Painting/wrapping laminate kitchen countertops?

[jellyjellyjellyjelly]

I recently bought a flat with nasty laminate kitchen countertops - it's an institutional-looking, plasticky, speckled grey that must've been the cheapest option back in the 90s! I was initially going to replace the whole kitchen, but the longer I live here, the more I realise it's a perfectly nice kitchen in good shape - it would be a shame to rip the whole thing out just because of the ugly countertops.

I've been advised that the cabinet carcasses probably wouldn't survive if I were to rip out just the countertops.

There are mixed messages online about how effective wrapping or painting laminate is, so I thought I'd try my luck on here. Has anyone tried either painting or wrapping, and what was the result? Did you do it yourself or hire a professional (I am reasonably handy but it'd be my first time doing this)?

Or has anyone successfully masked their ugly laminate in another way I'm not aware of?

The worktops just let the whole kitchen down and I'd be so grateful if I found a way to give them an update - thank you I'm advance!

What about something like this

https://www.quartzize.co.uk/?gclid=CjwKCAjwlcaRBhBYEiwAK341jdCOwvv1Lpy2aYfTrfBBz6GH6qQr2uJ-q-cF6MxtNAN-veIBm8ScBoCN5YQAvDBwE

Not sure how much it would cost but I don't think painting laminate would look too good or last long.

If the cabinets are in good condition you should be able to replace the worktop. If you have a tiled splashback that will probably also need replacing though.

I wrapped mine with stickyback plastic from Wilko 2.5 years ago. Its lasted surprisingly well. We're replacing the kitchen this summer though so was only ever intended as a temporary fix (the old laminate sides had a big burn mark & looked awful).
I am careful and always use a chopping board and don't put hot pans on the side though.

@mutinyonthebunty I love this idea, thank you!!! Going to book a home visit now...

Let's try those images again! Wood effect is after wrapping.

@AwkwardPaws27 thank you for posting the pics - that looks really good, it's a nice clean job! Just to confirm, you did this yourself?

I'm not ruling out replacing the kitchen altogether a few years down the line - so this could indeed be a temporary-ish fix like it was for you... just don't want to re-do the whole thing immediately if I can use what's already there for some more time (and while I save up a bit more)

Yes, I bought 2 rolls of DC-Fix stickyback plastic from Wilko, & an applicator kit for a couple of quid that included a mini Stanley blade tool and a scraper thing to help apply it without any bubbles.

You can buy the wrap on Amazon it's got some kind of semi porous quality that means you can't get air bubbles trapped. I bought some for a quick fix thinking it could be awful but it actually looks good and seems pretty hard wearing.

@AwkwardPaws27 and @TenRedThings thank you, good to know that there are viable options for self-application...

I think I'll get a quote for the overlay now that I know that's a possibility, and depending on how expensive it is, either go with that or have a crack at the sticky stuff myself...

I did same as pp, went down b and q got the applicator pack and did the DC fix myself.. it still looks fine 2 years later. Honestly bargain.

I'm surprised honestly.

I've just wrapped our kitchen tiles with d-c fix. It's a temporary solution and not perfect as you can see the tile imprint underneath but brightens and modernises the kitchen. I would definitely recommend the wraps for the price!

Can this wrap stuff be removed? I also hate my countertop and tiles, and am not sure what I'd want instead - so I'd be more interested in trying it as a temporary thing to test out colours and patterns, but might want to try more than one. So it wouldn't have to be applied perfectly or anything - but I'd want to be able to remove it in case I hated it or needed to try another colour before actually going ahead with a new worktop.

I got mine wrapped professionally as we could never find the time. Small galley kitchen cost less than £100. I absolutely love it. Made a huge difference.

@Pastnowfuture good to know, that's very reasonable - did you find the contractor on checkatrade or similar?

@jellyjellyjellyjelly Nope, it just popped up on my Facebook feed. I searched to try and find others to compare them to but no one else seemed to cover our area so we took the risk.

I got my kitchen vinyl wrapped and replaced the worktops for £750 inc fitting. I probably could have wrapped them myself but they were gloss and needed over boarding with a thin sheet of mdf which seemed like too much effort. My worktops were from ikea and were £50 per length. Still got some finishing touches but im happy with the results

The grey is after

@Pastnowfuture interesting! Yes, I asked as there don't seem to be a lot of options coming up on Google... I'll keep looking...

I DC fixed my countertops as an interim fix. It's been a year and lasted really well. I'll probably wrap them at some point.
I also used Frenchic to paint the cupboards, and I love the result. It's been a year as well and they still look great ☺️

@AeroMocha

Can this wrap stuff be removed? I also hate my countertop and tiles, and am not sure what I'd want instead - so I'd be more interested in trying it as a temporary thing to test out colours and patterns, but might want to try more than one. So it wouldn't have to be applied perfectly or anything - but I'd want to be able to remove it in case I hated it or needed to try another colour before actually going ahead with a new worktop.

It's just sticky back plastic so should peel off in theory, but it might leave a sticky residue? There's no reason you couldn't just apply another layer of a different colour on tip though.

@addictedtotheflats That looks amazing. Who did you use to wrap the cupboards?

If you look at Jes Rose there are loads of lovely designs, some of which are heat resistant. I used a scallop design as my splashback. The tiles I have in place are perfectly fine but it was getting a bit grotty along the grout lines. It's good quality vinyl and very easy to apply using the kit others have mentioned above.

@jamfirstcreamsecond those are amazing!!!! I was just about to fall asleep but all the botanical patterns got me so pumped up for this project that I’m wide awake again…

I second the DC fix - we hate the kitchen in our rented house, but this stuff totally transformed the worktops. Bit of tile paint and cupboards painted too and we are very happy with the results!

Does the dc fix last well around sinks? Our sink area gets quite wet as we do all the washing up in it

@spuddy56

Does the dc fix last well around sinks? Our sink area gets quite wet as we do all the washing up in it

We have a dishwasher but still find we wash up a few non-dishwasher things (Joseph&Joseph utensils!) daily, as well as rinsing cleaning clothes, draining pasta/rice, rinsing stuff before recycling etc.

I just had a close look, I DC-fix'd in August 2019 so 2.5 years ago, and its still stuck well around the sink area. No peeling or bubbling.

For extra longevity (or super splashy DC!) you could add a bead of sealant round the sink after the DC-fix?