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Submitted by Red Hen Home
I have issues with my kitchen.
The problem is…there’s nothing really wrong with it….
it’s just not me.
The alder cabinets have weathered to an unbecoming yellow. The counter tops are in perfectly fine shape, except they’re gray….and I am neither a yellow NOR a grayperson!
This is what my kitchen really looks like. No…actually, it’s cleaner than usual.
So I’ve been dreaming of replacing my counter tops and painting the cabinets, and I thought maybe 2012 might be the year. (If we didn’t have to spend our tax return on things like hot water heaters and water softeners, that is—that’s what happened in 2011!)
But Christmas came a little early this year!
Giani Granite offered me the chance to review one of their counter top refinishing kits, and I jumped at the chance! I figured, if I loved it—I wouldn’t have to shell out the money for new. If I hated it…I wouldn’t really be any further behind!
Decisions, decisions…Giani Granite offers SIX different color choices, but depending on how you apply the paint, you can get many different looks. I chose Sicilian Sand, to go along with my dream of a lighter, brighter kitchen (and yes, now that I’ve painted the counter tops I REALLY want to tackle the cabinets).
The process is not particularly difficult, although there IS a difficult step (I’ll get to that later)..actually two.
First, clean your counter tops very well. I used an SOS pad and rinsed twice. And yes, I used the SOS pad even on the wood edges of my counters, since I was planning to paint them too.
Next, I taped above the backsplash and on top of my dishwasher. I also taped around my sink.
You have to remove all silicone caulk, as paint will not stick to it. Lucky for me, I only had caulk on this little section (it covered the seam between the countertop and backsplash), because it’s a buggerto remove! This little cabinet was an “after-thought” added to my kitchen, and the color on the top never did match the rest—another good reason to paint!
Next, you roll on a primer/base coat of black. As far as I can tell, ALL the color choices use this same black primer. It’s water based, but not latex. It sticks really well, especially where you drip it on the floor—but then you have another use for those SOS pads you just bought…
Anyway, the base coat has to dry for 8 hours at 70 degrees. I did this after I got my little kids to bed, and just left the heat turned up for the night.
See? I covered up the ugly wood edges! That made me so happy.
The fun part came the next morning! Using an included sea-sponge, I applied the three accent colors over the base coat. You do this in sections, using all three colors at once. This gives the layered, blended look I wanted.
Here’s what it looked like after one color (middle section):
Now two:
And finally three:
I didn’t stop there. I went back over the sections with more dark or more light color, working in “flows” of color to get a more natural look. In addition, I also did a little color mixing so I actually hadfive shades to work with and not just three! I really liked the extra depth of color this gave me.
You can kinda-sorta see a lighter “flow” in the bottom left corner. I think that’s my favorite part of the whole counter!
After the color-work has dried for four hours, then you apply an automotive polyurethane. That’s the tricky part! This stuff is very thin, and it dries reallyfast. It has a great shine, but if you accidentally roll over a spot that has started to dry, or if you miss a spot—you’re going to know it, because it will leave a dull spot, or you may see a roller line.
Although I watched the DVD that came with the kit and read the instructions carefully, I had a very difficult time getting a smooth finish on my large peninsula. Too late I found that there were more helpful videos available on-line. By that point, I literally had 7 coats of poly on the peninsula! It’s still not perfect—
but I. am. done.
It’s good enough! I don’t thinkanyone but me will notice the imperfections.
You can see that I didn’t do a great job of pressing down my tape. Learn from my mistakes!
I had to go back with a small brush and touch up where the paint bled.
On the main sections of my counters, there is a metal strip the hides the seam with the backsplash. I don’t know if it’s “recommended” or not…but I just painted right over it!
The second hardpart of the process is that it takes 14 days for the polyurethane to fully cure. That’s a long, long time for a family of eight to go without their counter tops!
We “make do” with folding tables here…
…and here…
…and yes, it’s putting a crimp in my holiday baking and candy-making! However, we are still trying to sell our house, and I figured the ONLY time I could take two weeks “off” from having it ready for a showing was in the two weeks before Christmas! NO ONE is going to be house hunting right now…right?? (So far, it’s working!)
Now, I fully recognize that it’s difficult to see the difference in the “look” from photographs…but trust me, it’s there. Instead of grays I have warm shades of brown, and I *don’t* have that wood trim anymore!
So while I still can’t fully use them, I briefly added a few accessories so you can see what they look like…
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And now I want to paint my cupboards more than ever! I’m thinking a light almond color would be really nice in here.
So what do you think? Is this something you would ever consider trying? A Giani Granite refinishing kit costs around $80. Compared to $3500+ for real granite, I think I made out pretty well!
Here is where you can get the chocolate brown color at Amazon,
This is a fabulous transformation. As far as the cabinets are concerned, I’d paint them a color that blends well with the appliances. Almond would probably be too warm against the cool white appliances. Just a thought. Enjoy your new counters!
I think you’re right about the color; I hadn’t thought about that! I am trying to bring more cool colors into my home, but it’s a struggle for me
I think you did a fantastic job and I can see the difference. It’s much more welcoming and it even made the wood cabinets not look so yellow. Great job.
As soon as I get the money, I am going to do this to my kitchen and in the main bathroom. Thanks for the post.
This is so fascinating! I’m looking for a solution for my kitchen and this just might be it! You did a great job!
I also used a Giani Granite kit about 2 months ago and I love the results. It is holding up very nicely. I too had the ugly wood edge and now it all blends for a cohesive look. It’s a good product and I suggest following the directions completely. It doesn’t say you have to wait 2 weeks to use but to wait 2 weeks to set anything heavy on them.
Yes, I misunderstood that part. When the Giana representative saw that, she assured me I could start using my countertops, so I really did put them to work with lots of Christmas baking and cooking!
I really want to do this to my counters. I also have the ugly wood trim! My worry though is how it will hold up over the long run.
Unbelievable I have been looking for this post since I moved into my new house. We have the same kind of counter tops only Blue yikes!!!! (No Really Blue) its the most ridiculous thing you have ever seen. I’m going to start investigating this as an option. I had seem this on regular counter tops but non with the wood trim so Im really gonna gives this some serious thought I didn’t think you could just go over the wood. Yours turned out amazing good job
Were you able to cover all of your countertops with one kit?
I used the Giani Countertop kit a year and a half ago the one thing I would do differently is use the Enviro Tex Lite for the top coat I hear it is amazing… I am actually going to redo mine this summer!!!!!
Nancy
Did you end up using the Envirotech? I, too am thinking of going this route The pictures I’ve seen look amazing with it
Susan, I am not totally sure, this was a guest post, there should be a link to the author’s post at the top of the page, you could hop over to her blog and ask her, I am sure she would love to help you out! Good Luck with your project!
Hey, your counters turned out FANTASTIC. I was originally going to go with butcher block counters from Ikea but my counters are 9 inches longer than the longest board and so I thought of this as an option. I noticed how much counter space you had. DId you have to buy more than one kit? I was thinking I may need two. I know it says it covers 35 sq ft, but does it ‘really’?
Very nice work. Hats off to you for the extra care you put into getting the look to work. Your choice of color was great too!
I just completed refinishing our kitchen countertops a couple of months ago as well, but we used the SpreadStone Countertop Refinishing Kit by Daich Coatings. It’s a actual stone surface you apply with a roller as easily as painting. The results were AMAZING and authentic for about $125. For me this was the best bet, since I am not super creative and was looking for a faster, less labor intensive project.
If anyone is interested in checking it out, the product we used is at http://www.daichcoatings.com.
Happy remodeling!
We just did our cabinets Rustoleum cabinet transformations product worked awesome, you can make them darker or lighter there is 24 colours to choose from, from white to greys to cherry etc, there is a video on there website. Your countertops look very nice. Enjoy!
Awesome job!!! You can definitely see the difference. Would you mind sharing what other colors you decided to add so you were working with 5 instead of 3 colors? I’m thinking about doing this to my kitchen countertops with Giani Granite’s chocolate brown and would love to make it look as natural as possible. Thanks in advance. = )
Vonne, This was a guest post, so i can’t tell you exactly what she used, but there should be a link to her blog at the top of the page! Good Luck!
Quick question – Giani states that one kit covers around 35 sq feet…yours looks like more. Did you buy two kits or did one do just fine? Thanks!
I would measure the square footage of your kitchen. And go from there, no kitchen square footage is exactly the same.
Thank you so much for your indepth explanation of this process!!! My counter tops are HORRID!!! They are the fake butcher block that has a beige color painted over them.
I’m soooooo going to try this. Thanks for the heads up on the 14 days. I will have to move into my dining room for that time, but it seems worth it!
Dana
Good Luck I hope they turn out beautifully!
I also did this to my counters recently and they looked awesome until I decided to do a tile backsplash and paint the cabinets. I used the bombay black kit and there is just too much brown in it for what I did with the rest of the kitchen. I did find out however that if I lightly sand the finish to scuff it up some and then sponge on more paint, and reseal. You can also used a water based acrylic, the kind you get at dollar stores and craft stores. That will be my next project, adding more greys into my counter so it goes with everything else better. Another hint, I bought goldleaf flakes and sprinkled them on the counter as I was sponging. When all was dry, I lightly sanded and wiped before I did the topcoat and the result was awesome, gold flecks like real granite. People can’t believe that the counters are painted, although mine are like a cross between marble and granite as I did some patterning and veining.
Jan, thanks for the tips!
Hi just ran across your blog post about painting your countertops. I have seen this done before and all I’ve seen “LOOK” gorgeous but I would love to know how it holds up over time. How long have you had yours painted and has it been durable? Do you have to be more careful with it than before you painted it?