DIY Kitchen Counter Resurfacing Project

* THIS POST CONTAINS PRODUCT AND AFFILIATE LINKS. *

We moved into our home on September 29th. The house was great, a little dated, but it was in great shape. The previous owners took incredible care of their home. One of the things that struck us about the house was that we could move in and not have to do any major renovations or projects. Yes, some things, like the kitchen and bathrooms, needed updating. But for the most part, we were going to be able to move in and get settled, before starting any updates or changes.

But that all changed when Covid arrived. Being shut in and unable to go anywhere, left us with a lot of extra time on our hands. So while we were looking forward to having some time living in our home before launching into big projects, Covid opened the door to get things started. One of the first projects was to redo and update the kitchen.

The first couple steps of the project had us resurfacing the cabinets, replacing the appliances, and expanding the kitchen's square footage. And while we've already done a ton of work to the kitchen (which we will share in upcoming posts), one of the big projects we had left was to resurfaces our kitchen counter. We considered painting and replacing. The painting didn't go very well, and replacing was outside our budget. So we had to look for other options. That search led us the process of resurfacing our counters with countertop epoxy.

​Check out our DIY vlog below! 

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This was the kitchen when we moved in. Dark wood cabinets, formica countertop, outdated appliances. It was usable, but the kitchen was definitely on the list for a remodel.

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Having made the decision to try the epoxy application, we knew we would have to learn the process of resurfacing countertops. So we opened up YouTube and started searching.

​Step One...
Find the product. Amy landed on ProMarine Supplies Table Top Epoxy and Epoxy Hardener. She found the epoxy and the hardener on Amazon. It was sold as a kit, and priced within our budget.

Our neighbors recently resurfaced their counters and recommended/shared the Stone Coat Countertop Epoxy Undercoat. The undercoat would cover our first paint covering, and provide a clean white surface for the counter and epoxy.

The Marblers Colors package added the color that would be applied to the countertop.

​Step Two...
was to prepare the surface. Amy took our Ryobi P411 ONE+ 18-Volt 5 in. Cordless Random Orbit Sander and got to work sanding the counters down.

Step Three...
​With the counters sanded, Amy rolled on the Stone Coat Countertop Epoxy Undercoat. The undercoat went on easily and made the counters look amazing. Unfortunately, the underlayment is just an underlayment. In fact, to protect the undercoat, we had to go a week without putting anything on the countertop.

You do need to make sure you leave time for the products to dry completely. We start this project on one weekend, and finished it on the following weekend. This was mostly due to our personal and ministry schedules. So we went a week without using the counter.

Step Four...
Now that the counter was prepped, it was time to apply the epoxy.
To learn how to apply the epoxy, we looked up some really helpful video on YouTube.
Stone Coat Countertops specializes in epoxy countertops and application. They have an awesome collection of videos and tutorials. 

We would highly recommend you visit their channel and watch.
Stone Coat Countertops

Now please note, with the exception of the undercoat, we did not use the Stone Coat supplies.
The ProMarine Supplies work great. Unfortunately, we discovered that not all epoxy's are the same.
The Stone Coat videos, they said that you would have plenty of time to manipulate the epoxy so that you can get it to look the way you want it.

But what we noticed using the ProMarine product was the the epoxy hardened faster than we expected. That made it a bit of a challenge to move and get just right. This wasn't any fault of the products or companies, this was clearly a mistake we made in watching the videos form another retailer.

We have no complaints with the ProMarine, but as new DIY'ers, we would probably try the Stone Coat products if we were to decide to resurface any of the other countertops we have in the house.

We mixed the epoxy and started spreading it across the countertop.
This was the fun part of the process. The first coat spreads across the countertop and becomes the base for coloring. Since we have a marbled countertops, we wanted to try to match the resurface counters with our newer, existing counters.

We added the color and worked it into the epoxy. It was fair simple. Spray the color mixture the dab it with a soft brush. Then, using a torch or heat gun, work whatever air bubbles or unevenness you might have in the counters.

You can also choose to add "veins" that will help the counters resemble the traditional marble look. In the pictures below you can see examples of "veining". When you have the colors, veins, and highlights finished, let the epoxy set. Follow whatever drying times your product recommends.

Step Five...
With the first layer dry, it was time to apply the top coat. Amy mixed up the next coat and we poured it over the counter. This took us a little more time than we thought. We had a little difficulty with drying times. The epoxy started hardening fast than we anticipated.

That led to some issues as we worked around the sink and backsplash.
Again, if we had a better understanding of how the product worked, we would have done a few things differently.

But we worked the issues out and got the counters finished. After the following the recommended drying time, we were pleasantly surprised by the results.

The counters look great. It's clearly not a professional job. There are some bumps, rough areas, and one or two visible "boo boos." But we're okay with some imperfections. DIY is about learning how to do things, along with saving money by doing projects yourself.

Boy, did we learn a lot with this project! Mostly, we learned the importance of knowing your product and not assuming that all epoxy's are the same. Take the time to familiarize yourself with the products and choose the one that fits the project and your comfort level when working with epoxy.

Second, take your time. Know your drying times, but be sure to know how your product will dry and harden. Knowing this time will help you as you are manipulating the colors, creating veins, and working the texture.

The third lesson learned was, how much we enjoyed doing this project as a couple. Sure, Amy probably spent the most time research and working the project, but it was definitely a group effort.

Here's the final product.

Again, we're super happy with how the counters came out.
So much so, we're already planning on resurfacing the countertops on our bathroom vanities.
Of course, we'll share a vlog of each project.

​If you haven't already taken a few minutes to watch the vlog, please be sure to watch.
And feel free to leave your thoughts or questions in the comments below.

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Thanks for reading!

- the higham family -
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