# Countertop refinishing



## Alex PCI

Does anyone on here ever refinish counter tops or re glaze tubs? 
I might offer this service and I am just interested in products used and application techniques. 

Thanks, Alex


----------



## vermontpainter

Its times like this I sure wish we would have kept Ch!pster onboard. 

What types of countertops are you thinking of?

We have been asked in the past year to paint formica tops and one refrigerator.


----------



## Alex PCI

Just regular counters, especially the older ugly ones. Im not to familiar with the types. I just see this as a good service to offer, and I am personally interested in doing my own counters. I really like the speckled look I see sometimes.


----------



## ibsocal

Alex PCI said:


> Does anyone on here ever refinish counter tops or re glaze tubs?
> I might offer this service and I am just interested in products used and application techniques.
> 
> Thanks, Alex


I do this 95% of the time.the other 5% i do exteriors/interiors.Midwest chemicals has many good easy to use produucts for tubs/counters etc.i used to get a lot of my stuff from them but now i buy locally. but that takes time to figure out what will work for you.tell them u want to get in the field and want to try their stuff and they willl send u free samples.


----------



## Alex PCI

Thanks for the info. 

Is there a 1-step product that can be sprayed on countertops? I am looking to market this to multi-family housing where time and money is a concern. 
I thought I used to see someone spraying directly over the counters after they were cleaned. I dont think he used a primer but I could be wrong.


----------



## johnthepainter

alex,,,it is so incredibly easy to lay a sheet of formica on a countertop, and trim it.

wash the substrate.
apply some contact cement to the substrate, and the laminate
let it tack up
lay some dowel rods on the substrate
lay the laminate on the dowel rods, and position it
slide out the dowel rods
apply pressure to the laminate, and roll it with a lamintae roller (called a j roller)
trim off excess with a router.

anything other than this is hack work.

i think the tub refinishing is a great plan though,,,my buddy does this full time and makes a very nice living. he focuses on hotels, hospitals, and the residential work is also steady. tubs, outdated tile, showers.


----------



## ibsocal

johnthepainter said:


> alex,,,it is so incredibly easy to lay a sheet of formica on a countertop, and trim it.
> 
> wash the substrate.
> apply some contact cement to the substrate, and the laminate
> let it tack up
> lay some dowel rods on the substrate
> lay the laminate on the dowel rods, and position it
> slide out the dowel rods
> apply pressure to the laminate, and roll it with a lamintae roller (called a j roller)
> trim off excess with a router.
> 
> anything other than this is hack work.
> 
> i think the tub refinishing is a great plan though,,,my buddy does this full time and makes a very nice living. he focuses on hotels, hospitals, and the residential work is also steady. tubs, outdated tile, showers.


John you make it sound so easy ,and it is if u dont have a backsplash that is (bull nosed/rounded)shaped other then a 90.o angle or sinks in place.we are not hacks :no:.we are good at what we do and much easier to refinish only takes a couple of hours.


----------



## Alex PCI

johnthepainter said:


> alex,,,it is so incredibly easy to lay a sheet of formica on a countertop, and trim it.
> 
> wash the substrate.
> apply some contact cement to the substrate, and the laminate
> let it tack up
> lay some dowel rods on the substrate
> lay the laminate on the dowel rods, and position it
> slide out the dowel rods
> apply pressure to the laminate, and roll it with a lamintae roller (called a j roller)
> trim off excess with a router.
> 
> anything other than this is hack work.
> 
> i think the tub refinishing is a great plan though,,,my buddy does this full time and makes a very nice living. he focuses on hotels, hospitals, and the residential work is also steady. tubs, outdated tile, showers.


I care nothing about that process.
What I do care about is the potential market I have availible of refinishing them with a coating.


----------



## johnthepainter

maybe just coat them with that speckled stuff if you dont want to do it with a quality type process.


----------



## johnthepainter

ibsocal, im not saying you are a hack. are you doing this in fine homes? rentals? commercial? apts? this process is what it is.


----------



## ibsocal

johnthepainter said:


> ibsocal, im not saying you are a hack. are you doing this in fine homes? rentals? commercial? apts? this process is what it is.


I do it in all of the above except in fine fine homes they probally wouldnt be caught dead with a formica or tile counter top but i have done their sinks and tubs and many of their rentals.you can make a good living doing this word of mouth goes a long way when u do good work.it is not what it was(ugly) it is now like new, a work of art if u will and very durable.


----------



## Alex PCI

What does the coating cost per gallon? Is what you use a single stage or does it need reducers, hardeners, clear,etc...?

Thanks


----------



## Dmax Consulting

For formica countertops, you can use Sherwin Williams Polane. It's pretty nasty stuff, but it works great.


----------



## Formulator

Rust-Oleum sells a countertop paint.


----------



## Alex PCI

Since the original post I found Integritycoatings.com. For the past few weeks we have been using their stuff with great results. I cant wait to try some multi-spec on counters, when done right it looks like granite


----------



## traditions2

this is an old yellow formica counter refinished with midwest chemicals multistone.


----------



## scholarlypainting

holy crap that looks nice! what did you use? how has it held up?


----------



## traditions2

i used all midwest chemicals products. Primed with aerospace primer, sprayed two coats galena grey multistone, topcoated with hsld 5000 clear coat. My website traditionspainting.com has a few more things I've done with midwest chemicals products. They really work well. I even did a asbestos tile floor that was pink. I did the shuffle board with this stuff and its held up for over a year now.! There are pics of that on my website as well.


----------



## TooledUp

traditions2 said:


> I even did a asbestos tile floor that was pink.



You worked on asbestos?


----------



## Workaholic

traditions2 said:


> i used all midwest chemicals products. Primed with aerospace primer, sprayed two coats galena grey multistone, topcoated with hsld 5000 clear coat. My website traditionspainting.com has a few more things I've done with midwest chemicals products. They really work well. I even did a asbestos tile floor that was pink. I did the shuffle board with this stuff and its held up for over a year now.! There are pics of that on my website as well.


Welcome Tradiotions2, another CT crossover.
That counter top looks good.
Put your website in your signature


----------



## Bender

Howdy traditions, welcome
Very nice. I dig the high gloss finish.


----------



## nEighter

I was working on a unit last week and a gentleman came through and did this to a counter.. they (the old renter) had burned the Formica on the counter almost setting it on fire.. it bubbled the Formica and looked like trash. This guy put some bondo in the spots, hit the whole counter with a D/A and then sprayed a 3 part prime/fleck/clear over the top. Looked awesome! He said he got his epoxy from some outfit in Florida.


----------



## traditions2

I've never used sherwin williams multispec. I know they use it to spray the shelving units in family videos around here. It looks very similar to multistone before its cleared. I wonder if it could be used on countertops as well?
The multistone is a great product because it can be left unsanded then cleared and it has the feel of stone or you can sand it down, then clear for a super smooth finish. I;ve used it on my basement floor in my workout room and layed it out like 18inch tiles. Looks like ceramic tile.


----------



## traditions2

The tile was old pink asbestos floor tile(thats what the box we found said.) All we did was primed it with aerospace primer then topcoated. It was a buddy's house and he was going to rip it all out. He opted to just cover it and see how it would hold up.


----------



## HeatherP

*countertop refinishing*

I just left a client's home and she is getting a quote from 
www.calgarycountertops.ca . They are moving and didn't want something terribly expensive so are looking into this product. I will update if it is done before we are finished painting.


----------



## nEighter

What I saw was the finish is rough. It wasn't smooth.


----------



## Roadog

http://www.aurastone.com/

Heres a link to the newer decorative countertop systems. Not a huge fan, and most people I work for seem to have real marble or granite.


----------



## LAD

There's a lot you can do even with old formica. You can apply most anything to it to re-color it as long as you topcoat it well enough. I usually apply a concrete or cementious overlay though like Aurastone and others. It is quite awesome. A step up from laminate and less than real stone. I even do ones that glow in the dark.


----------



## FoilEffects

www.midwestchemicals.com

Call them and ask for Ed, he is the man!!! I dont refinish these any longer however there is plenty of work out there for many finishers. MCs products are awesome. Training is through Tub King in Jacksonville Florida www.tubking.com, call Kerry Knight and tell him Rob Schramm said give me a discount!

Rob


----------



## painting247

I have recently added decorative concrete to my services and have played around with a microtopping to create a granite look and a marble countertop. Will post photos as I complete the projects. However, you can go to my website and look at some of the samples there.


----------



## Andyman

Traditions- How does the Midwest Coatings Multistone product hold up to a hot pan? I like the outcome but I would like to know more about the durability.


----------



## FoilEffects

LAD is right on about Aurastone, the company has put together one killer program. Dave and Jason that own the company are great guys that would give you the shirt off their back. They have also had a coating developed that is a UV Epoxy that you can brush out and I kid you not once you run the light over it within a minute you can sit on your finish! Check out www.aurastone.com...

Rob


----------

