[CaliforniaGirl]

Originally Posted by faithfulfrank

Jon,
I did not intend to "hijack" your thread. Glad you like it. To those who posted, thank you for the compliments.

I know it might be a big step to do this.....my offer was sincere if anyone wants to see it up close before doing it feel free to PM me....we are happy to help.....

Frank

Frank, I am so glad you posted this because this thread had inspired me to go to Lowe's and purchase the "other" kit to redo a bathroom countertop. You just saved me $200.

[MLBellis]

I saw on the news that Granite is harmful here is a site that will explain.....some say it is, some say it's not...I say it is better to play it safe than be sorry....some people are more sensitive than others... Granite Counters: Scary Warning - Netscape Home & Living

[pivo]

frank--I'm in the process of selling my home to come to tv. The question is does this kit when applied give the granite effect or just to change the color tone as I have a formica top. Than You

[MLBellis]

My next door neighbor did the same kit...but he was not consistant with his sponging.... it looks good from afar, but when you get close up, you can see he did not do a good job, you really have to be consistance in your dabbing. He also had to go out and buy more of the finish coating, it left streaks. He said it is the same as auto finish coating (was too much money) so he used a clear coat of polyurethane.

[faithfulfrank]

pivo, your question is more of an opinion, but in my opinion I think it does look very much like granite. But that depends on how picky you are. Could I tell the difference between the two......of course. The thing here is to not get to paranoid about it as granite is a natural product and it does have variations in it, so if your Giani job is not perfect it will be fine.

Giani does a great job at refreshing old counters, fixing nicks and scratches, etc. For me the best thing about doing this is simply- IT IS NOT PINK. I have spent the last 5 years "de-pinking" my house.

MLB- I think that streaking can happen if you "over-roll" that finish coat. Folks tend to do that. It is better to just roll it on once and leave it to self level. They tell you that. Once dry, then do another coat as it will bring out more depth.

Basically, it was easy, cheap, fun, and it did the job for me, simply no more pink. It's not a $4,000 Granite job, but it was my $60.00 "no more pink" job and it has held up perfectly for the past couple of years.....I'm pleased. For me, there was no risk. I hated the pink countertops. The only other option was to rip them out at a much higher cost.....so it was worth the try. If for some reason I would not be pleased after doing it I was only out some time and $60.00, and I would have to rip them out then anyway......

On a related matter, I read an interesting article the other day about granite. I'm not sure I agree but it was saying that perhaps granite may be on it's way out. It was once just for very high end homes but has become much more common and is now found in many homes. This was fueling the high end homes to look for something else.

One thing to remember is that some folks redo kitchens every 12 years or so, and one might be less inclined to do that if they spent $4-6K on countertops.....some folks get nuts on kitchens....I used to design $50,000 kitchens.....but in the end cabinets are just boxes to keep stuff and countertops are just flat work surfaces. A friend of mine says all houses are basically just "rocks and trees".......Enjoy!

Frank