I want to cover up or paint my old Formica counter tops in the kitchen

Question

My counter tops are old and ugly but I cannot afford new ones...any ideas how I can paint these or...?

Dana Beth Watson · Answer

CHALK PAINT! You can paint anything with chalk paint with no prep. It covers anything and everything. Just be sure to seal with polyurethane since these are counter tops. Otherwise they won't be durable enough. Counter tops take a lot of beating. Two coats of the color of your choice. And one coat of poly. Home Depot has chalk paint for reasonable prices. The Annie Sloan brand is a rip off. Hope this helped. :)

Janet Pizaro · Answer

There are counter top paint kits available at Home Depot. I would research the endless possibilites there.

Country Design Home · Answer

Hi Susann! My daughter and I repainted her kitchen countertops using a Rustoleum countertop paint we got at Home Depot.I think the can cost around $25 and it did the whole kitchen. It was very easy (but VERY smelly- make sure you ventilate well!) They looked like smooth poured concrete and were quite beautiful. Here is a link to my blog post with the DIY info-good luck! http://countrydesignhome.com/a-counter-effect/

Sally · Answer

I repainted mine just using regular house paint and craft paint and then sealing them afterwards. Just prep the counter tops really well . I cleaned mine with tsp then did a rinse with vinegar and water. I then painted them with regular latex( white) then I used dollar store acrylic paints and a sea sponge to get it to look like the more modern countertops. I had grabbed a sample countertop with colors I liked and that's what I used to compare when I dabbed on the acrylic paints from the dollar store. I had everything except the sealer which I bought a small can( I think it was $21.00 dollars) which I put 3 coats on after I had painted it.

David · Answer

I used melemine paint. One coat of enamel primer and then foam rolled two coats of paint. The primer was matched to the paint. Did this about 10 years ago, still looks good, no chipping. Be careful with knife scratches.

Juanita · Answer

I used Gianni Granite Paint that I bought online for $79. It is fabulous, took about a weekend to do mainly because of drying time and it is easy.

Dbartus · Answer

I'm planning on doing one of the concrete skimcoats to mine in the near future. I believe it can be found at Home Depot. Ardex is the name of the one I've read about on Pinterest. There are several tutorials on Pinterest by people who have done it.

Jack · Answer

I painted on a coat of kilz, two coats of flat wall paint, pounced on accents with craft paints until I got the right 'look' for me, then used a super smooth roller to apply 8 coats of Poly Acrylic. Done. Sounds like a lot but the individual coats dried quickly.... results are SHINY, waterproof, cut-proof, and stain-proof. LOVE IT! :)

I just used what I had - no special paints/products. You could do the same paint treatment on your cabinets, just not so much Polyacrylic. I did my cabinets and countertops at the same time so they complimented one another (used the off-white color on the cabinets as the base color on the countertops).

I took all of the hardware off and sprayed them with Rustoleum 'Hammered Metal' so I ended up with a uniform look throughout the kitchen. Good luck!

KatAych · Answer

Like Juanita above, I started with a Gianni Granite kit in chocolate brown. But you can just use those small craft acrylics to get the same effect. You can mix together as many colors as you like - the more colors you use, the 'richer' the effect. Since we painted our cabinets an off-white, we decided to go dark on the countertops. They wound up looking like travertine and we are very happy!

Susann · Answer

Thanks so much for the input here. So helpful! I am confident I can transform my own counter tops now ! :)

Jack · Answer

Hi Susann! I haven't posted anything yet (don't know how), but, here's a picture of my counter tops.......and the hardware I spray painted.... In the 2nd picture is the pantry I built by repurposing a bookshelf: the hardware painted to match the cabinetry....Hope this helps!

Jack · Answer

Hi Susann! No, I haven't posted anything (don't know how yet). But here are some pictures that may help:

Susan Barlow Holmes · Answer

I used ceramic tile to cover mine and they have held up now for several years.

Jack · Answer

Hi Susann! 1st things 1st: I'm a 58 yr old female stroke survivor recovering the use of her right side if I could do it ANYONE can do it! LOL! It just takes willingness and time, AND a refusal to be afraid to try! :) I'd walk you thru it if I could but I think you can do it! Just start in the LEAST used part of your kitchen, choose a section of countertop and tape off all adjoining walls etc before rolling on a coat of Kilz2 (it's water-based, less smelly, dries quickly, and cleans up with soap and water). When that dries (2 hrs) roll on coat of your base color (mine was pale yellow) and let that dry. Add another layer of base coat, let it dry. NOW you can have fun! I used a sea sponge to dab on more colors randomly: I used Kona Brown, Brick Red, and a pale yellow/kona brown mixture. Do one color at a time until you get a look you like! When dry use a brush to paint on a coat of PolyAcrylic, let dry and repeat 7 times. Your done! Just repeat the process until ur kitchen is done! P.S. I'd paint that Formica going up the wall to match the surrounding walls or turn it into a chalkboard with chalkboard paint? P.S.S. I thought the 'kits' were too expensive: I just used what paint I had on hand!

Valerie Glus · Answer

I used Rustoleum door paint to paint my counter tops. The paint is pretty thick when it goes on so plan on doing it all at once. It takes a few days to dry, but once it is dry is as hard as a rock... You still cant set a hot pot on it because it is paint but turned out really nice...

Ogmichelle45 · Answer

Sand formica countertops,, tac cloth remve fine dust, I used spray paint and glaze from Lowes project 200.00

I want to cover up or paint my old Formica counter tops in the kitchen

Suggested Project Book

What You Didn't Know You Could Do With Your Old Clothes

Other

More

I want to cover up or paint my old Formica counter tops in the kitchen

Suggested Project Book