Let's get right to it! How to paint those ugly bathroom counter tops you've been staring at for years and hate with a passion!! I seriously don't know why I didn't do this earlier. I lived with the almond colouring for years. If I had known just how easy this was going to be I would have done it much sooner you guys, ughhhh!
So here you can see what I was starting with. I have this lovely hexagon shaped sink that's also a part of the counter top. I don't care for the shape of the sink and the colour of this counter top is just eeew! Everything just always felt so dirty in here. Even after I spruced it up a bit with some painted floors and a new vanity colour. To me I never even considered painting the counter top because for some reason I just feared it could never with stand the abuse of my kids banging their tooth brushes against it every day, or leaving tooth paste globs down in the sink constantly. So one day I came across a fellow inspiring Instagrammer using an appliance epoxy on her bathroom counter top and I couldn't believe the beautiful results she had! Right then and there I knew I would give it a try! So I ran down into my basement and searched through my paint stash and low and behold there it was a full quart of kitchen appliance epoxy!! I mean it was at that moment I knew I was an official DIY hoarder and completely forgotten I even bought this product years ago!
So before I get talking about this product I should mention that I am taking a chance here. This product says on it that it is meant for metal surfaces only on the can, and is not meant for continuous water immersion, so NO you can not use it on a bath tub, but after doing some research online I've seen many people apply it to laminate counter tops and acrylic counter tops like mine and even sinks! So I did a little further reading and this is some info I found directly from the product....
-Use to refinish the exterior of a variety of kinds of appliances and surfaces, including refrigerators, dishwashers, laundry machines, cabinets and tables
-Oil-based formula resists corrosion, chipping and rust for durability
-This moisture-resistant enamel provides a smooth, ultra-hard surface that is washable. *From Rustoleum
I can't guarantee it's going to last forever, and I don't know if it works on any other surfaces like granite, but I am willing to take the chance. This bathroom is going to get gutted anyways in the future and to me I feel like it just needed to happen to help make this room feel cleaner and brighter. I mean epoxy paints are heavy duty and I honestly can't imagine this chipping or peeling. So lets get started!
Supplies:
4" high density foam roller (whenever you use roller you will get the appearance of a slight texture, I feel like this can not be avoided and you have to not mind that look, see below for images of what I mean)
Roller
Paint Tray
1" or smaller craft brushes you don't mind throwing out
Rustoleum Kitchen Appliance Epoxy, this product comes in a few different colours so check out the options on their website
Sand paper or sponges, 220 grit
Cleaner like Dawn, Mr. Clean or Lysol
Rags
Painters Tape
Respirator, or a good mask
Gloves
Step 1:
First thing you need to do is sand your surface to be painted. Use your 220 grit sanding paper to really scuff up your counter top. I went a bit heavier with my sanding in this step to ensure really good adhesion. As always the more the surface is prepped properly the longer lasting your hard work will be, so don't skip these first few important steps!!
Wash your counter top down well with a good bathroom cleaner. I always use Lysol multi surface cleaner, it works well and always smells soooo good! Make sure it's fully rinsed off
Step 3:
Use your painters tape to tape off walls and any areas you don't want to get any paint on. I put a shower cap and taped that around my faucet. I just finished spray painting my faucet so I didn't want to get that messed up! Also lay some old towels or drop cloth down on the floor to protect below.
Step 4:
Now it's time to start painting! Give your paint a stir to make sure any pigments that have settled are thoroughly mixed. Get some of your epoxy paint into your tray and be sure you have a window open near by and even better, a fan going towards the window. This stuff smells bad! Also have your mask and gloves on. When this stuff gets on the skin it really sticks and I had to use alcohol to take it off, so pay no attention to my lack of gloves!
Here is a series of a few short videos to give you a good reference of how to apply this product.
Step 5:
Wait proper dry time between coats. It says you can reapply your second coat in 1 hour. I found it was way too sticky to reapply after one hour. I would be scared it would lift at that point. About 8 hours later I applied my second coat right before bed. It was still sticky at this point but much better to recoat at this point. After doing a bit of reading on this, I heard one person say something that made a lot of sense. You want to reapply over top of it while it's still tacky so the layers grab onto one another. If you wait for it to fully dry and then recoat the new wet layer will not stick as well and can chip off as the first coat is too cured and slippery at this point.
Before your second coat you can give a light sand first if you see any ares of concern. Double check your surface and see if there are any pieces or dust that landed in there. Sand it out lightly and then wipe clean before you roll on again. Once your second coat is done I would let it dry the same amount of time before your 3rd coat, providing you need a second coat.
Make sure you also use your small detail brush to get in around your faucet and sink drain.
Step 6:
Trouble shooting
So this is the point where you've waited a good 8 hours before you take off your painters tape. There were a few areas that pulled with my tape being removed, don't panic if this happens to you! Look how bad my sink drain was after I took my tape off..
Yikes!! When the tape came off so did the paint! No problem though! All you do in this situation is sand that area and wipe it clean. I really sanded it too, not just a light little buff, but I took my paper and really scratched it up. Then I just took a tiny angled craft brush and recoated around there 2 times being sure that entire drain was sealed around the chrome. If there was any area that was not coated with the paint I run the risk of the water getting in and under the paint and creating moisture which would lead to peeling in no time.
Mmmmmkay so now we are all done! It's looking so good. I am so in love with my new counter tops and I can't even begin to tell you how much brighter and cleaner this space now feels...heck I don't even mind the shape of my hexagon shaped sink nearly as much as I did before!
Now lets look at it close up and admire just how pretty this turned out!
The hard finish of this epoxy gives me a good feeling you guys! I've already scrubbed it gently with cleaning products and it's in the first few weeks of a full test run of my kids daily abuse! If anyone will be able to run a good test run, it's my kiddos, lol!
Soon I will also be sharing how I painted my vanity so stay tuned for that or better yet be sure to subscribe to my newsletter so you don't miss it! If you looking for more info on the shiplap, look here, and how I spray paint hardware like my faucet and the cabinet hardware look here
Have a great day friends.
Stay home and stay healthy!
Dale