Oh! Perhaps there is two similar product manufacturers? This product states it is made in Italy by Arpa. Hmmmm! Thank you!

I havent been able to find anyone who has actually had this product installed on a countertop. Would really like a first hand opinion.

It is not Chinese. It is from Italy as stated above. I know the product very well and in the process of doing two kitchens with it right now. We are using this on the cabinet fronts (doors, drawers and panels) but not the countertop. The product is extremely durable and for an ultra matte look there is nothing better. However even though it can be used on horizontal surfaces for heavy use I would probably go with a quartz or the newer ceramic materials like Dekton or Neolith. I plan on doing some tops with this and will use a "miter-fold" method of cutting it for a seamless edge. On the cabinet fronts we use a laser edge banding to achieve a nearly invisible edge seam also.

I am also interested in this material for a countertop!

+1

Not sure if I want to be the guinea pig.

Contact the local vendors for the product so you can visit a local displaying showroom.

http://www.fenixforinteriors.com/en/contacts

I've seen it in person at trade shows. I want to get feedback from someone who's lived with the product rather than a salesperson.

It's a little concerning that there doesn't seem to be a single person on Houzz who has given it a shot as a counter surface. I do know of at least one person here who used it for cabinets and loves it. But as we know, horizontal surfaces are subject to a lot more abuse than vertical ones.

Have you been able to find any reviews of people with the Formica version? If they are identical products I'd be inclined to use the Formica version but would still like to see some real world reviews.

I'm curious what kind of warranty Formica offers on that product.

Thanks for the update!

The Formica Infiniti does not have the same look as Fenix NTM. It is not as smooth nor as matte. It has a slight stipple finish and compared side by side the Fenix has a richer depth and a better color selection. The Wilsonart product is much closer in look but both are imitations of the original Italian brand Fenix. I work with this product almost everyday and have access to all the other brands but wouldn't switch. Having said that I'm still not convinced I would use this on a countertop in a high traffic area.

I have experience with it and would not recommend it. I redid the kitchen last year and my designer and I chose a fenix countertop, the solid half inch one. It’s hard to explain but it’s as if it has a memory or it’s porous, it absorbs everything. . Anything you deposit on the countertop, be it a glass or your water jug, it leaves a ring, a trace. If you wet it by washing, you’ll see that ring, and when it dries, it disappears. But at the time, I was not feeling the best and didn’t wash the countertop immediately all the time. Don’t judge, I was sick and overly tired. So it was cumulating, everything that went on the counter left a mark and it started to show, even when dry. It’s a kitchen counter! So grease from cooking on the stove, oil from the olive oil bottle, food, water ring. It became quite marked and stained. Every time I washed it, I had to do it all about 3 times to be sure it was all clean and even wash cloth didn’t leave a mark. It left a mark if I didn’t wipe evenly. We went for the warranty and had it changed, hoping it was a bad batch. The distributor was not very cooperative and ended up giving us new countertops for the whole kitchen but refused to pay for the installation. And it took forever. They put heavy duty stickers on top probably to make sure we put the right side up. Being the product it is, I still have not removed all the marks left by the glue... Now, I am more successful cleaning it up as I use it,mostly every time but stil, water splashes around the sink quite normally and I wipe as I go but it still leaves water stains and the water glass still leaves a ring that I see while wet. I am more successful at keeping it nice and clean but the odd thing still leaves little marks that will eventually disappear after I wash it again and again and again. Last night, I was wiping those ecological beeswax wraps used to wrap food leftovers and I didn’t think, I did it on the countertop, I had speckles of wax left on the countertop after, hard to remove. We’re looking into installing quartz countertops on top. I haven’t decided yet... I might opt instead for a very large wood cutting board for the area where I cook and avoid spilling food and oil on the counter while I cook.

I have never, yes, I used the word "never", gotten that ^ callback on any top I've ever installed.

Same experience with fenix countertop as loulydeco. I had my new kitchen installed about a year and a half ago, I liked the effect of having a monoblock kitchen, where the top has the same material as the kitchen cabinets. I have a 3.6m by 1.2m black kitchen island, and I can assure you that the fenix worktop drove us crazy. Even a glass of water would leave a ring when placed on the surface. The supplier changed the top for us this week since they claim that it was a bad batch.. Still, I am not convinced.. Will see how this one goes.. As a side note the kitchen installer than tried using acetone on the damaged worktop so that he could give it a try, and it actually worked.. Still I will not be using acetone on my new work top, close to my food, anytime soon..

This question might be best answered by jdesign_gwbut anyone can feel free to chime in.

I am looking to refinish the cabinets in my bar and I am still drawn to this type of material. No counters, just vertical surfaces so hopefully the horror stories people have experienced won't apply to me. There is a new Infiniti ColorCore 2. How does this compare with Fenix or the Wilsonart version? What is the Wilsonart product called so I can try to do some research on it?

You mention laser edge banding. That sounds like the ideal way to do it, but what is the downside of not cutting edges this way? I ask because I have had so many problems with cabinet people. I've got one guy I trust to do this job but he doesn't have this type of high end equipment. Is it going to be a mess? I don't know about Fenix or Wilsonart but the new ColorCore 2 has through-body color to help cuts look seamless.

I have probably ten different materials that have a super matte finish. Lamimate, acrylic, UV paint etc. I think the Fenix is the best but others are nice. The Infiniti is my least favorit. It has a slight stipple texture to it. Fenix also comes in through color 1.2 mm. but it's going to cost more and shipping will be high because it can't be rolled.

I didn't know there were so many options. Can you give me your next two or three favorites after Fenix?

Does through body color make that much of a difference?

This is for my bar cabinets which are brand new and have a wood veneer on them. There were some issues but the guy who built them moved away and I had someone else "fix" them. Train wreck. He made everything worse and caused new issues. It's at the point where I don't mind starting from scratch. I think a laminate is probably the easiest way to get to the destination because it can go right over the wood veneer. I definitely don't want to paint because that is going to be the most difficult road. Acrylic is probably too thick without making major modifications.

Thanks!

I have Fenix black work top and it drove me mad but if you use a mild detergent leave for a minute and wipe with a damp cloth then dry it with kitchen roll , it comes up great Good luck everyone . it works

Hello! I have a report on the black matte Formica Infinit!
Had it on the countertop on the island in my kitchen. It was getting so stained and marked and weird that my husband said yesterday that he couldn’t stand it any longer and wanted to replace.
Well. I started digging and found this

https://www.formica.com/es-es/-/media/formica/emea/document-library/care-and-maintenance/formica-infiniti-worktops/infiniti-cleaning-guide.pdf

I scrubbed the countertop with a melamine sponge (aka Magic Eraser) and dish soap and water. Guess what? It works! Pretty much looks brand new now. I feel so silly for not knowing this before!

Anyway- you might want to test it out if you are having trouble! :)

Yes thank you! I still have the fenix countertop but they did replace it as the first one was staining quite a lot. This 2nd one doesn’t stain as much but it still stains. We did try the magic eraser and it does wonders. However I only use is sparingly as I’m very much into non toxic and ecological cleaning products. But when I have a small stain that doesn’t go away, then I use the magic eraser on a given spot.

I try to use non-toxic cleaners too and am planning on using the magic eraser once a month or so and stick to soap and water the rest of the time. And no food contacts the counter so I’m not as worried about the magic eraser!

You could try Norwex magic erasers - non toxic

Does anyone know we have to use plywood under Fenis countertop for support or is it strong by itself?

We had fenix worktops installed by Wren in the UK 18 months ago. The sold it to us virtually indestructible it wasn't cheap

. They have changed the island worktop twice due to scratches, last time a year ago, and now we have 2 small deep gouges which just seem to appear. I've asked Wren to send an expert to examine it but at the moment they are saying it is just fair wear and tear, although they've not come to see it. I've asked them to reconsider.

Thanks we wont be using Wren for our kitchen now

Mike since then I wrote to Wrens MD. They offered to replace the island top with like for like or they'd refund the cost of the worktop only. We decided to cut our losses and took the money. We've replaced it with a quartz top from a specialist marble company. The refund only paid for part of it but its worth it.

when we had our kitchen installed when we were on holiday. when we came home we were surprised to see the words Fenix everywhere on the worktops when you looked at it from a certain angle. its like the plastic cover left some like of stain on the worktop which has never come off. wren did not want to know and 2 years later they have never sent anyone out to look at it.

the magic eraser works wonders, but also dont drop a cup out of a cupboard onto it, left a huge chip, i'd have preferred the cup to break not the worktop be ruined.

We complained at ghe shop to the manager, they eventually offered to refund the cost of our island worktop, we replaced it with a quartz top from another supplier, we paid the difference, we love it. We'll never use and never recommend Wren again. Poor company in my opinion.

I also have a bad experience with this worktop as well. i wouldn ´ t recommend it at all. The reasons were described just above the comments by loulydeco….

We had dark blue Fenix fronted cupboards and drawers installed in our kitchen..i DO NOT recommend Fenix in a kitchen. It shows each and every splash and mark and looks terrible. The cupboard and drawer fronts have to be wiped down really carefully at least once a day. The maintenance is time consuming and constant. I really dont think Fenix is suitable for a kitchen in which people actually cook and do dishes. We are looking to replace it as soon as possible.

I have had matte black fenix countertops for nearly 4 years. it can never look clean without watermarks or rings.

My kitchen (cabinetry - fronts of drawers and doors) is made of Fenix NTM - Gray.

The best decision ever. Durable, nice soft ultra matte touch, extremely easy to clean.

Hi all, Seems like Fenix is very needy. Needing cleaning immediately after use essentially. Having said that my wife and I are possibly going to use it for our worktops and was wondering if anyone could advise or show pictures on what seams look like in Fenix. Many thanks in advance.

Bad idea for work tops especially with seam. Great for fronts if edge banded properly. I work with it on a daily basis.

@disantodesign Thanks for the tip. Can you provide any pics??

Here's a few from my Instagram page.

Just seen this after i've ordered all of my worktops in Fenix..... Feeling worried now.

What colour did you chose? my matte white is good. my matte black can come clean with magic eraser.

Black

I wouldnt be too worried to be honest, Stuart. we were considering the commodor verde colour for a while but then were put off by all the comments. i decided to order a couple 400x600 sheets that i taped to our current worktop to test what all the fuss was about. i can say yes they do require more consistent cleaning than most other worktops because if you miss a spot youll notice it no doubt. What i found works best is spray with a gentle cleaner ( we use koh) then magic sponge then a dry cloth. That works the best from our experience. After these little tests i would go ahead with fenix with the understanding there is more consitent cleaning needed which wouldnt bother me personally. Its just a matter of how on top of it you want to be so it looks its best. Hope that gives a bit of insight. i find it strange there are no real world youtube reviews of this stuff.

Hi. I fitted Fenix Ntm worktops and cabinet fronts about 4 years ago. Got them from Plykea. We have white worktops and very dark blue doors. I installed it all myself. Here’s what I’ve learned:

Its very matte and is soft and warm to the touch and feels and looks very premium especially in dark colours.

As a cabinet & drawer front its amazing.

As a worktop it‘s less so and DO NOT get it in white unless you want to develop serious cleaning OCD. It does mark easily and holds onto stains etc very stubbornly. You can rub with a regular cloth but they wont go. What you need (and this is my biggest tip which took us about a year to figure out) is lots of MAGIC ERASER SPONGES. We buy them by the truckload and they are the only thing that cleans this material and effortlessly at that, you can scrub pointlessly with a regular cloth or sponge and get nowhere but one light rub with a magic eraser removes anything.

In white the other issue is deeper scratches. If you break through the white layer by dropping a knife or something else then you reveal the dark base material which then highlights the damage. It will drive you crazy. I’m going to experiment with some white worktop repair kits to see if I can minimise these marks which obviously are inevitable on any worktop that isn’t solid stone.

In short, we should’ve gone for another material if we wanted white worktops but we wouldn’t change the cabinets and fronts as they look as good as the day we got them. Also Plykea did a great job on their side and combined with the ikea cabinets that are actually very good you get a premium looking kitchen for a very good price.

White Corian has none of those problems.

We have the Fenix blue fes solid worktop, intergrated sink, and spashback, and laminated doors in our kitchen. we love it. using a standard cloth etc can leave marks, however just simply use magic sponges with water/eco product, you dont even need to dry with towel afterwards amd it comes back to its lovely matt finish everytime. If you want a matt sleek look for tour kitchen, fenix is fab.