Any options to refresh laminate counters?

flogen

I’m trying to find ways of freshening up a fairly basic kitchen without spending a huge amount of money (the plan is to wait and do it properly down the line).

One of the things I’d love to change is the countertops - which are a dark grey laminate.

Is there anything I can do to resurface them, aside from replacing them altogether?

I’ve seen some guides on painting counters, though I’d wonder how well that would hold up to the wear and tear you’d expect from a kitchen.

Anyone have any experience of doing that?

Or is there any other way of sprucing up old counters without changing them?

Gamergurll

I used contact paper on mine, renting and hated the counter tops that we had, it worked really well

flogen

Gamergurll wrote: »

I used contact paper on mine, renting and hated the counter tops that we had, it worked really well

Oh, thanks.

Couple of questions -
How did you find the process of putting it on? And how did it hold up in terms of daily use?

Did you have any issues with it peeling, especially at the edges of the counter where it meets the cabinet doors?

LaChatteGitane

flogen wrote: »

Oh, thanks.

Couple of questions -
How did you find the process of putting it on? And how did it hold up in terms of daily use?

Did you have any issues with it peeling, especially at the edges of the counter where it meets the cabinet doors?

A few tricks for using contact paper.
You'll need a spray bottle, filled with water, a squeegee and a clean dry cloth.
After cleaning your counter thoroughly, spray water over the surface. Then place your cut and backing removed contact paper.Start from one end while peeling back the backing and continue till the end.
Use a squeegee over the surface to remove the excess water from underneath.
Go over it with your clean cloth or tea towel.

This way you shouldn't have any air bubbles and it is quite easy to move the paper into place too.

flogen

LaChatteGitane wrote: »

A few tricks for using contact paper.
You'll need a spray bottle, filled with water, a squeegee and a clean dry cloth.
After cleaning your counter thoroughly, spray water over the surface. Then place your cut and backing removed contact paper.Start from one end while peeling back the backing and continue till the end.
Use a squeegee over the surface to remove the excess water from underneath.
Go over it with your clean cloth or tea towel.

This way you shouldn't have any air bubbles and it is quite easy to move the paper into place too.

Thanks, that’s really helpful.

Was it better to cut out space for the likes of the sink or hob beforehand, or roll it on and then cut around it with a Stanley blade?

And did you find it hard-wearing?

coffeyt

Was actually looking at doing this also, came across site below which advertised heavy duty stuff suitable for counter tops.

https://www.wrapdirect.com/countertop-wraps/

anewme

You could get the epoxy resin, but it's expensive

flogen

coffeyt wrote: »

Was actually looking at doing this also, came across site below which advertised heavy duty stuff suitable for counter tops.

https://www.wrapdirect.com/countertop-wraps/

Thanks for that - great choice on there (though I would love a butcher block effect which seems to be the only thing they're missing!)

anewme wrote: »

You could get the epoxy resin, but it's expensive

Wow - that's a lot more expensive than I expected. I've seen a lot of DIY projects that use epoxy to create a new tabletop etc and always assumed it was a very cheap option

D3V!L

flogen wrote: »

Thanks for that - great choice on there (though I would love a butcher block effect which seems to be the only thing they're missing!)



Wow - that's a lot more expensive than I expected. I've seen a lot of DIY projects that use epoxy to create a new tabletop etc and always assumed it was a very cheap option

I'm tempted to go down the wrap route myself. I'm worried it will look wrapped rather than real wood though.

flogen

Yeah, that would be a concern. I've seen a few YouTube videos of people who have used wraps and they look pretty good - but they've tended to be marble-effect - and a video isn't going to tell you what it looks like in real life.

I wonder if it might be safer to go with something like a solid colour rather than trying to pretend it's a material like wood.