I lurk /r/DIY all the time, and we did a project that I thought was worth sharing. From rotten deli meats to faux marble... Enjoy!After photoBefore photo - nice big kitchen island, but the granite looks like rotten deli meats. No matter how clean it is, it looks dirty. And if you put anything on it, it looks cluttered.Closeup of rotten deli meats - mortadella in the bottom corner?I used Giani countertop paint (based off the White Diamond kit). This is the first step after cleaning/prep -- primer coat (navy/black color).Adding white (Quartzite). You dab it on with a sponge and build it in layers to give it some variation. Since I was going for a really white base, the variation didn't matter that much... but still.First layer done, wait 4 hours for next coat.Top view of first coat.After 4 coats (2 Quartzite, 2 White Limestone) - I don't really know what the difference is between Quartzite and White Limestone. (The nook on the right of the picture was my guinea pig before attempting the island.)It's pretty white overall, but there's a little variation/texture from using the sponge to dab.Painting on the veins of the marble. Used the Greystone color mostly, mixed with some White Limestone for variation.After painting the veins, I did a thin sponge coat of White Limestone over parts of the veins to make it blend more.Another angle of the veins.Closeup of veins after the sponge coat.Another vein closeup.That was it for the Giani kit. When I was testing it out, I tried the topcoat that came with their kit but I was unimpressed. Maybe I didn't apply it right, but it felt sort of dimply afterwards and it didn't seem that durable. Maybe it'd be okay for a lightly used surface, but definitely not for our kitchen island. So we bought some countertop epoxy off Amazon (there are lots available, but we got the one sold by Pro Marine Supplies). It was our first time doing it, so after reading and re-reading the instructions...My boo pouring out the mixed epoxy.Spreading the epoxy out with a foam roller.Boo blowtorching to remove air bubbles (4 times, waiting 15 minutes in between).Admiring the epoxy from different angles...So shinyyyMade sure to crank the heat up to 75 and not use it for 72 hours while the epoxy cured.We are super stoked about how well it turned out. Next project will be to replace the kitchen sink and paint the rest of the countertop to match! via /r/DIY http://bit.ly/2QoIAv8
