Painting kitchen countertops

[trs4594]

I have a house with laminate countertops in the kitchen. While they are in good condition, they are an ugly color. I want to paint them another color before I sell the house.

Does anyone have experience in this area? What steps I should take?

Thx

[marksr]

I would advise against painting the counter tops. They are designed to prevent anything from sticking to them. Even though the paint job might last until the house is sold it is apt to peel. No one wants paint chips in their food :mad: I would consider either minimizing the color through decoration or replacing the tops.

[trs4594]

I wouldnt want paint chips in my food or anything else either. And I don't want to cobble something just long enough to get the house sold.

But I was told about a xylene based primer that could be used under an enamel paint which could be sealed with several coats of polyeurathane. Does that sound like it would work...?

[noleguy33]

product you might be referring to is called XIM. I would sand the heck out the counter-tops and wipe with a solvent... then prime with the XIM clear. Go over it with an oil-based paint.. and maybe a few coats of poly. We did it in our house with 5 kids and it worked pretty well. A few chips here and there... but it has been 4 years since it was done.

[joneq]

a little heavy duty on the price. :eek: I would probably use this (http://www.ximbonder.com/products_detail.asp?id=35) product if I went with the XIM. The reason being that #1 the counter is plastic and #2 the use of this solvent may soften the plastic and create a good bond with it. Personally I would just use the Zinsser Bullseye or the Bin. Either one will stick tenaciously to clean glass. :thinker: