I am going to re-do my countertops. It's been a year since I painted them with "liquid granite," and, for the most part, they have looked very nice. Definitely better than mauve. But over the year little pieces have chipped out, and bits have peeled off. When I bought the stuff I did wonder if, despite all the claims of the company, this might happen. But I figured that I'd be paying $60 for a great-looking counter when it would have cost me $600 to get it replaced with a new laminate countertop.
Over the year, as things were wearing out, I decided that I could achieve the same look with craft paints and polyurethane finish—which would cost me about $20. Even if I redid the counters every year, at $20 a year it would take 30 years to get to the $600 countertop. (Although, really, I would hope to replace them with something more durable some time in the next 30 years!)
Anyway, a couple weeks ago I saw a slightly larger hole in the paint—about an inch in diameter—with an edge peeled up. That was irresisitable; I had to peel it. And then...uh-oh! I had a mauve hole that was about a foot in diameter in the middle of my "granite" countertop. Very bad. And there were still these irresistable edges peeling up that the kids and I kept on grabbing. So now most of the counter is mauve, with raggedy, fake-looking-granite edges. Veeerrry ugly.
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| You are seeing the original countertop underneath what's left of the liquid granite. The big curls are peeled-up sheets of paint. |
I still had every intention of just repainting it with craft paints, but I decided to email the company (Giani) and let them know that their product didn't exactly live up to what they said, and ask them the best way to remove the stuff (some of it is actually still sticking remarkably well). And guess what? They sent me a whole new kit to redo the counters, with a new, epoxy top-coat which is supposed to be stronger and more durable than the original stuff. So, although the product is still up for further evaluation by me, I think their company has the best customer service I have ever dealt with. Giani is awesome!
What does this have to do with fall break? Well, today I'm sanding the counters and rolling on the primer. By Saturday the counters should be done (although not entirely usable for 14 days—UGH!).
And if I'm really ambitious I might get back to painting walls and doors, too. We'll see. :-)
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Is she awesome or what? Tune in next week as Loralee host's the next edition of This Old House.
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