Painted Faux Granite Countertops

Because Granite is expensive and I couldn't live with our laminate butcher-block countertops, I decided to paint the countertops we had to look like the granite I wanted!

Here are some before pics:

First, we had to tape off the entire kitchen since I would be spraying some 'granite flecks' and our cupboards are white.  We also had to move our stove and fridge so we could get to the edges of the counters.

After lightly sanding the countertops, I started with a coat of primer so the paint would have something to stick to.

Next, I went over the countertops with two coats of flat black paint. 

I then sprayed a very light coat of Rust-Oleum  Stone Creations Spray in Black Granite to add the 'granite specks'.  I didn't want very many white specks in my countertops, so I sprayed it very thin.  It only took literally about ten seconds to spray the entire kitchen.

Here's a close-up of the specks:

Once dry, we applied about 6 coats of clear, water-based polyurethane.  Using water-based polyurethane vs. oil based is what makes it food safe.

The final result:

Painting the countertops made a HUGE difference in our kitchen!  The best part is that it only cost us about $40!

 Before                                                        After


View an up-date on our painted kitchen countertops six years later here.