DIY Kitchen Updates in a Budget: You CAN Paint Laminate Countertops

YES YOU CAN! I read all over the internet and heard experts saying that painting these countertops would not work. I have these ugly formica laminate counter tops that go up the way as a back splash too! UGLY! They came with the house when it was built.

I discovered a kit made by the same people that did the cabinet paint kit that I used. The Rust-Oleum Countertop Transformations Kit

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cost over $200! I was NOT about to do that! So I decided to start on a small part of my counters. I decided if it did not work or looked horrible it would be easier to replace a small portion than all counter tops!

So the fun began!

I got all my supplies from Home Depot and Walmart and spend about $30.

Zinsser Bulls-eye Primer
Quikrete Decorative Color Flakes (For concrete) I hoped this would give the speckled and textured look.
Foam Roller
Satin Grey and Black paint from Color Creations (small can to start with)
covering for cabinets and floors

First I primed using Zinsser 2004 “Bulls-eye” Primer Sealer and Stain Killer 1-2-3 Qt

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that cost $9.99 at Home Depot. I used a foam roller and it went on great! I did the backsplash section too. I waited about 1 hour and did one more coat. Then I let it sit over night.

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The next morning was experiment time! I had a couple ideas in mind. I was still leaning toward black with white speckles would be best. But I also love yellow and grey so I wanted to try both.I did one coat of solid grey…NO! Then I tried black and grey with the flakes.

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Painting all grey

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Painting Black and Grey

I was LOVING how the color flakes were looking! And after trying the black and the grey I decided grey looked best! So I sanded down the black section with flakes and re primed it for the grey.

In case you are wondering there was no real technique to the flakes. I just used the bottle that is designed for sprinkling the flakes. I sprinkled in long motions trying to get the flakes in random places. There was no pattern or set look in this. Just have fun. The random flakes give it character and depth! Be sure you have all the cabinets and floors covered! This got messy!

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Catching all the falling flakesAll painting is done and flakes are in place

After all the section was done I set back and admired my work. This part (the experiementing, then painting grey and sprinkling flakes) took me one day. I decided to let it dry over night.

The next day was the day for completing this section! I used a pour on high gloss finish from Micheals that I had read great things about. It is suppose to look like 50 coats with only one use!!! It was $20 at Micheals but I used a 50% coupon to make it $10! You can get coupons here or download their free app for coupons when you need them. That is what I do! Remember to keep your receipt because I always get another coupon on that!

This stuff was great but you have to work FAST! You mix as directed and then pour. You have a short time to spread out and then get the bubbles out. I used a lighter for the bubbles. After about 30 minutes it is very tacky and too hard to work with. I turned the fan on it and let it sit.

It was remarkable! It was very hard! It was shiny and looked like it had so much depth to it!! I was so excited! So with no time wasted I started on the rest of the counters!

Comments

Lee Ann Kaplan says:

May 2 at 3:00 pm

OH WOW!!!!!!!!!! I really hope that military housing will let me paint these counters!! I canpaint the walls but I want to do the counters. they painted them when we moved in and they are chipping, cracking and even my plate bottoms scratch the paint off

BigD says:

May 3 at 11:23 am

Did you remove your sink to avoid have gunked-up edges?
They look great.
I think I might have to try this. My husband is opposed to doing any construction in our kitchen, but I could knock this out in a few days without ripping anything out.

Shelby Barone says:

May 8 at 11:35 pm

WOW!! That is amazing!! I cannot believe you did that yourself. It looks like you spent a fortune on them!

Mallery Schuplin says:

May 14 at 9:33 am

My Mom used those flakes on her laundry room floor and garage floor. They really class things up if you don’t want carpet!

Seattle moving company says:

April 23 at 10:47 pm

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reminds me of my previous room mate! He always kept talking about this.
I will forward this page to him. Fairly certain he will have a good read.

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