Kitchen upgrades can be quite a costly exercise, especially when you add in a marble or stone bench top. If your current benchtop is sufficient but the colour isn’t quite working for you, or if it’s just a bit old and run down, then we have the perfect solution.
We refer to Haymes Ultimate 2 pack Epoxy, as our magic product. It’s an incredibly versatile coating that can be used for multiple uses, and in this case, we created a kitchen bench top!
The beauty of this product is that you can tint it any colour you like, it adheres to mostly all surfaces and comes with the added bonus of also being able to be used as a flooring product. This means you won’t be able to do much damage to it in the kitchen!
We tinted the Epoxy to Haymes Colour Aura with a satin finish, on an old laminate benchtop, salmon coloured (nice). The end product was a natural warm feel to this vintage 50s kitchen apartment.
BEFORE:
AFTER:
To create your own easy and affordable bench top, follow the below steps. We promise you will love this product as much as we do!
8 steps to get your new bench top
Prepare your bench
1. First make sure all grease and grime is cleaned off the bench top using a scouring pad and hot soapy water. Give the bench top a good clean, as the base you create now will be worth it in the end.
2. Use a 120-grit sandpaper with either a hand held or mechanical sander. You need to make sure the bench is roughed up enough, to allow the coating to adhere.
3. Once the bench is sanded, thoroughly clean off all residue. Give a final rinse to make sure the surface is clean. Allow to dry for 10 minutes.
Mix your Epoxy
4. Firstly, give the Epoxy Part A a mix with a power mixer until thoroughly mixed. Rinse the mixer, and repeat the process with the Epoxy Part B. It’s important to make sure both products are thoroughly mixed before moving on.
5. To mix your Epoxy coating together, you will need equal parts of each product. But first you need to work out how much product you will need to sufficiently cover your bench
8 - 10 square meters require 1 litre of Epoxy, to sufficiently cover a bench top.
To work out how much you need, take the length x width of the area, then divided out, area of bench was approx. 3 square metres
6. Mix equal parts of Part A and Part B together with power mixer until thoroughly mixed, then rinse the mixer. Once this product has been mixed, you have only 1 hour to use it before it will start to harden.
7. Apply with Epoxy Roller Cover. If you have a new roller, rinse it first to make sure no hairs appear on the coating.
8. We recommend a second coat, and potentially even a third coat if required. Drying time is approximately 4-6 hours depending on temperature and conditions.
Points to note:
Moving / circulating air is the best method to assist drying, but don’t apply heat.
Full Curing time is 7 Days at 25 degrees Celsius.
If you require further information on Ultimate Epoxy or your painting project give our expet team a call on 1800 033 431.
Photography by Martina Gemmola Styling by Ruth Welsby
Products by Hunting for George, Fenton and Fenton, Globewest, Clickon Furniture, Southwood Home and House of Orange
Products Used
Cabinets
(Undercoat) Haymes UltraLock (tinted dark) 4L
(Top Coat) Haymes UltraTrim Enamel (tinted to Intrigue) Semi-Gloss 4L
Bench top
Haymes Ultimate Epoxy – 3L Kit
Walls and trims
Bedroom - Haymes Expressions in Feather Grey - 4L
Living Room – Haymes Expressions in Parchment Grey - 4L
Kitchen - Haymes Expressions in Greyology 1 -4L
All Trims - Haymes UltraTrim Oil Based Enamel in Greyology 1 (semi-gloss) - 4L
