Kitchen work tops

[hotfemail]

I am renting a property and hate the worktops but dont want to spend a fortune replacing them. Can they be painted ???

[Ethel]

What does your rental agreement say? In some properties you aren't even allowed to put a nail in the wall to hang a picture.

Speak to your landlord

[buildersmate]

Not really a very good idea.
What are the existing ones made of - laminate?

[hotfemail]

My landlady says i can do whatever i like ! And yes , BM, they are laminate. Cheers

[Ethel]

You can't paint kitchen worktops - it will flake.

You could tile them, or replacing them shouldn't be too expensive.

[hotfemail]

Thanks Ethel. I know its probably not cost effective - I was just rying to think of something i could do myself - Im quite handy, but replacing worktops - no ! Not that handy. Thanks for your advice tho.

[annie0000]

I once covered mine with fablon - they looked great, but you had to be really careful not to chop anything on them because it cut right through! They certainly lasted for the 3 years I was in the flat - no idea how the fared after I sold it!

[Ethel]

What happens if you put a hot pan on fablon?

How does it stand up to being cleaned with kitchen cleaner, which usually contains bleach?

Buy some of those worktop savers and scatter them about. I have seen some fabby granite ones at Morrisons for �5 each

[annie0000]

Ethel, you can't put anything hot on it - I used chopping boards but the worktop savers you have now would be just the job. I didn't have a cooker in that flat, so no hot pans to worry about ;o)

It was fine with the cleaners as long as you didn't use anything abraisive - I went for a pale grey marble effect anyway, so it wouldn't be too noticeable if it did fade - if you went for wood effect or something, you may see the white plastic start to show through I guess.

It was not too difficult to apply - you needed to have the worktop pristinely clean and then wet it slightly and float the fablon on the top and then sqeeze the water ot to one side - I used a window cleaning blade - you can pop any bubbles with a fine needle and smooth out after it has stuck properly.

[carlton23]

Have you seen on TV the laminate worktops that fit over the existing tops?

[theshedman]

Hi all, saw annieoooo's reply about fablon and if you are going to use that try the fablon plus which is stronger. You can use abrasive cleaners and it doesn't harm it and looks good after a number of years. I covered my kitchen unit doors with it and it still looks good. Takes a while to put on but if you take the time you get great results. But as Ethel says don't put anything hot on it.

[hotfemail]

carlton - what is this laminate on tv which covers existing worktops ? Anyone else seen it ?

[weeal]

I once painted my worktops with oil based eggshell and created a fake marble effect with oil crayons, one coat of varnish and it lasted for a few years till I changed it (it never chipped)
http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee122/WeeYo da/Worktop.jpg
Then I changed them to a 'stone' effect with a spray paint from Plastikote and it also lasted ages.

Can you tell I like new looks? lol

[weeal]

That worktop ^ had been woodgrain effect laminate.