Phase I Of Countertop Transformations...

Well, I must have snickered one too many times at my hubs being sick this past week. I woke up this mornin' feelin' like crap. But there was no way I was putting off doing my counter top. Come h*ll or high water (or hospital visit)... It was getting done this weekend!!!
All day I've been poppin' Zicam like Tic Tacs.

So last night hubs removed the sink and lifted the cook top insert.

(Note: the lighting makes cabinets look very yellow but they're not. "English Cream" is what I would describe as a "buttery cream" color.)

The next step was to use a two part epoxy and fill in any nicks or seams. Unfortunately for me, the back splash and counter top are two separate pieces so I had to fill that all in. What a pain in the dupa.
(dupa = @ss in Polish)

Okay, that's done. Now the next step is to sand down the counter top with their diamond embedded sanding block. This step removes the sheen and roughs up the counter top to make the base coat paint adhere.

For the record, that thing is freakin' awesome!! Man, I wish they would sell it individually. Who needs a Pedi Egg for you feet when you could use one of these! **giggle** I'm just pullin' your leg.
If you accidentally drag it across your skin, you will get a boo-boo like I did on my thumb. (Please excuse my Seinfeld "man hands.")

Yes I know, I am quite the fashionista. I'm wearin' my hubs sweatpants and sweatshirt, white socks and my brown Mary Jane slippers.
Ooooh, I bet Stacy London would like to get her scrawny lil' mitts on me.

All sanded and wiped down with a damp cloth.

Next, wrap everything up tight! Have I mentioned I have a love affair with blue painter's tape? I use it for absolutely everything! So this step was right up my alley.

Now the fun begins... But first, set up an area where you have everything at your fingertips.

The next step is to apply the base coat paint, wetting agent and chips. The problem is I have no photos of this because there is only a 20 minute window to do it all. So there was no time to frog around with a camera. But I will give you the lowdown.

First, their description for applying the paint is "like frosting a cake." This is not true. You all know I'm a baker and it is not like frosting a cake. Nope. Not even close. I can equate it to paint that's been sitting in a can in your basement for awhile. Not as smooth as fresh paint but a little thicker.
Truth be told, I expected it to be much thicker. When I started to apply it, it streaked showing the cream counter top through. I went into full panic mode! I'm thinking (no actually I was yelling) "OMG, this small can won't cover everything!" Hubs grabbed the roller and tried his hand at it. Then it kind of turned into a Laurel and Hardy skit. But after all the running around and bumping into each other, I did have enough to do the counter top with a little (but not much) left over. Best of all, we didn't want to kill each other during the process! Dare I say... we even had fun!!

The color I used is "Charcoal." Chips are light, medium and dark gray and black. The kit states it covers 50 square feet. I covered 39 square feet.
Here is how it looked after all the chips were applied. (Very rough)

We then took a bright Halogen light and carefully inspected the counter top for any areas that didn't have proper coverage. I did find a few spots along the edge. I used a piece of dampened sponge, dipped into the paint then lightly reapplied, tossing chips at the area by hand.

Here's a close up... (It was really hard for me to get a good pic of the color)

After 12 hours but no more than 24 hours, we will start the sanded process. This is where I'll be sweating bullets worrying the paint didn't cover correctly.

Overall, I am pleased with how it looks so far and how easy it was to apply. I'll give it a (dirty) thumbs up for now.

The DVD that comes with the kit explains everything to a tee. I watched it quite a few times just to be sure. Bottom line is this project is time consuming and you can't be in a hurry.

There is a low to medium odor and when applying the chips, I suggest wearing a mask. (Dust flies when applying the chips) Also, the chips go all over the place. So if you're a Type A personality, take a Valium, relax and let the chips fall where they may. **giggle** Nothing a broom and dust pan can't fix.

Tomorrow is Phase II. Sanding, sanding and more sanding. Then applying the top coat. Yippee!

I'll keep you posted...