I'm a newbie here, but not a newbie to DIY. Somebody's gotta do it. I've spent 2 days reading and looking at all of your beautiful countertops and making notes. Now I'm down to trying to figure out what sealant to use, so would like to take a vote. It's the democratic way, right? I read a lot of you use the enviro-lite, but to some seems intimidating. Since this is my first time, not sure I want to be that intimidated.
Others I've read have used water-based poly, oil-based poly, Parks Super Glaze, and Varathane Diamond, so I guess what I'm trying to determine is which one.
There are so many of you that have done beautiful jobs, but used different sealers. Can we have a vote here please? I'm not "sponging". I'm using Rustoleum's stone spray stuff, if that helps. I'm using a tan undercoat layer first. One more question, does that need to be latex?
Thank you. And glad I found you guys.
By LinDuh_in_VA from Richmond, VA
I am guessing that you have already done your countertop, but I used a khaki green undercoat, then sprayed two coats of Rustoleum stone spray, and covered with Envirotex. I was dissapointed that I virtually lost the look of the stone spray after I covered with Envirotex, and I ended up with khaki countertops with subtle stone specks. It is almost too glossy and my husband says we are not doing that to any more of my countertops!
I think it would have been better to have used several coats of water based polycrylic rather than Envirotex. When I tried it on a piece of cardboard, it was just the way I wanted it, but bumpy from the stone spray, which I thought I could remedy with MANY coats of poly.
The Envirotex was not that hard to use, but it did seep through my tape and got into the sink. We used a razor blade to remove the tape and it's not as even around the sink as we would like, but it would not be nearly as noticable had we used a lighter undercoat.
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
I am going to paint my kitchen countertops. What is the best (inexpensive) top coat to use? I already painted my bathroom countertop and used polyurethane (from a video I had watched), but it doesn't seem to work well.
I want the best finish for the kitchen.You may want to go to your local home improvement and speak to someone who is highly experienced for their opinion :)
I would suggest you take pictures of your kitchen (include pictures countertops and the back wall and any splash board/tile also) and take them to either Lowe's, Home Depot or any of several paint supply stores as they will be able to tell you exactly how to do this as well as what type of paint to use.
Be sure pictures show the countertops clearly or they may not be able to help you.
You mentioned "inexpensive" but that is not a good idea when talking about countertops as they have to take a lot of daily "abuse" so you should think about getting the best type of paint for this project.
You also need to purchase very good brushes so the job will go smoothly.
Home Depot also has several online tutorials and leaflets for projects like this so be sure to ask about these.
