Painting Your Countertops

Do you have really outdated countertops that just make your kitchen look so old? Do you want the new countertop look but don't have the money to replace them?  I have a solution!! Why don't you PAINT your countertops?

HAHA

Ok, that sounded way to much like an infomercial. But hey! It's the truth. Painting can be such an easy and cheap way to update any room in your house. 

As I was researching (I know, I know, I research WAY too much), I was finding that you can literally paint everything in your house. Seriously there is a "paint" for everything. In this case the "paint" is called epoxy which is specially made for countertops.

Now I am not going lie, my husband and I were a bit nervous about this. I mean I had never heard of painting your countertops, I thought the whole idea was a bit weird but we wanted to update our kitchen and knew we couldn't afford new countertops so we just went for it.

We stopped by Lowes and picked up a can of this goodness for only $20. I have to point out that this was extremely hard to find. We even asked a guy who worked there and he had no clue, so we asked another guy and luckily he had remembered seeing it and within a few minutes he had found it.

They tint the paint right in the store with whatever color you choose. The 16 different choices are on the top. The colors were really light and I wanted a really dark brown so we found that they actually made this same paint with 16 different colors which included a really dark brown. So we lucked out there.

We also picked up a few other things while we were at the store:

1. Blue Tape
2. A small foam roller (we got one made for cabinets/doors)
3. A couple small 79 cent foam brushes for corners and small spaces
4. Paint tray
5. A pack of sanding sheets
6. Goof Off (degreaser)

We got home and got to work. It was a really simple process:

1. Sprayed goof off on the countertop to get all the grease and dirt off
2. Lightly sanded the counters. When I say lightly, I mean really light, just to get the gloss off and the epoxy to stick. I think this is a big step that most people want to skip because they think its a lot of work but a QUICK sand is crucial.
3. Clean and wipe the counters with soap and water and wait for it to dry completely
4. Tape off the counter with blue tape so it doesn't get on the wall or pretty backsplash
5. Roll on the epoxy/paint with a thin coat
6. I waited one day and then gave it a 2nd coat because I saw some spots that didn't get covered completely.
7. Wait a full 3 days for the epoxy to set and you are all done.

Tips:

• Open the windows and get the fans blowin', this stuff is potent.
• Start with the edges and using the little foam brush then roll out the rest of it with the small foam roller.
• It dries fast so roll out the paint fast.
• Even though it seems completely dry, WAIT the full 3 days before setting anything on your counters. You don't want to take any chances!
• Use long strokes across the counters so you see less roll marks when it's dry.

Easy as that!! I have been getting a ton of emails about this so if you have any questions at all feel free to ask, I am an open book!!

Thinking about painting your cabinets? I will do a post on this soon!

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