Despite the fact that I'm currently in across the Pond visiting some friends in Amsterdam and London, I didn't forget you, dear readers. Progress continues at the House on the Isthmus and we've finished with another of the temporary fixes to the kitchen that will likely never completely end (as far as I can tell).
Once we opened up the door to the foyer and finished painting the cabinets and walls, it became painfully apparent that the countertops were in really rough shape.
Added during one of the many renovations to Isthmus House, these were a little dicey - and not just because of the color, texture or fact that I could never be certain they were clean - so I decided to paint them too.
Rustoleum makes a countertop paint that bonds to laminate (and some other surfaces) that's essentially a tinted epoxy. In our case, I didn't love any of the colors they offered (we wanted to go darkish but the best option, Pewter, looked purply-blue) so the guy at the paint counter helped me get closer to what I wanted by adding a half drop of yellow here and a drop of black there.
I got started when there would be limited exposure for The Roommates because this is at least a three day project. First was cleaning the tops as best possible - they were prettier when wet.
After they were completely dry, I lightly sanded them to get any remaining grease (hey, they're probably 60-70 years old!), grime or dirt off so that paint could better adhere.
Lots of scrubbing later (to make sure they were clean for the epoxy), I let them dry for about 45 minutes just to be sure.
If you can, apply the paint with a roller for as much of the surface as possible. Here are the rules of the countertop painting road:
1) You will need a good brush that you can control well in small spaces and a small, high quality roller cover and paint tray.
2) This project will be the last time you use these items. Be prepared to throw them out when you're done.
3) The fumes can get pretty strong. Work in a very well ventilated area and consider wearing a mask (you can get masks at paint stores or in the paint supply aisle).
4) You'll only get one shot.
I started out with the cut ins and I think that was the right choice in part because you need to work pretty quickly with this product. By brushing the paint to the edges by hand (and cleaning up any mistakes with my thumbnail within about 10 seconds), the surface was easily smoothed of brush strokes by the roller right after.
I didn't have to do multiple coats but chose to do two anyway because it looked smoother to me.
Immediately, the finish looks as it will look permanently and the color is only slightly lighter than it will be when dry.
I really didn't want myself or The Roommate to accidently put a hand down on the counters during the THREE days they have to dry so I put up a sign or six...
Fortunately, we didn't touch them, so after waiting three days for them to dry and darken up a bit, the tape was ready to come down.
Now, we have durable, prettier to look at counters in a kitchen that just keeps getting better!
Next up, we should probably fix that backsplash. Stay tuned!
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