I painted my counters! REALLY!

In the beginning, there were very ugly yellowish/greenish counters. Not the worst color I've ever seen, but close. However, said counters are in very good shape. No cracks and only a few very small dings. Could I have replaced them with inexpensive stock counters? Yes. But then I would have had to had help removing the sink, etc. and I didn't want to wait for that to happen. I can't do sink removal but I sure can paint! I did lots and lots of research. I found this very helpful website: THRIFTY FUN and read for hours. I took all the helpful hints and ideas into consideration and after months of debate, I decided to go for it.
The first step is cleaning your counters very well. I even used a degreaser just in case. However, a good cleaning with soap and water would be plenty. Then start taping everything off to protect your walls and cabinets. I was going for a granite look which requires lots and lots of paint spattering which is very messy. Then I put down a base coat using some leftover tan paint from our bathroom. It doesn't have to be perfectly perfect because you are going to add lots of paint on top of it. I didn't even use a primer, but you would need to if your counters had any sheen/shine left to them. After 30 years, mine had no shine left at all.
My weapons in the war against ugly: a kitchen scrub brush, some sea sponges, a sample of faux granite, and lots of pretty paint. I also used a cotton ball.
The very beginning of the spattering. I really studied that little granite sample and it appears to me that it was made up mostly of millions of little dots in varying colors and dimension plus some random shading, etc. I did a 12x12 inch sample board just to make sure I knew what I was doing when I liked what I saw, I made a mental note of what I did to make it look that way. In retrospect, I wish I would have actually made notes. Then, you have to just jump in and start spattering. It takes quite a bit of spattering to have any effect. Every once in a while, I would pat my finger here and there to make some of the spatters a little bigger. I think the trick is to be random. Don't pat every 3 inches! Think natural and free-form. I also used the sponges and cotton ball to add some texture/ soften it up a bit. There is no science to this--it is very hit and miss. I just kind of wing it until I like what I see. Yes, it made me nervous when it wasn't looking quite right. I kept the faith though...
Whew! Done. Well, maybe. I like to look at it for a while and see if there are spots I don't like, or that need a little more shading or some other fix. Wait, it still looks ugly next to that awful green paper I used to protect my wall. Let's get rid of that.
Definitely better without the green. I didn't want to paint that little 6 inch backsplash thing for 2 reasons: 1) I think it would have been hard to make it look right and 2) Even though I won't be fooling anyone into thinking this is real granite, real granite does not usually come with a little 6 inch backsplash. They look a little sponge-painty to me in this picture which is NOT what I want. However, it doesn't look that way up close--I swear!
Next up is the sealer. To me, this was the scary part. I had to keep thinking, "What is the worse that could happen!?" Hmmm......yes, I could think of plenty of bad stuff but onward I marched! I used Envirotex Lite which I bought at Hobby Lobby. It took 4 quart size boxes and I bought them one at a time with 40% off coupons which made them about $17.00 each. It's not cheap, but it's still less than replacing those counters. (It is a product that is used on bartops/tables, etc. and it is sold at craft stores and hardware stores.)
The butane lighters are to get the bubbles out. The directions recommend a propane torch but that sounded a little dangerous to me. However, now I'm thinking it would have been better to use it so I could cover more area.


Please read these tips so you can benefit from the wisdom of my experience. (That's a fancy way of saying "Don't make the same mistakes I did!")
- Paint your entire counter at the same time. My counter is in 3 separate parts. I painted the smallest part 2 weeks before the 2nd 2 parts assuming I would remember how I got it to look the way it did. Oops. It was impossible to get the exact same "granite" effect 2 weeks later. Luckily, they are far enough apart that most folks wouldn't notice. Except now, everyone will because I just broadcasted my mistake.
- Plan way ahead. You will not be able to put anything on your counters for at least 3 days which may affect your meal planning.
- Mix the Envirotex in a BIG bucket and then pour the mixture into a container with a spout. I poured from my bucket and it was way too hard to control where it went. I would also use a turkey baster to get into the little spots--like behind the sink--and to keep putting it back onto the sides of the counter as it slides off.
- Wear gloves--and have spare gloves around when the first ones get sticky. Don't let it get on your skin!!!!! My hands got all red, dry and sticky and they hurt a bit. (The direction clearly tell you to wear gloves, but I always feel like they are huge and I don't have much precision. I wish I had just taken the time to find some gloves that fit.)
-Wear an apron--not a cute one. One you don't mind getting mucked up. And if you have long hair, put it in a pony. Seriously.
- TAKE YOUR TIME!!!! The edges are hard to do. I wish I would have just sat in front of them for a half hour and just kept using a sponge brush to put the Enviro back on when it dripped off. I kind of just let it go and it shows.
-Don't start pouring the Enviro at 5:00 p.m. when your family is going to start begging for dinner at 5:05. Making that silly mistake made me rush the job.
- My final result is far from perfect but I HATED my counters to begin with and now I LOVE them. That is close enough to perfect for me.

You can see the whole kitchen makeover HERE.

****EDITED ON JUNE 6, 2009****
DURABILITY:
I've had my counters done for about 2 months now. They are still holding up great. I've noticed that directly on one of the edges--where the horizontal meets the vertical--it's gettting a little banged up. There are some tiny, tiny little spots that seem to have worn down to where I had to put some paint on a toothpick and re-touch. Then I cover it with clear fingernail polish. These are teeny, tiny spots and I think I just didn't get it covered very well with the Enviro in the first place.

You cannot place a hot pan/dish directly onto these counters. I would never do that with laminate either, though. And did you know that granite is porous and can explode if you place a hot pan/dish directly on it? I do, however, leave my crock pot, rice cooker, toaster and coffee maker directly on it and they get pretty hot and I've never noticed any damage or even softening of the counters. If you cut directly on it, it will leave marks--which will come out, but still, don't do it. That's what cutting boards are for.

CLEANLINESS:
I have been using the Clorox Anywhere spray on them for daily cleaning and Windex when I need to shine them up. I'm assuming the Enviro is food-safe because it is a product that is used for bar tops. I'm not at all worried about my kids eating a cookie that has been sitting on the counter for a few hours. They don't lick the counters--as far as I know--so I'm confident that we are safe. If you are concerned, I would recommend finding a customer service # and asking the manufacturer.