It will be a while before I could remodel my whole entire kitchen so I wanted to make it feel like home. The counter tops were sand color with the flecks in it, nothing eye sore about it, just blah. I like doing projects around the house and we've been in our house well over 3 1/2 years and with only updating with paint on the walls.
I researched the Rustoleum product for the counter tops and I was planning on going with that until I heard that it left a horrible after smell because that's how the product worked. Not what I was wanting with 3 kids in the house. Then I came across the Giani products and researched it online before purchasing. It seemed like a good candidate and so I purchased it.
I got this shipment pretty quickly and in great condition. I watched the dvd at least 3 times to ensure I was going to do it right. And sometimes found myself referring back to it when I got to each phase I was at.
It does only take a whole weekends worth of time (most of it for drying time) but it is well worth the effort. I painted my primer on the night before since that takes at least 4 hours to dry but I figured, I'd give it a little extra over night. It couldn't hurt. I was going to take my entire sink out to do this but my husband, well, didn't want to. So I worked with the sink in, no big deal. The minerals itself take 4 hours to dry, total time. You have to do each mineral separately so that they do not blend into each other. You have the option to use what mineral colors to your liking. I did choose to use the bronze but very seldom and randomly. I figured it gave it a little more depth.
If you are a perfectionist or OCD about things, then this will probably give you a hard time. Although, the minerals are suppose to be random, you feel the need that it's just not right. That was my case. I started with the black mineral (per instructions) then the pearl and stopped there. I wanted to make sure that's how I liked it. So I slept on it. It's a good thing I did because I felt I over did it with the pearl so I went back over with more black. You just have to lightly and I emphasize, "lightly" sponge on the minerals. The harder you dab, the more the shape of the sponge you'll see in your finished product. But all in all, this product has great coverage. I don't know what real granite looks like and highly doubt it looks like my counter tops, although I had a friend said that they did. I, do however, enjoy my counter tops now than before. It's a quick and simple project that is super affordable and a temporary fix. I have left over product to do more, if needed.
On the durability of the product - I waited at least 14 days (as recommended) to lay anything on the counter. I had a folding table to do my cooking, chopping...etc temporarily. I've had this product on my counter tops for about a month now and felt it was a good time to do a review on it. Sometimes, people jump the gun, you know what I mean. Whatever dishes I have left over that doesn't fit in my dishwasher, I normally do them by hand and set them on a kitchen towel on the counter. Thinking that the counter top was at it's total dry time, I figured it should be good to keep it on there. Well, I ended up running out somewhere and it stayed on my counter for a few hours, maybe more. I took the towel off and like a previous reviewer said, it caused a blotchy spot and little tiny bubbles. I was totally bummed and was about to scrape it up and fix it. Good thing was, it was close to bed time and well, I didn't want to embark on that at that moment. So I slept on it. Went to check it the next morning and it was gone!! Bubbles and blotchy marks! I was so relieved since I really didn't want to re-do it. And I have to be honest, I'm always leaving water all over the counters and don't wipe them up right away and most of the time does it. The blotchy spots, if you can imagine when you leave a hot pot on the table and it leaves the heat spot. It's kind of like that on these counters. But don't touch or start to re-fix them!! They will go away in a couple hours of drying, trust me!!! It's a weekly thing with me :) I beat my counter tops up and I've had not one scratch on them or peeling up anywhere. I didn't even put back the caulk around the sink like you're suppose to after you're done painting and nothing has lifted.
All in all, if you read the directions and follow each step as instructed, you'll have no problem. I highly recommend this product for anyone looking for a new look. :) This counter top color also looks great with grey tones (like how I did with my cabinets).
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