When I answer questions on Hometalk.com, a lot of times I see the same question: “How do you resurface countertops?” Well if that’s your question you’ve come to the right place! Because we’ve got the answer!
So, there are kits you can buy at your local home improvement store and it’s essentially like painting over your existing countertop. What happens over time with the kits is the paint eventually begins to peel or flake off. Then you are left with an unsightly countertop. 🙁
A little over a year ago I came across an amazing post by Raising A Farmhouse. She was wanting to update her granite countertops into something light and bright. It was more of a faux marble look. She came across StoneCoat Countertops epoxy. I encourage you guys to watch their videos on youtube: they are SO energetic, encouraging, and positive people! They teach you how to make your countertops looks like stone with Epoxy!
You may not believe it but I watched at least 10-20 hours before I did our kitchen countertops. (Seems crazy, I know! But I’m gonna help you!) You want to make sure you know what you’re doing before you dive into a project like this. You can check out our countertop makeover on Apartment Therapy. ( I’ll attach some photos here below for you too!)
Below is a picture of our kitchen after I did the epoxy over the laminate.
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What you need to resurface Countertops
- Stonecoat countertop epoxy (There epoxy will NOT yellow overtime which is why you can use it with whites. 🙂 I recommend watching their videos on YouTube!
- Stonecoat Countertops bonding primer
- Oil Based Paint color that you can spread out on the countertops. I used Kilz.
- Spray paint colors that you want to add to your epoxy. Rust-oleums colors work great with this epoxy! I used Rust-oleum’s black to create a marble finish on these kitchen countertops.
- I also used Rust-Oleum Metallic Silver -Definately buy this because it is light and looks so pretty for faux marble!
- Drape N’ Tape to cover kitchen cabinets (It comes with the tape already attached to the plastic and will save you SO much time!)
- Paint Mixer (this is the one stonecoat countertops recommends) I love this one because it’s affordable and reusable!
- NEW paint brush (new is important because you don’t want any previous colors from your paint brush to come off in the epoxy.) Stonecoat countertops and my personal favorite paint brushes are the Wooster 2″ short cut brushes!
- Paint sticks! Get your free paint sticks at the paint counter from your local hardware store. 🙂 You use these to streak in your colors to create the stone look.
- Trowel for spreading out the epoxy!
- Mixing cups to measure the epoxy
- Heat Gun or torch! (I used a heat gun because my husband is terrified I’ll burn our house or someone else’s house down. lol. If you use a torch make sure you have a fire extinguisher near by!)
- Last but not least gloves!! You need gloves! Epoxy is super sticky and you do not want it on your hands. 🙂 I love these gloves because they do not leave your hands powderie like latex gloves!
Steps to resurfacing Laminate or Formica Countertops
Begin by making sure your surface is clean and start to sand your countertops with 120 grit sandpaper. There’s no turning back at this point! 😉 You want to rough them up a bit so that the paint will stick to them. After the countertops have been sanded, apply your bonding primer with a roller in all different directions along with the KILZ white paint. It should look like the picture below when you have rolled out your colors. 🙂
You can add as much or as little fo the grays and whites as you like! You are the countertop designer! 🙂
At this point you need to put “Drape & Tape” under the countertops to protect your cabinets from the epoxy dripping.
Measure epoxy according to the package directions and mix with paint mixer for 2 minutes. It’s important to mix the epoxy properly or you will have sticky epoxy that will never dry or you’ll end up with yellow epoxy instead of white!
When epoxy has been mixed you can begin. Start by pouring epoxy over your countertops and troweling it out over your countertops. “Stonecoat Countertops” epoxy is self leveling, but it’s important to make sure you get it spread evenly. You’ll also want to chop the epoxy with your paint brush to get out any trowel marks that the trowel left in the epoxy. 🙂
After the epoxy is all spread take your paint stick and spray paint colors and spray black on your paint stick and streak the black through the epoxy. Make sure the streaks you create all go in the same direction. You want it to look like stone and when stone is made its flows and ebbs are created by the erosions of water, and water flows in one direction. After you have the black streaked through you can add hints of silver or any other color you chose!
When all of your colors have been streaked to your liking you’ll need to torch the countertops or use a heat gun on them to pop any bubbles in the epoxy.
When all the bubbles are popped you are good to go! Let your countertops dry overnight for 24 hours. After 24 hours you can come back through and add a clear flood coat. The clear flood coat seals in your artistic design! Mix your epoxy the same as you did before and pour over your countertops, using your trowel to spread out the epoxy. You can also chop out any trowel marks with your brush and pop any bubbles with your torch or heat gun. You’ll want to let this dry over night for 24 hours. Your countertops will be dry after 24 hours and you can remove your “Drape & Tape” and admire your beautiful new countertops!! They are ready for you to use!
PRO TIP: If you end up with little drips under your countertops you can sand them off after they have dried with an orbital sander.
PRO TIP: Make practice boards before you do your kitchen countertops. I made 3 before I did ours. And I messed up the first 2. Ha. So, it’s good to have a little practice under your belt before you do the real deal. 🙂
PRO TIP: Watch “Stonecoat Countertops” videos they have SO many and can teach you any countertop finish!
Have you thought about resurfacing your kitchen countertops? If, so I’d love to hear your thoughts! Comment below. 🙂
You can also view my video here on mixing epoxy!
WOW…this is great. Scary though. I’ll watch the videos first…maybe 40 times! Thank you for the project!
Hi Linda! It is a little intimidating at first. I had never worked with epoxy unti our countertops. (I had only painted furniture.) You’ll be able to build up confidence after watching some of their videos!! And you can always ask me any questions! 🙂
Great job. Everything looks gorgeous and professional!
Oh thank you SO SO much Toni! I super appreciate that! Have a great day!
Can I do this over previously painted countertops?
Hi! My understanding is that as long as the countertops were previously painted in a oiled based paint then yes! You’ll just want to lightly sand them first, use the primer and then you can do the epoxy! 🙂
How did you section off your work? Did you pour the epoxy over each countertop “length” and do your veining on those sections before moving on? Or did you epoxy the whole thing and then do your painting in one sitting?
Hi Natalie! Yes! I poured epoxy over one section and did the veining. Then I would move onto the next section of laminate countertop! I found it much easier to work in sections! 🙂 Hope that helps!
Hi! I actually am doing research to do my countertops soon. I noticed in your picture that you have a glass cook top. Any tips for doing the epoxy with that or is it very similar to how the sink is done? How long before you reinstalled your cook top? Anything to be cautious about?
Thank you!
Hi Tiffany!! What an exciting time for you! We took out the original glass cooktop before pouring the epoxy. After pouring the epoxy we let the countertops cure for about 3-4 days before putting the cooktop back in (I actually had to wait a bit longer than I wanted because I needed a friend to help install the cooktop! Ha.) I would wait at least 48 hours before installing your cooktop. But really the epoxy is very hard in about 24 hours.
I would recommend you tape everything off really well with plastic beforehand! Drape N Tape is my favorite! It is plastic that comes with tape and all you have to do is unroll it! It saves you so much time! Also line your floors with cardboard! Somehow we ended up with hardened epoxy on the kitchen floor that I latter had to scrape off with a putty knife.
You can totally do this! This was my first big epoxy project and we are coming up on two years of our kitchen countertops being resurfaced. They still look great!!
Hi! Is it possible to do the clear coat over a laminate sticker?
Hi Grace! Yes it is!! People do this all the time when they make small things like coasters and jewelry! Just make sure the laminate sticker is intact very well before applying the clear coat. 🙂
How did you do the sides (edges?) of your countertops? Thanks!
Hi Brittany! I used a paint stick to streak the colors over the edge of the countertops! 🙂 I sprayed a little black spray paint on a paint stick and dragged it through the epoxy after it was poured on the edges. As long as the epoxy is not too thick on your edges the color will stay! 🙂 Hope that helps!
My kitchen countertops also has that same wood “trimming” as the ledge, anything different I have to do once I get close to the edge? I’m nervous because I I thought the epoxy would get into a small nook and just break off the trim. Or am I thinking too much? Also did you have any problem with rings/divots forming after putting heavy kitchen gadgets back onto the countertops?
Hi Nancy! The epoxy actually adhere’s easier to the wood trim. It is more easily sandable than the slick laminate surface. So don’t worry about that! I would say make sure to brush the epoxy on the edges. That way when it cures you do not have drip marks! We have not had any problems with rings or divets in the countertops after I epoxied them. I would maybe wait a month or so to put a heavy kitchen aid mixer on them. Epoxy is super durable. Especially after it fully cures. Our countertops have been done for over 2 years now! And they have held up great.
If you have read about people having rings/divots forming in their epoxy that is usually because their flood coat (a coat of clear epoxy applied over the artistic layer) was too thin. And divots can be fixed! I am getting ready to do a post it! 🙂
Blessings on your day! Hope that helped! Good luck!
These look so good! I’m gearing up to do my laundry room and possibly my basement floors as well! I’ve been watching a ton of the stone coat videos and am so excited that they have the colored mixes now that I can use instead of spray paint. Have you tried those? If so, Which way do you like better? I love the touch of gold you added in yours, and the touch of glitter you added in your client’s! So pretty! How did you create the super soft grey between the veins in your countertops? I love it! Also, how did you add the glitter and what kind of glitter did you use? Did it make the countertops have a rough or spiked surface?
Tons of questions, sorry! Thanks for sharing!
Hi Larissa!
Oh my goodness! SO excited for you to start working on your laundry room and basement floors!! Let me know how the floors go! I have not tried stonecoat countertops color mixes! That is great that stonecoat has come out with them!
To create the super soft Grey between the veins I sprayed a little black spray paint on a piece of cardboard and then dabbed my paint brush into the black spray paint and then dabbed it in and out of the epoxy. It made for the soft grey look!
So Valspar has an AWESOME glitter additive for paint! I picked it up at Lowes. Here is the link for the glitter I used!! It was on a little hang thing in the middle of the paint aisle! You add the glitter to your clear flood coat of resin! The flood coat seals in your design layer and this is the layer that you can add the glitter too. 🙂 The glitter is super fine. So you don’t even know it is in the epoxy countertops except for the pretty sparkle! Not rough at all!
Hope this helps!!
Blessings!
Megan
What about the existing backsplash? For instance, mine are 4″ ceramic tiles…. can I prep them, paint them etc just as I do the countertops and pour the epoxy directly above them ?? or just forget that all together?? Thank you.
Hi Michelle! It’s best if you can work on a flat surface. The epoxy will flow downwards on the existing backsplash. Sorry!