Night Elf Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 I hate the laminate countertops in my house. The same color/style is in the kitchen and both bathrooms. We don't have the money right now to buy new countertops so I got the bright idea to paint them. Rustoleum has a specific product to do just this. Anyone done this before? Tips? Suggestions? Insults telling me I'm crazy? :tongue_smilie: The only worry I can think of is painted items get scratched. Will my countertop through everyday use look really bad after a short time? This is in the thinking stage. Just kicking around ideas. I'm trying to anticipate all the problems as once I start, there is no going back. I also need to paint shiny white bathroom cabinets, but i thought I'd tackle the countertops first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alenee Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 bump. I'm really curious about this too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belacqua Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 I just painted my bathroom counters a few weeks ago. What I found: 1. The Rustoleum product (and I know I praised it in a thread a while ago; ignore that! I knew not yet of what I had done.)...er...let's just say stinks. Actually, it does stink. It is the fumiest coating I've ever worked with; my entire second floor smelled of it for a week. But perhaps more to the point, it looked awful. Streaked, splotched, clumped. NOT good. 2. So I rubbed over it with a liquid deglosser and painted with a combo paint/primer (I got mine at Home Depot; nothing fancy). Two coats of paint, then two coats of a clear, water-based poly topcoat. And while it has been, as I said, only about four weeks, so I may be recanting yet again, so far so good. The color stayed even, it hasn't bubbled or scratched, and it cleans up well. I got nervous when I first used it, because water spots turned pale and weird, but they go away when dry. 3. I don't know that I'd be brave enough to do this in a kitchen, but I just might. You'd probably want to use three or four coats of the poly, just for extra protection. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruby Rose Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 Don't do it! Another idea might be to resurface it with another sheet of laminate more along your style. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamakim Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 I used the Rustoleum countertop paint on my kitchen counters this summer. We're now making plans to install an IKEA counter pronto. The first coat does go on streaky, but a second coat took care of the color streaks, but left . . . texture streaks? How do I say . . . it isn't perfectly smooth, there are ridges. I followed the directions to the "T". A quick glance in my kitchen and it looks fairly nice. But I did this in June and already there are chips and especially corner wear, so if I were counting on this lasting for even a year I'd likely be bummed. But what really got me thinking? After I put on the first horrible smelling layer (like, it gives you an instant headache applying, even with fans on and windows open and wearing a mask) I was googling some specific application question. Found a contractor asking, "Why do people go to all of this trouble to buy BPA free drink containers, buy organic food, and then coat their counters in this stuff, where they're going to put FOOD?!!?" Oh. Yeah. There's that. The bathrooms now, that's a different story. In the master bath, when we moved in here 15 years ago I used some of that spray paint that looks like flecks/stone. I painted a layer of 1-2-3 Primer on it first, then the spray stone, then 2 layers of polyurethane. Just this year, 15 years later with NO touch ups, the paint is starting to wear off the corners/edges. And I've cleaned it all these years with regular bathroom cleaners. This is the spray stuff I used: http://www.rustoleum.com/CBGProduct.asp?pid=79 but there are other brands that seem similar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest reginahoward Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 I'm curious about it. Paintings are valuable so I think, lamination is something a good way to preserve it aside from putting it in frame. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Elf Posted August 23, 2012 Author Share Posted August 23, 2012 Oh, not all glowing reports, that's for sure. DH said we could probably get new countertops next summer. That just seems like a really long time from now. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1bassoon Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 I did! I did! About 3 years ago - and I still really love it! Here's a link to my blog describing it. Enjoy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luckymama Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 Oh man, I wanted to use that new 3step Rustoleum product in my kitchen :( Time to do some more research! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swellmomma Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 I did! I did! About 3 years ago - and I still really love it! Here's a link to my blog describing it. Enjoy! That link goes to a post about coloured squares :001_smile: I am having trouble finding the post on teh countertops do you have a more direct link? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1bassoon Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 Oops! Maybe this will work?? (Or if it doesn't - hit my blog and search "laminate".) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bookfiend Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 I don't know about painting the laminate, but for a top coat consider marine deck sealer (the clear stuff they use on boats). We used it to seal the wood top on a bathroom vanity, and it never discolors with water spots. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MariannNOVA Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 i painted laminate countertops years ago -- i went to a 'marina' store that sells boat stuff and bought 'top side' 'deck' paint. I painted the floor and cabinets as well. It looked great, was fun to do and was a whole lot better than how it originally looked. Downside is that there are not alot of color choices (we are talking boats here) so I bought white and what else I could find and mixed to make what I wanted. The countertops and cabinets I did in white -- the floor, I mixed red and white and sponge painted the palest pink - shabby chic was barely heard of at this time -- 25 years ago -- and it was a hit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katilac Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 I looked into this a lot very recently (see my posts re peach counter tops, lol), and this is what I gathered: *Stay away from the Rustoleum products! It is better to not use a special counter kit than to use the Rustoleum. *The Giani products get good reviews if you want the granite look. *Whether you use a specialty kit or not, the key is patience. If you rush any part of the process, it will not look good, and it will not be durable. *All products must be applied thinly each time, with multiple coats. Smudges and denting occur b/c product is applied too thickly (which holds true for regular painting as well, but is much more noticeable on a counter top). imo, you should do the cabinets first. they will be easier to do than the counter tops, and give you a bit of practice. another option is to resurface them with new laminate. the actual counters need to be in good shape to do this. depending on how many 'curves' vs straight edges you have, and what tools you own, it could be a diy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katilac Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 i painted laminate countertops years ago -- i went to a 'marina' store that sells boat stuff and bought 'top side' 'deck' paint. I painted the floor and cabinets as well. It looked great, was fun to do and was a whole lot better than how it originally looked. Downside is that there are not alot of color choices (we are talking boats here) so I bought white and what else I could find and mixed to make what I wanted. The countertops and cabinets I did in white -- the floor, I mixed red and white and sponge painted the palest pink - shabby chic was barely heard of at this time -- 25 years ago -- and it was a hit. Marianne, was it laminate/vinyl type flooring that you painted? Do you think painting a solid color would work, or do you really need to do sponging or some other technique? WTM'ers are a handy bunch! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarreymere Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 I just couldn't stand my countertops and I lost my mind one day about three years ago and just painted them with regular paint that said it was good to use in damp areas. I don't remember the brand. It wasn't marine paint, wish I'd thought of that. I put several coats of polyurethane on top. It has held up well, except in one part by the sink that gets really wet when the kids do dishes (the pots hang over the edge of the drainer in that spot and drip) where it is starting to look like it is wearing thin or something. I also painted my vinyl plank floor. This is a fairly new flooring product and just put in last year in my living room. Unfortunately my kids were too much for it. The color had worn off in tiny spots all over the floor. Tiny white spots on my basically brown floor made me nuts, so I tried all kinds of things to get rid of them. At one point I painted a couple of the planks as an experiment (not like it was going to look worse, after all). The paint wore off very quickly (think minutes....I let the kids walk in the living room and poof!). Maybe I should have put on a top coat or some polyurethane......Anyway, the paperbag floor is slowly advancing through the house and will hit the living room eventually. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ralphboston Posted September 6, 2012 Share Posted September 6, 2012 (edited) You can paint your laminate counter tops by following these steps: 1 . Clean your counters well. Make sure there is not dust, residue,etc left behind. 2. Lightly sand the counters. And then wipe them again so no dust is left behind. 3. Use a really good oil based primer like Bin, and paint a coat of primer. Let it dry at least 4 hours. 4. Paint a base coat over the entire vanity countertops. Let the base coat dry at least 24 hours. 5. Lightly dip a slightly damp (but not wet) paper towel in your 2nd paint color. Lightly dab it onto the counter and let it dry for at least 24 hours. 6. Apply at least 2-3 coats of a non-yellowing polyacrylic topcoat, letting it dry a day between each coat. This would not cause the paint to scratch. In order to wash it in case of oil stain you get a spray which would be available at any store. Edited September 8, 2012 by ralphboston Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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