty easy. You did great in painting the granite countertop. It looks so elegant! Do you plan to paint the cabinets too? I think white would be a beautiful contrast to the dark countertop. What do you think?

    >Robbie Marinero

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  2. I would like to thank you for the efforts that you have made in writing this article.This is exactly what I need,Thanks a lot.Keep blogging.

    Kitchen Countertops

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  3. Wow! Looks awesome! You did an amazing job! Thank you for sharing! (The step by step pics and instructions are great!) I love it!

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  4. Thank you Jayna! It was a fun project and so easy!

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  5. now that it has been some time, how is this holding up? I have been wanting to try but concerned about wear and tear.....

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    1. Hi Robin, we lived in the house for a year and a half after I did the counters and they held up great! We moved after that, so I don't know how they are doing these days with the new owner. I used regular chemicals on the counter tops (409, etc) and didn't have any problems with it.

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  6. 9 years later and this is the blog that convinced me I should paint my countertops. Thank you!

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