If you don’t like the current look of your countertops and don’t have money to install new countertops, you might be thinking about painting them. Can you paint your kitchen countertops? The good news is yes, you can paint the countertops.

That said, before you paint your countertops you need to consider several things:

• How long will you be using the painted countertops?
• Will you be selling your house or renting your house in the near future?
• How will you be using the countertops?

If you are planning to renovate your house in the future, you can go ahead and paint the countertops as you have nothing to lose. After all, it’s temporary. If you don’t like the painted countertops it’s a matter of a few months and you replace the countertops with new ones.

If you will be selling or renting your house in the future, it would be unwise to paint the countertops as painting might bring down the value of the house or make it less attractive to the buyer or renter.

Finally, you should realize that painted countertops aren’t as heat resistant as their unpainted counterparts, so when using them, always have a trivet under the hot pans.

How to paint kitchen countertops

If you feel painting the countertops is the only way to improve their look, you should go ahead and do the painting. How do you do this? Follow these steps:

Choose the right color

You don’t want your countertops to resemble a doodling table, do you? To avoid this, choose the right color for your countertops. For the perfect look, you need a base color and 2-3 more colors that complement each other.

You can see pictures on Pinterest for inspiration or get professional advice from a color expert.

Prepare the surface for painting

Once you have the colors locked in, your next step is to prepare the surfaces for painting. Some of the things you need to do include:

• Remove everything from the countertops and relocate them somewhere else.
• Remove caulking around your countertop using a screwdriver and knife. When doing it, be cautious you don’t gouge the drywall.
• Remove faucet and drain
• Place a baggie over the drainpipe and secure it with a rubber band. This will prevent sewer gas from coming into your room.
• Plug faucet holes with paper towels or other things to prevent paint from going down those openings.
• Sand the countertops
• Tape the edges with painter’s tape
• Tape up drop cloths around the room using painter’s tape to prevent spray paint from getting into areas you don’t want to paint.
• Wipe the countertops with paint thinner to ensure they are completely clean.
• Ensure there is as much air coming in as possible by opening the window, placing a box fan in the window pointing on the outside to such the fumes out, or by turning on a vent fan if you have one.

Apply 1-2 coats of your base color

It would be good for the base color to cover the original countertop color, but if your color doesn’t, you can still proceed with the painting as you are still going to add more color on top.

After applying the base color, now apply the first color accent. Pour the paint onto a plate, then proceed to apply it onto your countertops by tapping the paper towel onto a plate and then onto the countertop.

You should apply the color this way until you cover the entire countertop.

Once you are done, give the colors time to dry, then apply the topcoat. For the best results, you may have to do at least 3 coats of the color.

Sand the countertops

It’s common to find uneven spots on the countertops or feel an uneven texture due to paint application. If this is your case, you should lightly sand the countertops. You might have the impression you will harm the look of the countertops by sanding but this isn’t the case.

Since you have multiple color coats, you most likely won’t harm the look of the countertops. Instead, you will get an extra smooth finish.

You can do the painting if you have the skills but for exemplary results, let experts experienced at painting quartz kitchen countertops NC and other materials handle the work.