How to Make Faux Marble Kitchen Counter Tops

If you cannot afford to buy marble or granite, you can achieve the look for a fraction of the cost of the real thing. You can create faux marble kitchen countertops using your existing laminate countertops and a faux painting technique. This technique can help cover imperfections and burns that may be present on your existing laminate countertops. Doing this can save you a lot of money and keep your kitchen looking attractive until you save up enough money to buy the real thing in the future.

Instructions

1

Clean the countertop using cleansing solutions and rinsing with water. Let dry.

2

Sand the surface to remove splinters and rough patches. Sanding also helps your paint adhere to the laminate countertop.

3

Remove the dust and lint using tack cloth or lint-free damp cloth. Ensuring that the surface is as smooth and lint-free as possible will give you a better end result.

4

Apply the undercoat in a color that works well with the overall design or color scheme used in your kitchen. Apply a second coat as necessary as a base coat for your decorative finishes.

5

Apply light mottling by using a sponge dipped in light gray oil paint. Apply them all over the counter in even shades and distribution.

6

Use assorted sizes of artist's brushes to add lines that become the veins. You can also use feathers, which is a preferred tool by artisans for creating faux marble veins. Draw the veins in random sizes in a single direction diagonally.

7

Use darker colors to strengthen some of the veins, giving them varying degrees of shade.

8

Use a sponge to add more depth to some areas. If you have a photograph of marble or a sample piece of marble, use that as your guide to add or lift up color for more variations of the shade for a more realistic effect. Let dry.

9

Add glaze on top. You can buy premade glazes in specific shades or colors, or you can make your own by mixing 3 parts oil paint, 5 parts white undercoat and 5 parts white spirit. Make sure your glaze has a somewhat creamy consistency to give an opaque finish. Allow glaze to dry.

10

Apply a coat of clear gloss varnish followed by a coat of satin varnish for an attractive finish and protection.