Well, wrong...this was too fun not to share!
My parents went away on a week long vacation to Aruba this past week, so I took the initiative to do some updating. Because, you see... my parents have about twenty never ending to-do lists, honey-do lists, someday-do lists, would love to-do lists, etc. But the main thing I've been hearing about from them lately is wanting to update their kitchen. However, it's fairly low on their list, along with being a fairly large expense and needing time they don't have.
So I decided to do a complete countertop makeover for them.... using paints!
This is why: Beautiful blue and white outdated counters... with matching cabinet hardware!
Here is a list of the things I needed to complete this project (and no, its not difficult, but it is quite time consuming)
-A photo of real granite: I looked at photos of granite to get an idea of what would go, and what I wanted my project to resemble. I suggest doing the same, so that you can examine what colors are present in the granite. This helps when picking your acrylic paint colors.
-Zinsser brand all surface tintable water based primer - can be found at most hardware stores: Home Depot, Lowes, etc.
-5 to 7 different colored acrylic paint tubes (yes, the cheap arts and craft ones you can find at a hobby shop or craft store)
-One real dead sea sponge
-Foam roller
-A paint brush (or foam brushes if you need to stay cheap. However, a good brush will give you a better smoother finish)
-A small paint tray
-Painters tape
-Sanding bricks
-Mineral spirits for cleaning
-Minwax brand Polycrylic clear gloss finish (use polycrylic instead of polyurethane, due to its non-yellowing tendencies)
-A good amount of free time and patience! (The most important of all)
Now, step by step I will show and explain how to complete this project from start to finish!
1.) Tape off all wall surfaces or other non-counter surfaces that may come into contact with your painting tools.
2.) Have your foam roller and tintable primer ready. Start rolling your first coat of primer directly onto your need-to-be new counters. (Sanding the old surface is optional when you use the Zinsser all surface primer because it will stick to anything. I did not pre sand. However, if you use a different brand of choice that hasn't been tested on other surfaces, I highly recommend sanding your counters first.) Be sure to let the primer coats dry fully before moving onto step 3.
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| The above photos are taken after 3 primer coats to achieve full coverage. The amount of coats needed will vary depending on your starting counter color. |
3.) Pick out which color of your acrylic paints you would like to have as your base 'granite' color. Keep in mind, this color will be the one to least show through on your finished project. Squirt small amounts of the first acrylic into a paint tray, and gently dab the side of the sponge in. Then, with absolutely NO rhyme or reason, sporadically dab the paint all over your counters. (Random is important! You will find it begins to look too patterned if you try to plan where your sponge dabs will go)
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| My starting color was silver, because I was aiming for a more warm finished product, but still needed a bit of a stone color to 'peak' through. Notice how some areas of silver are thicker and more filled in, while others may seem nearly bare. This is good! |
Also, if your counters do not have rounded edges, a way to give them the rounded edge effect is to roll your sponge over the sides every so often, so that it makes the top and the side panel of the counters seem connected.
4.) Repeat step 3 with color #2..#3...so on and so forth. Always remember: Random and sporadic! Just continue this process until you have used all of your acrylic paint colors. There is no need to wait for each acrylic paint to dry, nor to clean the sponge or the paint tray after each color. Just squirt the new paint color into the tray, and keep going at it.
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| After I applied three of my colors: silver, brown, black. |
Notice that I tried to go lighter on the black than the others, because black is a much more dominant color, and will more easily show through any lighter colors layered on top of it. So if you don't want black to be a large portion of your final product, but want it to act as an accent, then follow my lead. If you desire an all around darker product, feel free to go a bit heavier on black.
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| After 2 more colors, khaki and buttermilk were added. (Totaling 5 colors so far) |
At this point, you should start to see whether or not the color is meeting your expectations. If not, no big deal! Just go back through and add more of the colors you feel you want to see more of! Or maybe you notice that it all looks a little too sponged still, adding more layers will help this. It will fill in some of the seemingly open areas, as well as give your granite a more speckled character, rather than having chunky color.
For me, I liked the idea of a more chunky granite look with sweeping colors, but this wasn't quite there you yet. So I simply went back through, adding more of the dark brown, and very small well spaced spots of black, all again covered once over by khaki.
5.) Have your brush and clear gloss finish ready. This is the least fun, most time consuming part. After you've let the sponged acrylics dry for about 24 hours, its time to start the layering of clear gloss polycrylic. This is going to give it a beautiful shine, as well as giving the counter durability. Because what a waste it would be to have all the work you just did go down the drain...
Brush the polycrylic over the counter in smooth strokes, always making sure your brush is wet. If the brush becomes dry during this step, you will see many brush strokes in your finished product (and the whole idea with faux granite, people, is to look like the real stuff) and everyone knows granite is smooth as glass!
You'll need between 7 and 9 coats in order for the counter to be well covered and fully protected (more than 9 for those eager at heart!) Each coat should dry for about 1.5 to 2 hours.
After dried, lightly sand with very very fine grit to help smooth out any imperfections from the brush strokes or collected paint drops.
Then repeat step 5 another 6 to 8 times.
Once all the clear coats are finished, and dried, let the counter cure for about a week before going back to full carelessness and use. Although, even after it cures, never EVER use the counter tops and knives together without a cutting board. And be sure never to set oven or stove top hot pans on it. This will ruin the clear coat, and at very least leave small scratches. If you accidentally do this, don't completely lose your mind - The clear coat can be sanded down in the damaged area and you will need to reapply clear coats once again.
My finished project, along with all new brushed nickel cabinet hardware!....
Happy Famiversary, Mom and Dad!
If you decide to do this project, I would love to see your results! Please share by messaging me, or posting a link in my comments!
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