Seeking Suggestions: Resurfacing Ugly Formica Sink Counter?
Question:We have a nonstandard size formica sink counter that has a marbled look in puce and brown (the house was built in the 70s). We do not have the money to replace the counter top right now. Do you have any suggestions on things we can do to resurface, paint, etc. to improve the look of the existing unit? What materials will we need to do it right? Any tips would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance!
Answers:
If the surface is slick, to do either tile or mosaic, you will need to etch the surface by roughing it up with sandpaper, priming with something like Bin or Zinser, first. This will give better adherance. You can create a mosaic over it, you can tile over it and I've even seen people place peel and stick tile over it and paint it. The only problem you will encounter is that if the back splash and edge are rounded it is difficult to maneuver.
In that case, my suggestion would be to use tile on the flat surface and mosaic the curved surfaces with a coodinating tile. I found the peel and stick tile to be a little tacky and painting formica in a high use, moisture and greased packed environment would produce less than desirable results over the long term. And, it looks noticeably painted.
If you do the mosaic on the curved areas, use a stong water proof adhesive like Plumber's Goop or E 6000 and hold em on till the glue sets enough to hold the weight of the tile. Using smaller pieces makes this job less tedious.
go to a local home supply store and ask if they have any broken tiles...you can usually get these dirt cheap or free...or call a tile guy up..then mosaic all you will have to do for the most part is buy a little adhesive and tile cement..
I used this website as a jumping off point to paint my countertops. http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf370385.tip.h...
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