Refinish kitchen counter tops?
Question:My friend wants to refinish her counter tops with either paint or relamination. What other choices might there be and is there a best choice for do-it-yourself'rs? Are there any websites that I haven't found that might tell how to do these things? The kitchen is not terribly large.
Also, with relamination, does the original layer of laminate need to be removed first or is it possible to do a new layer on top of the old?
Answers:
I relaminated right over the old laminate, which was in good shape but REALLY ugly. You use this epoxy glue that the new laminate will really stick too. Be careful, once it touches that glue, you can't move it. I also used ceramic tile over laminate in my bathroom. It was really easy. I took a free class at Home Depot that was very helpful. I have also painted laminate but you have to be very careful with it or it scratches and chips. Not a great idea for a kitchen!
Best of luck-
If you want some pretty counter tops have them tiled with, tiles to match your floors . You can have the tiles laid on any kind of level top.
I like butcher block cabinet tops and you can measure counter tops and they will cut to your measurements. If you will go to a big store that Caries counter tops they have free classes to show you how to put in the counter tops.
Queen Bee
I have painted an old (early 1970s) laminate counter top that was in good condition in my kids bathroom. First I taped off everything, I mean everything! Plastic covering the cabinets and mirror, walls, ect. I used a good quality spray paint primer and let dry over night. Then I used high gloss spray paint over it, in several light coats. This was about 4 1/2 years ago and it still looks good! I was looking for a cheap (under $20) fix until I could afford to replace it. Now I'm thinking of doing it in my kitchen but that's a big job! Word of caution however, with spray paint it needs lots of ventilation and the spray particles will settle like paint dust! Using the vent fan caused a lot of those paint particles to clog it up and I ended up spending about three hours cleaning that thing! LOL, live and learn! I do really like how it turned out though. With a kitchen it would get a lot more heavy use so I'd recommend sealing it afterward with a good clear lacquer or something.
You can go to Lowes or homedepot and buy remnent counter tops verry cheap. Assuming you can take out the old sink and cut the new hole in the new counter. Not very hard!!
if you have a top that has a rounded front edge this can not be done, I you have what we call a Square edge top or similar you can, you can laminate over existing laminate, they have a glue at home depot called spray 90(contact adhesive) when sprayed you need to let the glue dry until ti is not tacky on both pieces you are gluing together, also put the edge on first before the deck. tools you will need- small trim router, and small bottom bearing router bit(to remove excess laminate) also need a file (to clean up edges) and a roller to make a good bond
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