Most people know that I am a big time DIY person. I love being able to do things myself, for a few reasons one is it allows me become part of the project and it also saves money. So with that being said, I started a Kitchen Remodel in the home we are getting ready to move into.
The plan has been to remodel the existing cabinets because they are solid cabinets just a bit outdated, and to refinish the counter tops, replace the sink, and install a dishwasher, new stove and microwave.
The cabinet doors and drawers have been riding around in the back of my truck for a couple of weeks because well I have NO TIME to work on them, but hopefully this weekend I will be able to break out the sander and get to work.
Lets talk counter tops. The counter tops that I am refinishing were white with some tan/beige specks through out not bad but not great either, there were some chips in the material and scratches as well. I happened across a product called Giani Counter Paint. Their claim was you could paint your counters to look just like marble counter tops. I figured what the heck $80 compared to the cost of actually replacing the counters. Well being a frugal shopper I decided to check my local craiglist and amazingly someone was selling an unopened box in the exact color I wanted for $50. AWESOME! so I purchased the kit and got going.
PREP: I used simple green as my cleaner on the counters and I scrubbed them down to ensure they were clean and then I used blue tape to mask off the back splash. Easiest prep ever!
Step 1 Apply black primer- At this point there is no going back. It was a bit intimidating at this point because now I was committed to this project and if I did not like it well I would have to live with it. After applying the primer you have to wait 8 hours to start the next step. I applied two coats of primer and waited overnight and most of the next day to start the next step.
Step 2-apply the color in my kit was 3 colors that would be layered on top of each other to create the marble look. I have to admit it takes some practice, basically you are use sea sponge to sponge on the layers of colors, if you press to hard or have to much paint on your sponge you get a blotchy mess, if you do not have enough paint then you get uneven cover. After a while I got a system down and it started to come together. I really struggled getting in the corners and along the back splash I wish I would have had a better way of working on that part. I put on one layer of each color and decided it did not look quite right so I went back and did another layer of each color and finally I started to become very happy with the results. This is the part that was really fun because I could decide how much of one color I wanted to show through. This whole process probably took about 4 hours, with about a 30 minute break between layers 3 and 4.
Step 3-By far the hardest part! The box says to wait at least 4 hours before putting the top coat on the counters. I believe I waited close to 6 hours. When rolling on the top coat I noticed that it was really hard to keep from getting roller lines and that was the battle I fought the entire time. The lighting was not the greatest in the house so it was a bit tough to see any light lines that were left. I put on two coats of top coat. Now for use the next part was easy because we are not living in the house yet, but you can not put anything on the counters for 14 days! The top coat has a 14 day total cure time. If you are thinking about using this product be sure to plan this into your process.
(You can read an official product review on our product review page)
I have not seen the counters since the top coat as been applied, but Cowboy has and he said they look great! I am hoping to see them this weekend!
The next project I worked on was the cabinet handles and outlet covers for the entire house. I bought some Krylon Spray paint (I can not remember the color) but I LOVE IT! We took all the cabinet handles and drawer pulls off the cabinets and drawers and scrubbed them down got off all the old paint and grease. I then laid them out in the yard on a piece of card board and put 2 layers of spray paint and layer of polyurethane coating and I love how they came out. I am so excited to finish the cabinet
Adventures at Dog Trail Ranch 