I tried painting my laminate countertops and it turned out looking awful. They are so ugly. Someone please help me to choose colors that go well together and tell me a good way to apply.
By Mbeth from Mbeth
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I would consult your home improvement store. As far as colors that go well together, look at a color wheel, there are all kinds of ways that you can combine colors on the color wheel, depending on what method you like.
Number one, you probably should have used painter's tape around the bowl, and that would have prevented getting paint all over the rim. Once you paint laminate countertops as you have done, my suggestion is to just replace the counter top with a new one. It is VERY difficult and a lot of hard work to take the paint you have put on down to the original laminate. This is why it's best to pre-paint the colors on another disposable surface so that you can tell how they will look together. I have done kitchen countertops that turned out great but when they are worn, I will be replacing them. Once you do the laminate painting, it's pretty much done once and for all. You can repair very small areas with additional paint (if you did a dappling or stippling effect) but beyond this, you cannot really re-do the entire counter top. It's new countertop time!
I don't know what product you used, but I recommend Rustoleum kitchen counter top paint, as it is specifically designed for this. I used it on my kitchen counter tops and it turned out great, however, following ALL the steps is essential. With Rustoleum you DON'T need to do any sanding. You clean your countertops thoroughly and then use ammonia on them or denatured alcohol to further clean. You don't need primer with this product either. It's built into the paint! Also, just trying to sand a little bit and repair is not a good idea. When you have a major problem as you did, you need to re-do the entire top as you mentioned. However, once bubbles appear, they are hard to eliminate and may reappear. Did you properly prep your counter tops? Bubbles are usually the result of improper prepping or trying to lay paint on too fast and too thick. A number of thin coats are better than one or two heavy ones. Again, I like the Rustoleum epoxy-based paint the best for this kind of thing. It's a winner!
I just finished my sister's kitchen last week. I had so much fun doing it. Her counter tops were laminate painted with epoxy paint, so I had to sand, sand, sand. I applied kilz primer and then black gloss, red, brown, then bronzey espresso. Then three coats of clear gloss polyacrylic. It turned out beautiful. I distressed her cabinets as well. I allowed 24 hrs drying time between each paint. It took a while, but it was well worth it. (By the way, I used latex paint.)
I am so sorry you messed up your counter! Try fine steel wool to remove the paint from your sink. Use a painters tape to cover the edges to keep the paint off of it. I see you have chosen browns. As long as you have not sealed it, you are fine to add more paint. I would try tiny bits of a cream color and teeny tiny bits of gold. You could use your browns again as well. I would get styrofoam plates and spread a thin amount of paint over it, and use a plastic grocery bag to apply the paint. Just tap it on. Apply one color at a time and put the color you want the most of on last.
I haven't tried this paint yet but looking at your counter top I think you forgot to do prep work taping anything you did not want painted I think you should by a new sink or use epoxy paint on the sink
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I am painting my laminate countertops. I put my first coat down and there were some bubbles. I sanded the bubbles down and then mixed up enough to just cover the bubbles. Well, I now have a mess. I'm going to have to re-do the entire counter. Does anyone have any suggestions? I'm desperate.
By Nancy Sherin from Brunswick, ME
I am wondering what your process was. Did you sand, prime, and then paint? I used the Rustoleum paint made for countertops. With this, you do not use a primer or top coat. When I applied my first coat, I had small bubbles. I let it dry and lightly sanded the entire counter (even where there were no bubbles). Then I applied the 2nd coat and noticed small bubbles again. I was scared to death, but decided to just let it dry because it is self leveling and it looks great. I would suggest you sand the entire countertop again. I'm guessing that where you applied more paint over the bubble area is where your major problems are. If you sand all over and smooth it out, you can probably apply a 2nd coat to the entire countertop and you can use a blow dryer to get rid of the small bubbles.
Good luck, I hope it works out for you. (06/18/2009)
After reading this site I took the plunge (sorry no before picture) and did my vanity (back splash not perfect ), but I am very proud of the result. As a 1st timer, I followed the basic instructions clean, prime, paint, even added my own little creation of the leaves. I used the EnviroTex Lite as a sealer. This post picture shows a darker green, but it is more of a sage color. (09/26/2009)
