Has anyone painted their kitchen work surface?

[neverdoingthatagain100]

I've got a wooden work surface in my kitchen. I loved it initially but despite my best efforts 7 years on, it's faded and stained. I have already sanded it and re treated it but it's gone manky again. I can't afford to replace it at the mo, and I wondered if anyone has repainted their work surface, is this a thing? I'd love to just freshen it up with some mat paint but I can't decide if it would be a disaster.

Ooh following with interest. I've just bought samples of the Homebase paint that promises to do work surfaces, cupboard doors, splashbacks and tiles. Sage green for tiles/worktops and forest green for the cupboard doors. I've done a test tile that's helped me pick the lighter green for the tiles, and a test door on my MDF, which is darker green and looks pretty good, but I haven't tried it on the worktop yet. You can get special hard varnish stuff to protect the paintwork on worktops and floors, I think it's called diamond coat varnish.

I don't like the idea of stickyback plastic on worktops, it sounds like a recipe for bubbles and peeling a couple of years down the line. I was hopeless at even just covering my textbooks with the stuff!

[quote neverdoingthatagain100]@JugglingJanuary
Thanks for the suggestion about Annie Sloan, that's the look I was dreaming of, waxed/polished mat grey! [/quote]
@neverdoingthatagain100. You can get Matt lacquer.

Don't just wax it! The wax will not withstand alcohol, binegar & a bunch of other stuff. The Matt lacquer is very Matt. Sorry I don't remember the brand name, but the one I used to use was in a turquoise bottle shines or silky or Matt. I'll see if I can find it online in the morning. Mine is currently all
Packed away 20 boxes deep. Sorry.

I've heard good things about the osmo oil too.

Good thing is, new laminate work tops are relatively inexpensive if it all goes horribly wrong!! & they're a million times better than old style laminate!!

I think any 'paint' substantial enough to withstand the wear that a work top has is going to be expensive (like a floor varnish).

My experience of Annie Sloan chalk paint has not been good on furniture, in that it wore away in places (it was sealed etc.)

I would cost out replacing it with laminate versus any 'temporary' paint solution. It may not be so expensive in the long term.

Although having said that there is the fitting to take into account and if there are corners to be mitred it needs to be done professionally.

... or maybe paint it with something like 'Ronseal Diamond Hard Floor Varnish'

I've painted the work top in our utility room. I'm not sure how resilient it would be if you aren't good at using mats / glass surface protectors with hot pans. But it's still looking good in our utility. And gets all sorts put down on it from hot mugs to angle grinders!! (I wasn't too keen on that...)

I sanded, then painted with F&B undercoat, then two coats of F&B modern eggshell.
People put hot coffee mugs on it. No problem.
I would not put a hot pan on it.
The paint says it can be used as floor paint, so it is v resilient. It's been painted for nearly a year now.

Worth a go - Farrow and Ball isn't cheap, but probably still much cheaper if you DIY rather than having to get a professional in to spray paint or a new worktop.

Just been looking at it again, it's really still very good.

Pitch Blue is optional!

Buy a small electric mouse sander too. Brilliant tool! And often on offer for around £20.

@CorsicaDreaming

Buy a small electric mouse sander too. Brilliant tool! And often on offer for around £20.

Useful yes, but only if you have a small electric mouse that needs sanding...

Ahh yes, I do have a small band of such mice and they enjoy nothing more than a pint of "The Cats Whiskers" and a good sand on a Friday night - it's like a massage for them 🐭

Oh wow @CorsicaDreaming thank you for the pic!!! Your work surface looks really good. Definitely food for thought . I bought a rotary sander from lids last time I sanded down the wood, not sure if that was good enough, I may have to look at the mouse sander? ?

@neverdoingthatagain100 - this is the one I bought:

BLACK+DECKER 55 W Detail Mouse Electric Sander with 6 Sanding Sheets, BEW230-GB https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07S17L4H6/ref=cmswwrcppapiglttiN8MV4VEXB1B8G7XWWWH5

It looks very dinky and like a toy but it is surprisingly good. Since getting it I have sanded down a long solid pine work surface and re-treated it with Osmo oil and that was fairly successful. Plus a pine chest of drawers I got stripped but then decided to do the sanding and waxing myself as the price they quoted was too much for all that - so just got it professionally stripped.

Have you also tried using osmo oil on yours? That does seem to work very well. In our old house we had an oak Island unit and it was in for 12 years - we stripped it back and Osmo oiled it once in that time - it stayed really good.
But I'm a bit of a fanatic for using chopping boards and glass surface savers for hot pans, so that helped. In new house I'm not being v careful as kitchen needs total refit, and surfaces are suffering a bit...

@neverdoingthatagain100 - this is the osmo oil I used but not sure if you can get it cheaper, that seems a bit pricey, but it was first link that came up - it is for two tins and you really will probably only need one as it goes a long way (apply thinly- allow to fully dry about 24 hours - apply another really thinly (as it pools and leaves puddles otherwise)

Osmo Top Oil 3028 Clear Satin-Matt x 2 0.5Ltr For Wooden Kitchen Work tops Twin Pack https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00WIS183K/ref=cmswwrcppapiglttiP5M5DXMVQEYSWX6XCC1R