If you don’t want to spend a lot of money on real granite countertops, but want to achieve the same look, then keep on reading to find out how to make faux granite countertops a lot cheaper than the actual thing.
Get Your Countertops Ready
First things first, you want to remove everything from your countertops and store it away safely. Your countertops will not be usable for about a day or two, so it’s better to keep all of your appliances safe somewhere else, while you get creative with your countertops.
You also want to clean the countertops thoroughly with a wet washcloth and soap solution, just to make sure that there isn’t any dirt, gunk, or dried food on the surface. This will hinder the process of the application, so make sure you do a good job cleaning the countertop.
Things You Will Need
To update the appearance of your countertop, you should have the supplies. First, you will need some sandpaper, which you will use to sand down the clean and dry countertop. This will get rid of any small bumps or cracks on the existing countertop surface and you will be left with a smoother canvas to work on. Then, you will need a darker-colored primer. Granite countertops are usually dark, so using a dark primer will give a realistic appearance to the countertops.
Finally, you will need some mineral paint and sealant or varnish. The mineral paint will help to create the infamous design of real granite countertops. Now that you have everything, let’s get this DIY project started.
Cover Up The Rest Of The Kitchen
When you are dealing with mineral paints, it’s best to cover up the areas which are being worked on and use a guiding painter’s tape to mark off the area where work is being done. This is going to save you from a lot of mess in the future.
The Faux Magic
After the countertop has been sanded down:
- You will clean it once again with a dry rag, just to get rid of the debris of the sanded countertop.
- Then you will use a roller brush and apply a generous layer of dark primer to your countertops.
- Work slowly and in layers so that it doesn’t get blotchy or messy. The layer of primer needs to be even.
- Next, break out your mineral paints and a sponge and use it to randomly blotch your countertops. You want to do this while the primer is still tacky as this will create a nice gradient between the sponge blotches and the primer.
- Try to use the mineral paint in random strokes rather than being perfect. This will give the real effect of granite countertops.
The Waiting Game
After the primer and mineral paint application is done, you will need to make sure that the countertops get a thorough chance to dry before you do anything else to them. Give it at least a day if not more for it to be completely dry and hard.
You will know when it’s dry when the surface is no longer tacky and you can even try to scrape it with your fingernail and it will not come off. That’s the perfect time for you to seal the faux countertops and have it ready for use.
Seal The Deal
Just like real countertops, you will need to seal the faux ones as well. Use a thin layer of varnish or sealant at a time and let it completely dry before moving on to the next layer. The benefit of using varnish or sealant is that your countertops will also become waterproof and you won’t need to worry about water damage.
Sealing your countertops or applying varnish will also give a lustrous and glossy look to your countertops, which is a huge feature of real granite countertops as well, so why not go all the way?
Conclusion
There you have it! This thorough guide will help you to build “granite” countertops, without having to spend all that money. If you are a fan of DIY projects, then you will have a good time with this. But if you want the real granite, you have to consider countertop replacement and get granite counters. Consult granite countertop installers Durham NC to choose the pattern, color, thickness, and more details.
