Rust-Oleum Countertop Transformations Kit - Large Charcoal Kit for DIY Countertop Resurfacing | Perfect for Kitchen & Bathroom Renovations

We decided to overhaul our kitchen ourselves, because we were on a tight budget. We had existing cabinets and counters that were worn and dated, and we installed new unfinished cabinets and a countertop on the opposite wall. We needed to refinish everything so it matched, and we decided to use Rustoleum's Countertop and Cabinet Transformation products to make that happen.We started with the countertops...The kit comes with a DVD as well as an instruction booklet. DEFINITELY watch the DVD for technique and visual demonstrations. The instruction book is rather small with very fine print. I took the time to write out the steps / instructions and taped them up in the kitchen for quick easy reference. It made things easier to remember what comes next and to ensure we were using the correct tools / materials for each step. I highly recommend doing this because there are so many little things to remember! Also make sure you read the outside of the Countertop Transformation box. There are materials you need that will have to be purchased separately.My husband took Friday and Monday off from work, so we could take our time and make sure we gave each step ample time to be completed. We figured it would take us at least three days to get through everything and allow for drying time.Day One: ThursdayI cleaned and prepped the kitchen. I took everything off of counters, cleaned them with disinfectant, moved the table and chairs into the living room, swept and washed the floor, and put away any miscellaneous items that might be in the way. I set up a work table with all the tools and materials we would need. I taped off the edges of the counter and put up protective plastic sheeting on the walls, floors, appliances, and base cabinets. Be generous with plastic and tape. You are going to generate a LOT of dust and the paint chips are going to fly everywhere. Cover EVERYTHING. I think it took me about three hours to get this all done, and this is time the DVD does not factor in to the project completion time.Day Two: FridayFriday morning we finished taping off the doorway to keep the pets out of the kitchen and to keep the dust / paint chips from spreading throughout the house. We put up the baby gate we use to keep Koa out of rooms, and we taped plastic up and secured it under the gate so the cats couldn't get through or over the gate.We had to repair the end cap of our old countertop and we had to attach the end cap of our new cabinet. We are also replacing the kitchen sink and faucets, so we removed those as well and taped plastic around the hole.We then started prepping the counters. We washed everything with soap and water and allowed them to dry completely. Each section of counter, including the backsplash and the front edge needs to be sanded. The kit comes with a "diamond embedded sanding tool" but it only comes with ONE. I purchased a coarse sanding block from Lowe's but it didn't even come close to matching the effect of the kit's tool. As such, Gabe ended up having to do all the sanding in this step.Once all the sanding is done, or if you're working as a team, once one section is done, you need to clear all the sanding dust from the counter. The instructions say to use a shop vac with a brush attachment, but we didn't have one. We simply used a small whisk broom and a dustpan. It works pretty well; you just have to make several passes over the surface and clean the brush / empty the dustpan frequently. You then will take a damp lint-free cloth and wipe off the counter until there is no residue left at all. I made three passes over each section, rinsing the cloth out between each pass. Once they were thoroughly dry, we ran our hands over the surface to make sure there was no dust left. We took a new dry cloth and ran that over each section as well. It took us about two hours to do all of this.Here is where timing comes in to play. You have to apply the base coat, and you then have a 20 minute window in which to apply the paint chips. It's important to work in a team to get everything applied within that window and to work in sections so that no one section dries before you're able to complete it. Because of our schedule for Saturday and the timing involved in the drying, we waited until about 8pm to start the base coat.We started on the new counter, which was a white-ish marbled color. I used the paint brush to do the backsplash, front edge, and ends. Gabe followed with the paint roller and filled in the middle. The instructions tell you to lay it on thickly, like you're frosting a cake. Take this literally and apply a liberal coating. You shouldn't be able to see ANY countertop through the base coat.Work on smallish sections at a time so you can get the paint chips down before the base coat dries. Once you've coated your area, spray the wetting agent on the surface. Spray liberally but not so much that it leaves puddles or drops on the counter. Follow this immediately with the paint chips. Start spraying the backsplash first, and move back to front from there. You will literally have to throw paint chips at the front edge of the counter to get coverage. It's pretty funny; don't worry about being neat because making a mess is unavoidable. Once you've finished one section, move on to the next, following the same steps.Have a flashlight on hand. Shine it all over and around the counter. If you see ANY shiny surfaces, this is base coat showing through. Throw more paint chips on those areas until you can't see any shine at all. They give you WAY too many chips so you can be as liberal with them as you want. (We still have 2 ½ bags of chips left!)This stage took us about 90 minutes from start to clean up.Day Three: SaturdayOnce the base coat has dried, it's time to clean off the excess paint chips and sand the surface smooth. Brush off whatever you can with a small whisk broom, then use the scraper provided in the kit to go over all the surface areas. Be careful here - it *is* possible to pull off chunks of paint and base coat that will need to be retouched. Then use the diamond embedded sanding block to sand the counter smooth. (The coarse sanding block I bought at Lowe's did work really well here, so Gabe and I were able to work together.) Use the fine sanding block on the edges and the backsplash to blend them in to the rest of the counter.They tell you to match the counter top smooth level to the sample they give you. Honestly, I don't think it's possible to get it THAT smooth without sanding right through to the original counter. Get it to where you're comfortable with it and be done with it or you'll make yourself crazy. Also, the front edge and the backsplash don't have to be as smooth as the surface. Leaving a little more texture here is okay.Inspect the counters thoroughly for any bare spots and touch them up now. Use a damp sponge to dab on the base coat, then throw enough chips on to cover it. You have to let these spots dry for at least four hours, then sand them down even with the rest of the counter.We started this around 3pm, and it took us about 90 minutes to complete this step. We then had to wait four hours for the touched up areas to dry.The hard part is cleaning all the sanding dust and excess chips off the counter. We went through so many cloths... I only bought one bundle, and I wish I'd had two. I would recommend tossing each one after you've used it because each damp cloth makes sanding dust paste. Trying to reuse it a second time didn't work so well but we had no choice. We wiped each section down about five times before we felt everything was clean enough for the top coat. Make sure the counters are thoroughly dry before applying the top coat.You'll apply the top coat in basically the same manner as the base coat. Use a paint brush to do the side edges and the backsplash, then use a roller to the front edge. Use the brush to fill in any areas the roller can't reach. Be care not to leave globs, drops, or extremely noticeable roller lines. They will dry in place and be visible afterwards.We started this step around 8:45pm and we finished in less than an hour.This is the only part of the project that is EXTREMELY smelly. The top coat has a very strong odor, and this presents a bit of a challenge because you can't open any windows or ventilate the space while applying or drying. We made the mistake of applying the coat at night, around 8pm, and had to leave our bedroom and living room windows cracked all night because the smell was so strong. As a result, the counters were still sticky and tacky this morning because it was so cold in the house. I'd recommend applying this in the morning on a nice day so you can open windows to ventilate once you're done AND still have the temperature adequate for drying.Day Four: SundayWait until the counters are no longer tacky to remove the painters tape and protective sheeting. Score the edges of the tape with a chisel or blade to make it easier to peel off so you don't pull off any pieces of the countertop.Miscellaneous Tips:This project could be completed in less time than we took, but because of work schedules, we planned to spread it out over a few days. If you time it right, you can get it done in less time. Just don't rush it.All of the online reviews tell you that one fault of this kit is the amount of base coat provided. Always overestimate your square footage and underestimate the coverage area on the box. We have roughly 35 square feet of countertop, so we bought the kit for 50 square feet. We had enough base coat, with enough left over for touch ups as needed.Make sure you have secured the plastic to the floor. These chips will go EVERYWHERE. We draped it down from the base cabinets, but we didn't tape it down to the floor and clean up was a bit of a mess.If you have the space for it, pull your appliances out away from the countertops. I wish we'd pulled the fridge and stove out because getting the tape off of these, out of the crevices, we challenging.I always think of painters tape as my safety net and I'm not particularly precise when painting edges as a result. That was a mistake here, because these are very goopy materials. Trying to pull the tape out of the corners when everything was dry was problematic because they were weighed down by the equivalent of road tar.We made the mistake of applying the base coat and the top coat at night, when the lighting in our kitchen was less than ideal. It was very difficult to see what we were doing and we were dependent on our flashlight to look for areas we missed. Try to do these steps during the day when you have ample natural light.Wear your safety gear!!! Glasses, gloves, and a dust mask are most definitely necessary. You're going to get hot and feel suffocated but you don't want to be breathing in all that dust, and if you wear contacts, you do not want this getting into your eyes. Additionally, I didn't have my dust mask on the whole time, and Saturday morning I had to blow my nose constantly to purge the dust and paint chips from my sinuses.Throw the lint-free cloths away when you're done with them after each stage. There is so much sanding dust embedded in them that you'll just make paste if you try to wash and reuse them.Inspect your countertops very carefully. We are now noticing a few areas we missed after sanding, but we can't touch them up now. We know no one else will notice them, but we know they're there.Take your time. Don't rush through any of the steps or the process as a whole. It will be worth it when you're done. There will be imperfections, as there often are with DIY projects, but no one else will notice them. Most of ours are along the backsplash, and since we're also going to be painting the kitchen, we're confident we can cover them up and/or make them even less noticeable.Overall, we definitely recommend this product. I ordered the kit through Amazon.com and got the large kit for $195. We probably spent another $50 on tools and materials (plastic, tape, paint brushes, etc). When you compare the cost of brand new counters against a financial investment of $150 and some sweat equity, it is SO worth it. We LOVE the way the counters look now. We installed a new sink and new faucets today to tie it all together and we think it looks fantastic.Rustoleum Countertop Transformation gets two thumbs up from us!