A few weeks ago I was asked to review a product to transform your counter-top. I wasn’t hesitating a bit. I must admit there wasn’t anything wrong with my kitchen counter, it was only 5 years old, we build it ourselves and when you see the before pictures you probly wonder why I even wanted to remodel.
It’s simple I got tired of the "Blue" on my counters, and they weren’t really what I wanted. You see when we did the kitchen remodel in 2005 we had just ordered our brand new counter-top with the attached back-splash all the cool stuff… I paid for it and was excited to finally get what I wanted… well.. till Hurricane Katrina hit and I got the call that the company can not provide me the countertop till Christmas, this was only September… uuggh so we made our own counter top and it was fine, But I always wanted to change it and make it my own.
So this is where Giani Granite paint came into the picture. Their product is beyond awesome; it’s hard to explain and I have been bragging to everyone at work about Giani Granite so check out there video to get the full effect and idea of what it does by watching their video . This paint will transform your counters in less then a weekend into nice looking granite look alike counters for far less then what the original big brother would cost you.
Here is what comes in the kit; I choose the Chocolate kit, they also have Sicilian Sand, Bombay Black, Roma Red, Sapphire Blue and Emerald Green, you can also add your own color if you add water based Acrylic paint to give it a personal touch.. how cool is that ??
Here is my kitchen before I started with the Giani Granite Remodel
I started my kitchen prep on Friday evening, did all the cleaning like wiping down everything with a degreaser and taping all the corners, edges anything that wasn’t suppose to get painted.
Then I took one of the foam brushes that came with the kit and primed all the edges with the black primer.
Step 1 Now it was time to prime the rest of the counter.
Let the primer dry over night or at least 8 hrs. before you move to the next step.
Step 2 adding the 3 minerals from my kit, I used the sponge that came with the kit and sponged it on the counter.
Took me about 40 minutes to "paint" all of my countertop, let it dry for 4 hrs, add more color if you like and let dry again for a few hrs ( depending on how much paint you added). After your paint looks the way you like it, make sure it dried completely for 4 hrs.
Step 3 Add the first clear coat, this was the easiest part, the clear top coat went on soo easy, took less then 5 min for my counter tops, let dry again for 4 hrs and repeat that 2 more times. In the end you will have 3 clear coats of Top coat on the counter…
now take a look at my kitchen counters now…
Don’t they look like granite…?? It sounds like a lot of work, but honestly the drying time is the longest, the painting itself took less then 2 hrs all together.
Really simple and I did it on my own, no help from hubby or the kids….
One paint kit retails for $54.95 plus shipping and will transform up to 35sq. of counter top.
What kind of materials can I transform:
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Traditional granite countertops and vanities
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Formica countertops and vanities
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Laminate countertops and vanities
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Corian countertops
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Butcherblock countertops
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Primed ceramic tile
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Primed cultured marble vanities
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Primed one piece sink and counter vanities
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Primed or painted wood
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Primed or painted drywall
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Cabinet inlays
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Table tops
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Mantels
- Primed acrylic or fiberglass shower walls
This is an amazing product and sooo simple anyone can transform their counters in a weekend, now with the upcoming holidays who wouldn’t want to show off some "new" counter-tops for a fraction of the price… go visit Giani Granite on Facebook or on their website for more info on Giani Granit and their products.
Giani Granite provided me with the product listed above free of charge for my honest review. No other compensation was received. All opinions are 100 % my own.
Nicole says
Beautiful!!! I was going to do Modern Master’s Countertop Transformations, but after coming across this, I’m sold! Thanks!!!
mausekind says
Nicole.. it was really simple and we love it.. I have about 10 of my friends already convert their counters as well… great product š
Maria Friedt says
We are wanting to replace our bathroom countertop and thought that this might be a good option, so… I was wondering how you like your countertop now that a few months have gone by.
mausekind says
We really like it.. it was simple and still looks great… beast the HIGH price of a brand new counter top if you are lookingto remodel….:-)
Julie L says
An Awesome review-I like the fact that u showed us step by step how u did it
thanks=I am thinking of giving it a try
Jessica~Mom of all Trades says
Your countertops turned out great! I also reviewed the Sicilian Sand not too long ago and love my new countertops š I just wish I had More counter space to transform!
mausekind says
I know, don’t you wanna paint everything in the house now… I wish I had more space, too š
Michelle K says
How are your countertops holding up now? My consern is, after so long does the paint start to peel or anything like that?
CrazyMom says
Michelle;
it’s been a year now and they still look the same; we love them in our house… a friend did her’s, too and she has it for almost a year as well and still looks like the first day; just make sure you take all the steps to get it grease free etc, take your time and don’t rush it… it will be worth it :0) thanks for asking
theresa says
I just painted my counters with the gianni paint. They will be fully cured next week. How are you cleaning your counters? Did you purchase the spray cleanser that is sold on their website?
CrazyMom says
Theresa; I just clean my counters with dish soap and a wet rag and sometimes even use the Lysol Wipes… Haven’t had a problem and it’s been over a year now… good luck :0) hope you will enjoy it as much as we do :0)
Cynthia says
Hey! I just bought two kits in black and had watched several videos and read several blogs that used this. You seem like you would be a very honest person. One woman said it was peeling up on her after it had little bubbles. You said you haven’t had a problem with it after 1 year. Is that still the case? Did you have to leave everything off the counters for 2 weeks after painting? Has any of it scratched? After seeing that one woman’s video where she said it peeled, I have thought about returning the kits to the store, but I would sure love my counters to look as good as yours. I just need a little assurance. Thanks.
Cynthia recently posted..Night Three….No Sleep
CrazyMom says
Hi Cynthia….I have my counters for over a year now and 2 of my friends did theirs as well… they are beautiful… I have no problem with mine and neither do my friends..HOWEVER… make sure you sand the counters lightly, make sure they are grease free and dry, otherwise the paint may peel or bubble.. and yes we left everything off the counters like toaster etc for 2 weeks, we did light use the counter with a cutting board here and there, but mainly waited the 2 weeks; we do use regular cleaner on it and in some areas it isn’t as shiny as it was, but still looks pretty…my island had wood underneath not laminate and that is even more beautiful, and we use it a lot, even wipe it down with clorox and no chip, marks or anything at all.. the key is good preparation and if at all possible sand down the counters with a sand block or something; if you have any more questions, feel free to ask… I’m more than willing to help. I love to help my readers and be honest about a product, I don’t get any kickbacks if I sell a product or not, that is the key in being honest… would love to hear your outcome…
Susan Parker says
How has it held up with wear and tear? Any scratches?
CrazyMom says
On our island it’s holding up perfect.. looks like the first day; the counters were great as well, however we had our counters replaced a few weeks ago, nothing to do with the product or the look; our back splash had separated and water damage and it started to mold; we had to replace it, but the product held up great and the counters looked amazing, still after a year….
Tami says
Does it tell you to sand everything down? Do you do a light sand or do you really sand it down?
Thanks for all the info… i hope to get the same great results.
Melanie Roberts says
I don’t remember if it told me to sand down, I would recommend a sand down, to get the surface a bit rough. On my wood island top I didn’t had to sand down and the paint is still looking amazing; on my actual counters I had to sand a bit heavier to get it to be permanent.
Kathy L. Reed says
I just finished my painting my countertops this weekend using the GIANI process. White Diamond. My husband loves them new look. This makeover was exactly what I needed after 28 years of Autumn Orange. I think the process looks great and aS super easy. Be sure to apply the Frog tape as recommend recommended especially around the sink and score carefully to ensure that you don’t remove the new paint when you remove the tape. Why did we wait so long? Love this. Try it, you’ll like it.
Melanie Roberts says
Glad you liked it, too.. We love ours.. I replaced my actual counters since, not because of the paint, but my counters separated where they glued the backsplash and it molted.. BUT I have an island that has the Giani Granite paint on from day one and still looks AMAZING.. I love it every day and just can’t part with it even if the island is now too big for my kitchen (we remodeled a bit..lol)…
stella hernandez says
Giani granite paint so awesome, I had white tile counter tops, talk about taking a risk, my thought was if this does not work I am going to have to really get new counters, which would be costly so in the mean time I would be stuck with uglier counters, but I took the risk and oh my it came out so good, I’ve had people look and my counter tranfomation and they cannot believe that this could be done. They have different colors, I decided to go with dark brown
Melanie Roberts says
Soo glad yours turned out just as nice as mine… I replaced my main counters now (nothing to do with the Granini Paint, I had water damage different story..lol), BUt I still have an island and the paint looks AWESOME, still like new and it’s been what.. 3 years now?? My friend also did hers and looks still like new.. and she has it for at least 2 years now.. enjoy it, glad it worked out well for you, too and saved some money š
Misty says
How is it holding up now that it’s been a couple years later? Curious if it’s peeling, etc.
Thanks!
Melanie Roberts says
We replaced out counters a few years ago during the kitchen remodel, BUT the island we made it on is still going strong and used every day, still looks like new. I did notice the island was a wood counter (not sanded) and it worked well, on the counters itself it started to peel after a few years, a friend of mine did it on her counters shortly after mine and she sanded down her counters first and its still going strong and no peeling on hers, so prep is the key!!
Sydney Cecil says
On the directions, it says wait 14 DAYS (!!!) for the last layer of top coat to cure… that seems unnecessarily long to me. How long did you wait? We just painted our counter tops in “White Diamond” and are just wondering if you really need to wait two weeks to use them.
Melanie Roberts says
We really waited the full 2 weeks, we did use it here and there we just didn’t put any appliances, items on the counter for that 2 weeks, the nightly cooking we did but made sure the counters stayed clean for the 2 weeks. We’ve since replaced our counters but the island is still going strong after ALL these years!!