celticmoon, resurface corian?!

11 years ago

HI celtic,

I was reading your great post in the gel stain thread and wante to ask you, if you would, please describe how you resurfaced the corian. I have a wet granite polisher, pro level, that I've used with grits up to 3K (silestone remnants I fabricated into countertops) *but* it's always been outside because it's incredibly messy. How do you resurface inside--only use dry? What tool do you use? How do you avoid scorching? Ours originally finished to a semi-gloss, which we love, so I'd probably have to take it up to at least 2K.

Any tips would be *most* appreciated. I love our corian but it's 8 years old and a new surface would be great. Thanks!

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Comments (4)

suero
11 years ago
I have a corian countertop that I refinish with a purple 3-m Scotchbrite pad. I got it with the countertop from the fabricator.
My countertop is 21 years old and it's in great shape.
User
11 years ago
600 is about as fine as you want to go with Corian. Glossy finishes show every single microscratch. The biggest obstacle having a steady hand to avoid creating divots, just like with refinishing a floor.

It's honestly not that expensive to have a pro come and do it. My local fabricator charges between $300-$600 depending on if there are any deep scratches that need to be addressed.
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Huango, Celticmoon is right. Dark cabinets will not be too dark if you have proper lighting and decor anymore than white painted cabinets would be too light, it really all boils down to preferences. I can really understand the flip-flopping between the two, they both have a certain look and feel. As a professional DIY'er :-) darkening with gel stain would be where I would steer you if you are leaning towards a change in your kitchen cabinets BECAUSE if you tire of the dark, it will be far easier to re-paint than it will be strip off the light paint and re-stain if you change your mind. Gel staining as Celticmoon stated is a FAR easier and faster alternative for change than painting. Painting cabinets is not necessarily hard for a DIY project but it is a very involved, time consuming, tedious project. Your fear of ruining your expensive cabinetry is a genuine one, but you also need to love your kitchen, custom or not! We are not due for a new kitchen for a few more years and believe me, my heart was in my throat when I began my gelstaining process, because these are the cabinets I HAVE to live with until that day, and if something went wrong I too was worried about what it would take and the amount of work to fix. In retrospect I would do it again in one second!!! I love the darkness, and have had light cabinets in several houses and it is so much less upkeep with darker! Kitchens are going darker for the first time in many years, light has always been fashionable and will probably remain that way. Perhaps you could paint an island light or set of cabinets and have the best of both worlds? I will say gel stain cleans up nicely if wiped off with mineral spirits before it has a chance to harden and cure, and would give you the chance to try it on to see what you think.
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celticmoon
11 years ago
Fly, that could be too much firepower. I just used an orbital sander, The dust catcher won't collect all the dust, so do use a mask. Slow, very slow and steady, careful passes with increasing grit is all there is to it. I think I did 100, 150, 220 and stopped there because I wanted a matte finish. It had had the very VERY shiney 80s finish that had gotten pretty scratched up. The color (original Almond, no longer made) was so much brighter and cleaner looking afterward.

Agree with GreenD that getting a fabricator to do it may be worth it. But after watching a fabricator resurface, I concluded it was within DIY range for me. It is relevant to add that I am crazy cheap/stubborn. And a while back switched to parttime work and stopped paying folks three times my hourly wage to do things I could do myself. So if it can be DIY, it is usually DIY for me. And I know that is not normal.
mahatmacat1
Original Author
11 years ago
sue, I remember those pads...they made me nervous but I'll try to locate one and see what it's like on a remnant--thanks.

celtic, you're talking to a kindred spirit : ) I fabricated the silestone counters for our master bathroom and our laundry room. Got the polisher off c's list from someone leaving the field. I totally agree re figuring out how to do whatever we can -- although certain things I leave to pros, like electric rough-in.

And greendesigns, we really do love the semi-gloss finish. It sets the counter apart from almost any other corian we've seen--not corianish, iykwim. I would try to replicate it if I redid it...but I should probably practice with a random orbit on a remnant somewhere first.

These are all very helpful -- they give me a sense of what my options are -- thanks very much to all of you.

celticmoon, resurface corian?!

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