Choosing to do your own kitchen countertop refinishing instead of resurfacing or replacing counters can save you hundreds of dollars. Here’s a look at a couple of the most popular surfaces and the proper way to refinish them. Read on to learn more.

Kitchen countertop refinishing for wood surfaces depends on whether they are painted or not.

• If not painted, all you really need to do is sand them, stain them, and go over them with one or more coats of a lacquer-based or polyurethane finish to make them shiny and durable.
• If painted, you’ll need to do all the above, but only after you’ve first completely stripped them from all paint. And keep in mind during this type of kitchen countertop refinishing that the more coats of lacquer you apply, the harder and more durable a finish you’ll have.

Laminate kitchen countertop refinishing starts with a good washing using detergent. After that, use denatured alcohol to get it as clean as possible, eliminating any oil or grease residue. With 120-grit sandpaper, rub lightly over the entire surface. Fill any deep gouges or chips with wood filler and, when dry, sand over those, as well. Apply a sealer over the countertop, tinting it to match whatever finish paint you’ve chosen. After drying thoroughly, paint the countertop with oil-based alkyd paint.

Kitchen countertop refinishing entails a pretty good amount of elbow grease as well as enough time to do it well. Stopping midway during the job can leave you with splotches, streaks, and an unprofessional look. So when you do decide to dive into kitchen countertop refinishing, make sure you have plenty of energy and don’t have any dates to keep for several days running.

You’ll save money doing your own kitchen countertop refinishing, but the end results depend entirely upon you. Study up on the subject, get the right materials, and go to it. If all else fails, you can always resurface or even replace them – but making the attempt might even teach you a new home remodeling skill, so why not give it a whirl?

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