DIY Faux Granite Countertop ….without a kit for under $60!
I’m Gonna Go Faux It!
Before…. ugly, dated and this color irritated me every time I went in there. Even though this house was built in 2004, this maroon/grey/oak theme seems trés 1980’s.
Yuck.
Plus they had super awesome crappy laminate backsplash with silver trim. Double ick.
So let’s get started….first things first. Taping off around the sink with painter’s tape and removing the backsplash. Easy peasy.
Then I lightly sanded the laminate surface and applied a nice layer of grey primer ($8) with a a paintbrush.
I am cheap. Frugal. Price-aware. Whatever you wanna call it. Basically, I will use what I have on hand and pray that it works. If it doesn’t then I’m off to the store to get the right stuff. THAT being said. I had this black acrylic craft paint on hand and figured I’d just use it for the base coat of my granite. PROBLEM was…..
…it went on ALL gloopy because the paint had chunks in it from sitting too long. SO I initially blamed it on the foam brush and decided to try a different technique to apply it but that didn’t work either, so…
…all was smooth and well after sanding the gloopy result back down with the handy mouse sander.
I even went so far as to water the black craft glue down a bit and STRAINED IT WITH AN OLD STRAINER from the kitchen. As you might imagine, it didn’t work. It DID seem like a good idea at 2am in the morning when I tried it, but I could have saved a lot of trouble just waiting until the next day and buying new craft paint. Oh well.
I bought a new bottle of paint ($2) and voila, awesomeness ensued once applied with a fresh foam paintbrush. (75 cents)
Next I cut new wood backsplashes to mimic a nice thick granite ($FREE) from a piece of 3/4″ plywood I had laying around. Painted them with the same grey primer as the countertop, and then with the black acrylic craft paint. Decided to use super easy Liquid Nails ($5) to put it up.
Like it says on the package, apply the goo, stick it to the wall, then pull apart for a few minutes so the goo gets tacky and will stick better. Problem for me was that the board bowed a little bit and didn’t stick hard on both ends. Hubby came up with the solution. A clamp with a paper towel under it to protect the paint on one end, and on the other…..
…a simple nail to hold the end on tight, pushing it towards the mirror. This totally worked and were both removed after 24 hours.
To give the look of granite, I wanted to give it a seamless look by using paintable caulk on the seam. ($FREE had on hand) 
TIP: Instead of paying for that $2.99 plastic/rubber tool they sell at the store to smooth the seam, just use your finger! Works great and FREEEEEE!$$$
j
Okay, time to get artsy. The hubby and I went to Lowe’s and checked out the real granite samples that they had to decide on what color scheme I wanted to try to replicate. After much thought, I decided to just wing it and pick what appealed to me at Michael’s Craft Store. The acrylic craft paints were on sale for like 75¢ each, and I picked up the following colors that were used in my project in order of application after the black basecoat:
Americana Decoart’s Bittersweet Chocolate. Craft Smart’s Metallic Bronze, Metallic Gold mixed with Plaid Folk Art’s Camel and Vanilla. (total $3.75)
I had bought a slew of colors, not quite sure what route I was going to take. Greys, more tans, pure white and silver were all purchased too, but never used. Just test out on some black construction paper (or whatever base coat color you want to start with). Below is an example of my test page, which ended up being way more black and sparkly than the finished product as you’ll see later on. (Sidenote: Please excuse the quality of some of the photos, as they were stills taken from a video I did on this project.)
Once you’ve decided on your colors, set up your staging area. I started out using half of the sink countertop, but that ended up being dumb since I needed to PAINT that side, so my son’s little card table worked perfectly as a craft table in the small powder room. Set out plates and squirt a good sized glop of paint for each color you want. I mixed my metallic gold and camel on the same plate for added dimension.
I’d recommend coated plates so the paint doesn’t wet through to the other side.
Your best friend in this project will be your sponge. You’ll need a natural, real, used-to-be-alive sponge for this project to look more realistic. The fake “real sponges” are lame and don’t have the pointy fronds at the end like the real deal. I got mine at Michael’s ($6). They are super easy to use and rinse nicely. I tore mine (cutting makes too even of edges in my opinion) into a large, medium and two small versions. The medium worked better for the backsplash, and the small ones I tried to tear them so they had a point to them to use for the crevice seam and around the sink. Rinse your sponges and squeeze them out well so they are damp, but not drippy wet before you start using them to paint.
Gently daub your sponge in your color (that’s bittersweet chocolate above) and sponge on the plate first to make sure you don’t glop it on. Then, gently press and lift, NO SWIPING, turning your sponge in the air each time before going back down to sponge again. That will give a non-uniform look and won’t end up with the super stampy look that really bad faux granite countertops do. Remember, LESS IS MORE. Go light, you can always add more color later.
Use your smaller sponge to daub in the corners, doing the same rotating technique each time to avoid the stampy look. I also employed the use of a tiny stiff kids paintbrush, you know, the kind that come with the cheap paint sets, to also add where I felt the small sponge was “too big”. 
One of the things I noticed about REAL granite is that it has actual sparkle in it…like glitter! I didn’t want to use a real chunky gold or silver glitter, so I found this AWESOME super fine glitter at Michael’s in the scrapbooking/stamping aisle. It’s by Recollections and is the color Espresso. It is gorgeous! I sprinkled it very liberally after the first color while still wet so it would stick well. I also sprinkled it a bit toward the end so assure that it would still show up after adding all the other colors. Another tip is to do some toothbrush spatter/flecks. Mix a tiny bit of black acrylic paint with a tiny bit of water and dip a toothbrush in it and run your thumb over the toothbrush to flick perfect little stone/granite flecks all over your countertop. Test this out on a piece of paper first! You don’t want to mess up your masterpiece!
Hi Chevy! Chevy was a guest pug in our house while I was working on this project while my friend was on a trip. Our two black pugs LOVED having him around, and he LOVED being attached to my side!
Okay….so this picture brings up a lot. This was my FIRST attempt at recreating what I thought I wanted for a finished product…with the veining and the extra metallic and everything. I even followed the official “Giani” instructions that I saw online and did only a small section at a time. I say FIRST attempt, because this was the first of three before I felt like it looked the way I wanted. This first attempt was done at, oh…..I’d say 2am, maybe 3am? And to tell you the truth, I was pretty happy with it…….until I woke up and was like, OH. MY. GOSH. This looks HORRIBLE!
I even asked Chevy, and he totally agreed…it just looked tacky. BUT DON’T WORRY IF THIS HAPPENS TO YOU! The fix is an easy one! Just paint over it all with the black craft paint! Easy breezy. Try #2 was too white, so below ended up being try #3, which I was pleased with.
I recommend NOT doing a little section at a time, but rather sponge on each color on the entire surface, let it dry a bit, then move on the the next color. I know a lot of tutorials suggest doing it in little spots so the colors stay wet and all blend to make multiple dimension, yadda, yadda, yadda, but it didn’t look to good to me. Ended up looking too muddy in my opinion. I did do the main counter (both sides) together, then each backsplash separately, but I think that worked out just great.
Here is the semi-finished product BEFORE I did the veining and topcoat. Veining is done with a VERY light touch using a small sponge dipped in black. As a matter of fact, after dipping it, I daubed it on the paper plate until any paint was barely on the sponge, THEN used it for the veining. The last thing you want to do is have too heavy a hand with that, then you end up screwing the whole thing up. I’ve seen people use other ways of doing veining in tutorials: feathers, thin paintbrushes, etc., but I liked the look I got with the tiny sponge for my version.
You can see here how I did the veining over the edge of the counter and followed it up the backsplash to give it a more realistic “one cut piece” look of real stone granite. Once you have all the veins you want in place, it’s time to prepare for a topcoat of clear protection. I used some fine (220 grit) sandpaper to lightly sand down the tiny ridges caused by the sponging before I added the topcoat. Run your fingers over the top to make sure there aren’t any obvious ridges. Small ripples like orange peel type bumps will come out later, but the bigger ones you’d better get now.
I REALLY researched this. I wanted to make sure that the topcoat I used not only would hold up my 7 year old son and all of his friends leaving wet stuff on the counter, but I also wanted it to be shiny as glass and smooth as real granite. This required a LOT of attention to detail. You want to get an automotive clear topcoat from an automotive store. I used a clear high gloss topcoat by Dupli-color ($24) in a can. (WARNING: This stuff STINKS!!!! STRONG FUMES! I had the fan plus an additional fan going in that little room and made sure my son’t bedroom door was closed upstairs before using this.) Next, pick up a small foam roller from the hardware store. This gives a smooth, even application. ($4). I recommend watching the Giani video on how to apply topcoat here before getting started: http://www.gianigranite.com/learnhow3countertoppaint.html
Messing up this step will make all your work for naught! The only thing I did differently than the Giani tutorial was sanding. Between each coat, I very gently used extra super duper fine sandpaper from the automotive store that was 1500 and 2000 grit. ($6). Be sure to wipe well after each sanding with a damp towel and let dry. I ended up applying 10 super thin coats to the countertop. Pay special attention if you get any thick pooling around the sink. Once each coat is dry, run your fingers on it to find any bumping that needs additional sanding. After you have your coats done, you’ll want to wet the 1500 grit sandpaper and lightly go over the whole countertop and backsplash, then do the same with the 2000 grit. The surface will look dull and cloudy! DON’T WORRY! It’s supposed to at this point! The final step then is to use a nice rubbing compound to bring out that new car gloss. Rub it on gently in circular motion, wipe off and buff with a lambswool cloth until shiny. It’ll be nice and ‘purty!
See, the final result ended up being way lighter than the original test page, which is fine with me!
The question is, will this sink ever look white again!!! Look at that! Primer, acrylic paint, glitter, caulk and automotive topcoat. YIKES!
Once you’re survived the topcoat fumes and all is looking the way you like, it’s time to remove the blue tape from the sink and wall. (Yes, there IS blue tape under all that!) VERY IMPORTANT!: You must cut the edge with a razor before lifting or it will peel/tear your countertop finish off! Cut all the way around the sink and also lightly on the wall tape to dislodge it from the countertop.
Okay, in the pic above, you can see right next to the sink a tad of the maroon original laminate that is peeking through. That happened because this is the area behind the faucets and my hand wouldn’t fit right when cutting around the tape. NO WORRIES though….a little extra line of silicone seals it all up and nobody looks behind there anyway, right? 
As you can see, the sink came clean! It was super easy with my trusty Comet and scouring brush. You can really see the veining from this angle and even catch a bit of the shine from the right side backspash there, showing the lower counter in it’s reflection.
The very last thing to do is apply silicone caulk around the sink to assure a watertight seal. ($FREE had on hand).
DONE! WOW! What a difference! I am so loving this look. Now that Ihave my technique down, I’m so excited to do another version in different colors on my kitchen counters! FYI: You can see the start of my paper flooring treatment (my next project) which I was working on when I took this photo. Don’t worry, I’ll post that tutorial when I’m done! 🙂
BEFORE
AFTER!
Total cost of this faux granite treatment: $59.50.
Mind you, I’ll be able to reuse many of the supplies/items bought, so the real cost was even lower than this! Hooray!
To see video of my process with all the mistakes included, check out my videos on YouTube. http://youtube.com/mossisawesome
AMAZING, Kim!!!! I am so impressed with your work and the cost. If I had half the patience you have, I could do so much around the house 🙂
Hello! Is the automotive clear topcoat safe for use on kitchen countertops? I’m wanting a strong, long-lasting durable topcoat to paint over the Giani faux granite kit, if I was to get it, and just wanted to know :]
Hi Yuri,
That’s a good question! After searching online, it appears that opinions of those I read about say that once any topcoat is cured, it is non-toxic as a surface. Here is the MSDS information on the topcoat that I used: http://www.paintdocs.com/webmsds/webPDF.jsp?SITEID=DUPLI&prodno=026916000743&doctype=MSDS&lang=2 I’ll have to look into this more before we go ahead and redo our kitchen counters! From this information, I can’t tell if there is lead in this product or not. The lead would be an issue if any sanding was done on the dried finish. Not sure if once cured and solid if there is any issue with lead (if it does indeed contain it). The polyurethane topcoat that Giani sells is advertised as “lead free”, but is a polyurethane, not a lacquer like the automotive topcoat by Duplicolor that I used. If anyone has information about this, I’d love to know more!
oh I see! On some websites it was stated that Giani’s topcoat was of an automotive grade (I think to emphasize on heavydutiness and whatnot) so to me it SEEMS like it’d be fine but I wanted to make sure… and of course, people use lacquer and different types of polyurethane on tables and the likes all the time so maybe automotive is just as safe once cured! See how I’m convincing myself? Haha!
and I have one more question! Have you experienced chipping or anything since you’ve done this? 🙂
It has held up wonderfully. It’s in our mainfloor bathroom and gets multiple daily use. It looks exactly the same as when I just finished. I also end up kind of using that sink and counter as a utility area since it is right next door to the laundry room. No chipping, swelling, peeling, nothing! We’ve had it now for a couple months with no problems whatsoever. I’d say my biggest criticism of the product was the smell. VERY fume-y. It was okay because I just shut the door after wards and turned on the fan, so it was contained somewhat, but when we do the kitchen, it’s open to the rest of the house and I’m worried about the fumes permeating the rest of the house. I’ll be sure to do it in the morning when my son is at school so it can evaporate and air out all day before he comes home.
I used the Giani Granite Kit in September and was pleased with the end product until November when it strted to chip in areas of my kitchen counter with the highest amount of traffic. I have repaired the chips and it looks pretty good, but will never as smooth as it was originally. I don’t really think that the faux paint is a long-term solution.
Our countertop in the powder room looks just the same as the day I finished it many months ago. I didn’t use the Giani kit, but rather did my own version with craft paints and an automotive clear finish coating. Perhaps that was the difference? We also use this “powder room” as a sort of utility sink at times, so it gets heavy use. I do have plans to do this technique in our kitchen as well, so I’ll let you know how that goes.
Any ideas or suggestions of what to do with revamping a huge kitchen counter that is tile? I also hate my cabinet color (very light oak) and would love to do something that doesn’t involve sanding a lot… we have a whole bunch of cabinets. Argh! Any ideas would be appreciated. 🙂
Tile countertops…….hmmm…if you “faux granite” over them you’ll still have the grouted dips and lines…but if you remove it all, then you’ll have a space between your sink and the under-wood, I’m assuming. If it were me, I’d probably opt to do this:http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/before-after-poured-concrete-c-154447 I think it looks SO awesome and you can use dyes to change the color is grey isn’t your thing. If you are set on doing the faux granite thing….I’d figure a way to fill and level the grout lines….perhaps with thinset, then sand it, clean it and “go faux it”! 🙂
Oh, and for the cabinets, I’d go with a really good primer after a light sanding. If you get a nice durable, heavy duty primer on there first, the paint should go on like a dream and have good staying power. We have creepy light oak too and are going white gloss, so I feel your pain. 🙂 We’re investing in renting a paint sprayer though, it will make for a much smoother and faster process for the doors and we can knock those out fast that way.
We used the cabinet transformations kit at Home Depot or Lowes or Amazon. It runs about $200, covered almost our entire kitchen. I had 5 doors left and decided to buy another kit to finish my 3 bathroom cabinet sets too. It looks great and holds up great. I went with white, have to scrub residue off every month or so from food stuff, and I haven’t had any problems whatsoever with it. No sanding, just a light solution to apply before applying the paint. It did take about 3 coats to cover my light wood cabinets to white. I love it! I would do it again! It is a lot of work and time, so be prepared. Happy DIYing 🙂
I really love this idea and project. I have been deciding weather or not to attempt it. You make it look so easy and doable. I have told myself I can do it and I made a list of everything you used and I’m going out this weekend to buy materials. I will let you know how it goes. By the way, did you get around to doing your kitchen yet? I’m curious to know how it went. I would love to do this to my kitchen as well. Thank you
No, I haven’t yet, but am absolutely planning on doing it in my kitchen as well. I am waiting until I’m done with my flooring project first. How did it go for you?!
You have inspired me! Not sure I would even attempt to Faux my ugly laminent, but your step by step guide and amazing results had me shopping at Michael’s and doing test swatches. I’ll let you know how it turns out. thank you!
Fantastic! I hope it goes well for you! Just remember, if you don’t like the end result, just paint it over black and start over and be very careful with the topcoat not to go back over the wet with the roller a second time until it is completely dry. BEST OF LUCK!
This is wonderful. I love granite but it cost too much. I love this idea and will most definitely be doing this. It turned out great.
Thanks Stacey, I’m getting ready to do it in my kitchen, but in a much lighter tone…like a creamy ivory with bits of brown and grey, so I’ll post that blog as soon as I’m done.
I did this a few years ago. I live in Canada. I used a melamine paint as a base, I’m not sure if it’s available in the U.S. It’s great for tiles or counter tops.
The rest of the paint I used was left over latex paint I used in the rest of the house. I coated it with a poly final top coat.
Your tutorial is great. One piece of advice, I learned the hard way… Do not, I repeat, do not use Oxyclean products on this finish. It eats straight through the finish, right down to the base coat.
I accidentally left a bottle of the bathroom cleaner on the counter and came back to peeling paint. Since the finish was already ruined I sprayed a little more on and it reacted immediately.
Aside from this little problem, mine has lasted and still looks great.
On a happier note, I’m planning on ripping out all the reasons I chose to paint in the first place. I’m finally getting a new kitchen. Yay!
Wow, thanks for the tip! I had OxyClean stuff ruin a nice tablecloth of mine too. Ate right through it. After Thanksgiving, I sprayed the cranberry stains, let it sit overnight and woke up to a linen tablecloth that looked like swiss cheese! I was so mad!
This info is great. I’ve been trying to keep a lid on $$$ as I’m trying to paint all the rooms in my house. After painting the bathroom cabinets semigloss black and swapping out the 50 year old faux daisy flower knobs, the worn formica looks hideous. Since the counter is about 7 feet long, even replacing it with anything would be cost prohibitive, but looking at your end result, I can’t wait to try. Thanks for giving us the information!
WOW! I hope it goes well! It would be great to see the finished product. Are you going to go with a light or darker granite color?
I’m going to attempt to imitate a golden granite, so it might look a little lighter overall than yours. At least, that’s the plan, I’m going to try it this weekend.
I will be trying the same technique on my new kitchen island within the next week or so. My colors are lighter but I’m hoping for the same effect. You did a great job and the veining is really nice – very encouraging to me to know that if you can do this I can too! Thanks!
Thanks! We’ll be doing our kitchen too soon…hopefully by the end of July, so I’ll post more pics as soon as we do. Best of luck to you guys!
Did you use any type of a reducer with the top coat?
LOL! Sorry, I don’t even know what a reducer is! I’m guessing I didn’t. I just used an automotive topcoat.
LOL! Just curious…….I used to do auto paint…….a reducer thins it down and helps it dry. I’m going to try this without it….the bath in the house I’m buying is just……just…..oh it needs some help!
Ohhhh that probably would have been a good thing to use! Maybe I’ll give it a try next time. Is it something you can use with a roller? Or do you need to add it to the spray type of application? One thing that I REALLY disliked was how noxious the fumes on that automotive topcoat is. Does the reducer “reduce” any of the fumes?
it should be ok with a roller……..it helps the paint flow out smooth also. I wish I knew a way to get rid of the smell but so far nothing! Just thought…..I wonder if a couple of drops of vanilla would help. Also, if you get any of the little bubbles where the finish won’t stick they make a “fisheye” product that you put on and it gets rid of the spot (usually a spot of oils from fingers or something) I’m not sure how to explain it
You did a great job!!! I’m going to try to do this over the weekend. I noticed it’s been almost a year and I wanted to know how was your hard work holding up?
OH MY GOSH….SOOOooo good! It looks exactly like the day I finished it! No issues with water sitting on it after splashy handwashing by kids, no seepage under the edge near the sink to cause any issues, no scratches, just fantastic!
Great tutorial!!! Just a question or two…I am doing this in my kitchen. Do you think the topcoat is safe to use there? Also, can I use household cleaners on this and it still hold up? Just wanting to make sure it is durable enough. I tried to use the Envirotex as a topcoat for my trial run and I didn’t like it. Any advice would be much appreciated! 🙂
Yay! I was told that the topcoat is foodsafe to use once it’s dry and cured. My bathroom took a good full month to TOTALLY cure, meaning I didn’t see any clouding with water sitting on it (all clouding, even before the month, cleared right up once it dried overnight), and I could put heavy things like my little feature fountain thing. I would wait a good 3 weeks before putting your countertop appliances and flour jars, etc on it. Better safe than sorry. It may cloud a bit if drops of water sit on it, but that will clear up overnight once you wipe it up. Once it’s fully cured, you won’t have the clouding problem. I’d love to see a picture!
One more thing…I did do this to my kitchen counter tops and they look great! However, I am concerned they won’t hold up. How long do you think it takes for the counters to “cure” and harden? I put over ten coats on and am still worried! Help!
I sure loved what you did here. I am trying this right now. I hope it turns out ok, if so I will be doing all of my counters. Thanks for the info. Post pics of your kitchen when its done would love to see it
Oh yes, I will for sure! We are getting ready for the kitchen remodel probably in the next month, so I’ll post ’em as soon as I get ’em!
This is beautiful! am going to try it in my Laundry next week!
Great! Let me know how it goes!
Okay… Love this idea, BUT (this is a big but) I am VERY concerned about the fumes. Here is why… My mom is only 51 and developed stage 4 lung cancer. She did housecleaning for over two decades and never had a second thought about an occasional hit of strong fumes until they ate a hole in her lung. I am hoping/praying you have found something that has a durable coat without the strong fumes. Otherwise, I am stuck with my baby blue counters-forever… Do you think the fume-free flooring coat you used would work? And did you end up doing the light color torn paper floor yet? How did it turn out? Thanks for your help. I can so totally relate to your “live and learns.” I have just [almost] finished up completely remodeling my kitchen for less than $100.00. (I have a Habitat for Humanity store near our home… tiled a back-splash for under $20.00… looks AMAZING). I will post pictures when I am totally finished.
Oh wow, so sorry to hear about your Mom. I didn’t find anything else with less fumes. I don’t think the fume-free floor coating would be strong enough, but it’s worth trying on a sample board.
I’m going to try this in my master bath.. loved your ideas. What kind of rubbing compound did you use? and what kind of white paint on the lower cabinets? I have that old 25 year faux wood laminate everywhere, time to update!
I just did my kitchen countertops and used Envirotex Lite pour on from Hobby Lobby to top coat. It is safe, the same stuff they use to coat bar tops. It is an epoxy.
Nice! Thanks for the tip!
You are a woman after my own heart! So glad to know there are others out there who think “outside the box” like me!
I have been doing something similar to my kitchen countertop for the past week…however. I removed the sink & faucets before starting it b/c I didn’t want to deal with taping it. Hence, I have been camping out & doing dishes in my laundry room sink for going on two weeks now. THAT is getting old fast! I used ” Aqua Bond” primer that I bought at a stencil shop 10 (yes 10) years ago!, I also used craft paints but I added a aqua glaze to the paints before applying with a sponge. I am still tweaking the final results, before I apply a topcoat. My boyfriend just sent me your post, so I am going to check out the automotive finish , before proceeding. Thank you SO much for sharing! Thankfully, my kids are grown & out of the house because they would not have found the “camping out” to be amusing ! I will post photos on my next visit!
Oh, sounds great! I’d love to see your photos! Do you have a link you can post?
I do have some photos to post on my “work in progress” (see above post) but am not sure how to post them to this blog?
OH I’d love to see! I think the only way to do this is to post a link to the photos that you post on another site. Like if you use Flickr or Pinterest or something like that.
Can you please list all the products you used? I watched all the videos on youtube but I have no idea what you did for the top. How you got it smooth as glass and not be able to feel the texture of the paint. I am going to try this technique this weekend in my master bath. The hardest part is picking the colors. I am doing a medium shade blue walls with white cabinet doors and brown trim around the room so I am thinking a black base with blue, white, grey and silver for the counter.
Here is the link to my original post which lists all the supplies I used. https://mossisawesome.wordpress.com/2011/08/21/diy-bathroom-update-faux-granite-countertop-without-a-kit/
Thanks!
A couple of years later, I’m wondering how your countertop held up. Does it still look as great as the ay you finished it? I’m all for inexpensive, but will wait if it isn’t a permanent fix!
FANTASTIC! They look EXACTLY the same. I’m going full steam ahead to do these in my kitchen next. I will post update pictures soon so you can see how well the powder room counter held up for yourself! 🙂
Am I glad I found this! I am currently, like right now, in the process of redoing the kitchen countertops. Last year, my daughter painted the kitchen walls and cabinets for me (the cabinets are a creamy ivory color). I live in an apartment and the cabinets were ugly, brown formica-type and since there’s no window, the kitchen was dark. She did the walls in a chevron using turquoise, blue, yellow, purple, coral, and red, and outlined the chevrons in a thin black line. And she did it all by eye, no measuring! Genius kid of mine. I wanted a black counter so I used the Giani granite paint. It was OK in the beginning, but over a few months, it started to lose its appeal. It showed EVERYTHING and never looked clean. I have tons of acrylic paints and was so glad to see your suggestion of using creamy ivory, browns and gray, which are the colors in the floor tiles I put in. Can’t wait to start. Love your blog. And surely appreciate everyone’s comments.
Looks awesome!! Thanks for sharing all of your DIY tips and tricks and faux-pas. It so great seeing somebody go through and make the mistakes and show how they powered through and made it happen 🙂 You’ve inspired me!
I did this in my bathroom and am working on my kitchen now. I used Rustoleum Countertop Coating (not the kit, just the coating) with Rustoleum Gloss Enamel and Hammered Enamel. For an added flare, I used the copper color of the hammered style for accents and it looks amazing. I used a polyurethane topcoat in the bathroom, which has done a great job of protecting the countertop, but I wasn’t able to sand it smooth. I think I might just try the automotive topcoat in the kitchen. Thanks for the info about your experience!
you say this stands up to water by using the automotive gloss, my countertop have built in sinks…I know…Old School, but they really are cute, just really outdated in color. Both of our bathrooms have been completely redone except counters (cabinets, floors, etc.). Do you think this automotive gloss/top coat would hold up in the sink? Still not sure how it would look with it all being one piece but was thinking of painting sink a solid white and countertops dark like yours. I’m very crafty and creative (my husband and I own a craft business) so I really think I can handle it, just wanted to see the results a couple of years later on how it’s holding up…2 years, as you said, would be fine with me being as I get bored with things in my house quite often!!!
I don’t think I’d try it in an actual sink bowl. I’m not sure how that would stand up to continual water and soap use and other things that you would rinse off your hands. The surface has held up really well in my powder room. We did just have an incident that has penetrated the surface. I’m going to do a little blog on it, but I will let you know that it was one of those plug-in air fresheners. It was laying down on this countertop and it leaked out. And the stuff that leaked out Ended up eating all the way through to the original surface. There’s some kind of oil in it and it must have some kind of solvent property to it. The same thing happened on a piece of wood furniture I had in my living room with an air freshener. Some oil leaked out a little bit and it completely took the finish off the furniture. Now I’m stuck with having to figure out how to repair this. Stay tuned for my blog on that one.
This is a great tutorial/ before and after project and I absolutely love the finished look!! I did this in my kitchen and it seriously updated my home. I decided to try this on a larger surface (the outside of my stand alone garage) so i researched various faux granite paints and came across Spray Stone USA for larger applications/outdoors. It came out great!! So happy with the finished look!
I’m researching finishes for my tired old formica kitchen countertop. Just wondering if you completed your kitchen countertop yet?
Nope, not yet. I hope to start on it this new year. I’ll be sure to post updates as soon as I start.
This is is very interesting info about painting itself. Keep up with the good work.Awesome.
I’ve applied the Giani Granite kit on my kitchen counter tops less than a year ago and it certainly looked amazing. The top coat however is very fragile and is wearing out quickly (I applied 3 good coats initially) in the most used area and also pealing in others. The top coat is easy to scratch and does not like any standing water or humid cloth. I will need to redo most of the counter tops although, I will use another Top Coat which is more resistant and durable (also used for resurfacing floors). Now that I have the technique down, it will be easier just by using a few different mineral paint colors. I truly do not recommend their top coat product; looks great but not at all durable. Thanks
Great! Yes, I agree, I’m glad I went with the auto topcoat for the bathroom, it has been amazing in repelling water, stains, etc.
I am doing my kitchen counters right now. So far, they look great. Thanks for the great and inexpensive idea
I did this, following your blog, about a year ago. I also pinned it (linking back to here, of course!). One person on my board said they did it and it didn’t hold up for them and they wouldn’t recommend it. WELL, I DO recommend it! The big change I made was the clear coat. I used the poly-urethane in the bathroom, but it must have been old or something. It yellowed. It’s ok tho. BUT in the KITCHEN? We went to Lowe’s and got the epoxy coating used on wood bars and OMG, what a difference that made. Now mind you, it took a TON of patience and speed (at the same time) but the counters look as perfect today as the day we did them. I have to tell you your blog was SO helpful and inspirational! Thanks for this! 🙂
Thank you! So glad it turned out well for you!
Hi!
Our house is nearly new–but it also came with brand new, oogly laminate counters, lol. I fauxed all of my bathrooms and my kitchen island using oil-based paints, sponges and poly–but the process was arduous. Oils are no fun to clean up, and poly isn’t either.
I want to finish off the rest of my kitchen counters but I’m NOT using the oil paints and poly again. I’ve been doing a lot of research online about different method (which is how I cam across your blog) and what I found is that you can do nearly any medium from latex paint to acrylic craft paint to spray paint as your undercoat, but it’s the finish that counts. So if you don’t mind, I have a few questions about the automotive clear topcoat you used (because this is what I will likely lean toward):
1) You said you did 10 thin coats; is that the amount of coats you’d recommend someone else to use as well, or was that just you being extra careful?
2) You said the coating would be cloudy (and that was normal). I don’t necessarily want a high-gloss shine; do you have to use the rubbing/buffing compound afterward? If I don’t, will they stay cloudy?
Thanks so much for your time. I’m going to tackle this next weekend!
Sorry for the delay in reply! To answer your questions: 1. Yes, it was me just being careful, and I would totally recommend doing that too as it has worked wonderfully for me and I don’t have experience using less than that. Wouldn’t want to suggest using 4 or 5 and have it not be good enough. 2. It’s cloudy just as it starts drying….eventually it turns clear. It can take a while if you have a high humidity environment.
How did it go?
I did this on my kitchen counters and I used a real expensive gloss top polyurethane clear coat and still after 24 hours when I sit something heavy on it, it will leave dents…what can I do..urs look great I’m ready to experiment with different colors
Huh, odd. What kind of counter was it that you painted? Did you let the undercoats of design paint dry a day or so before putting the clear coat on? Is it more like fingerprint type dents or deep dents? I would keep heavy stuff off the countertop for a good 3-4 days…even up to a week if you can to make sure the poly cures fully. You might have a super humid environment that is delaying the curing process.