Epoxy Counters after 3 years. 

Great information here, thanks. I second everything she said here. I did my kitchen a couple of years ago with epoxy and did not like the results. I'm covering it with Formica soon. Mimzy's results were much better than mine. I'm pretty good at carpentry, plumbing and painting, but my epoxy countertop project was a failure. For anyone still considering it, I would suggest the following: Don't do it alone - there's a lot to do and a limited time to do it. Have someone mix and someone else pour. Test your colors on a scrap piece before committing to it on your countertop. Don't allow sunlight on the surface when you're pouring - heat will make the exposed areas cure much faster. Take extra care when measuring - the resin is much more viscous than the hardener and this can make it hard to tell how much of each ingredient is in the mix. Keep your pets out of the room for as long as possible - I had several pet hairs in my countertop. And a few bugs. Don't use painter's tape on the edges - the adhesive isn't strong enough and the epoxy will push the tape away from the edge before it cures. Use regular masking tape instead. Do your backsplash first, then set it in place after it cures. Seal the backsplash/countertop seam with caulk before pouring the countertop, then cover the caulked seam with epoxy so your seal there is epoxy and thus won't stain.

I LOVE how you did the veining. Better than any of the diy epoxy counters I’ve seen. And I’ve seen a lot 😅

The epoxy can be color sanded and buffed to remove most scratches. Applying "Klasse" in the red bottle every few months will remove light scratches and prevent new ones.😊👍

Have you tried “sanding” with a magic eraser and then going up to a 40,000 jewelers sandpaper to get the gloss back? That could get the stain out and if you used an electric buffer the whole counter could be rejuvenated.

The yellowing line theory is prettt good. However as a painter i have a suspicion that the high spot gets more wear from cleaning than the lower spot. I would try to sand and polish the low spot and see if that cures the yellowing. It would also confirm if its bc of thickness or its just wear and oxidation/contamination.

Thank you for being so honest and thorough!! You have been an enormous help ❤

Thank you so much for this video. My question is, if you think I could apply resin over a contact paper for counters. I really appreciate the time you take to answer my question.

excellent video, I have plans to do an epoxy countertop...very glad I came upon your channel...Thank you

The additional yellowing is caused by the additional epoxy...basically it's all the same amount of yellowing but the light reflecting from the counter has to travel through more yellow epoxy...like when a cup of coffee looks darker in the cup than when you are pouring it

my sister bought me some scentsy bars and a yellow one stained my counter... i cant see to get it out but im thinking i may give a light sand and put on another clear epoxy. i love my counters thanks to you!

Did you put a clear coat of epoxy over your color coat of epoxy. It’s recommended. That way any stains can be buffed out of clear not color.

Thank you, you answered all my questions even turmeric

I did ours 3 years ago and love it

So can you sand it again, then buff it down to make it even, and then try to re-level it or no

Hi Mimzy! my bathroom is late 90's cultured marble vanity top with sink molded right into it. so the inside of the sink has soap ledges (one on each side) and sink is shaped like a clamshell. and backsplash is also molded as one-piece as well. question: It's 55" x 22" , do you think this would be a good project for Epoxy? It's a yellow-ish white-ish swirled cultured marble. Should I just leave well-enough alone (I can't stand the color though)... or go for it !!! and if go for it, would a white with silver swirls or go black marble, or go white with silver accent swirls, or go white w/black swirls. I will match everything to whatever I do for the sink-top, in other words, I will buy VINLY Plank LVP flooring around the color I go with on the sink-top or vanity (the vanity is a whole other story, it's smooth maple wood cabinetry (I'm thinking of going with a darker blue color perhaps?), open to suggestions on everything. thx so very much in advance!

I just did some epoxy countertops I poured the backsplashes first and then install them and then poured the flat part of the countertops to kind of lock them in and seal the cracks to make them waterproof so there's no water would be able to leak through after I got done my client brought to my attention that there was some splatters on the backsplash and since I could not remove them and pull them out and lay them flat I am trying to figure out how to bring back the shine because all the rest of them are high gloss and I want to bring that shine back but after seeing what I just saw on your video about polyurethane I definitely don't want to use that so my question is have you ever considered using clear auto paint ever considered using clear auto paint

Stone Coat makes Ultimate Topcoat in matte and gloss that protects from heat up to 400* and scratching.

Do you think it was worth it using epoxy instead of painting or replacing your countertop tops would you use epoxy again. I think yours still look nice. Thanks for your video

Am I the first person to ask about that delicious looking finnish pancake? Also, I looooove the color of your cabinets. What a very pretty kitchen. Do you happen to know the paint color?

Beast Bond!!! It’s a winner from what I hear.

This was a great video. Thank you for this very helpful info.

To totally avoid ambering (yellowing), use a polyaspartic coating instead of epoxy. They go on similarly, but the polyaspartic has no yellowing/ambering components. All pure, plain epoxy ambers over time. It is part of the molecular structure. Depending on the light exposure, it could be months or even years, but they all amber. Polyaspartic doesn't have the same structure and won't amber. It is more expensive though.

Thank you so much for this. It's so helpful! When you say thin coats, is that 3oz/square foot?

Good job darling, the yellowing advice was good

You could probably 220 sand it down and put a top coat sealer made for epoxy. If you put a top coat, it is food safe. If you don't top coat it, probably not.

What color are the cabinets behind you? I just epoxied my countertops and am getting ready to make cabinet doors i plan to paint and i like the color of your cabinets.

Isn't rustoleum an oil-based paint? I thought water-based paints were the rule for epoxy. Don't get me wrong - they look great. I wanted to use the Rustoleum hammered colors for a project and was warned against it.

I should have used the brand you used. I made my countertop painted white and covered with clear epoxy... it's getting yellow...=(... will redo in the future and use the epoxy brand you used.

Hi there, may I ask if it’s possible to use epoxy to coat a concrete sink? I’ve been planning on making a sink with concrete but I heard it’s porous so it might smell after long period. Thank you 😊

They sell them as UV stable and that is not true. I never thougth about your thickness theory but that makes sense. The thicker it is the more material you have for the light to effect. They yellow with light exposure. I have my sample board under my counter where is gets no light it is still white and not yellowed. The area around my window is the most yellowed.

Thanks.

Food Safety: once the product is cured (hardened), any chemicals will have off gased. Once it’s hard, it’s food safe. And yes, why wouldn’t you use a cutting board? And a trivet for hot pots! Geez, people spend thousands on a solid surface like marble, quartz etc and still think they should be able to abuse the product like it’s a cheap plastic cupboard from Dollarama. 🙄🙄🙄🙄

I had my counters epoxied about 10 months ago. They are a matte finish but some spots still have a wet tacky gluey look. They do not feel sticky but they look sticky if that makes sense. Can anything be done for this?

Any way to get out a stain that is under the epoxy? Missed it when I poured... Or the pour brought the stain out

Did it self level for you? How thick was the pour you did?

Question from a newbie....every video I've seen where people say their epoxy has yellowed it's always when they've done the faux white marble finishes. So, will BLACK epoxied countertops have any 'yellowing' ??

Thanks so much for your tips. About the polyurethane finish, may it cracks apart beacause you should have sand the epoxy prior to application ?

This is a useful video. Thanks

Yes, I loved the way my white counters came out at first... 1-2 years later they are horribly yellowed. I have to redo in a dark color.

Great info - thank you!

Beautiful countertop, love it. Do you know if I put on butcher block if it would make it waterproof? I am wanting to build an outdoor kitchen, and would like butcher block to be the countertop, but I know butcher block doesn't work well outside with humidity (I live in Florida).

Do water damage it. How does it hold up at the sink area.

This was so helpful! Thank you.

How many coats of polyurethane did you use? Maybe that's why it's chipping.

Stains are the result of missing to apply polyurethane to sealed the water or any liquids.

This was such a good video... Except for the lighting... I say this not to be critical critical, critical. More so because the video is so good, (information etc.) that the fact you can't see everything standouts. Like a broken string on guitar that's playing something extraordinary.

All epoxy yellows over time due to a natural process called oxidation by exposure to UV light, heat, and humidity. Different brands offer some\better protection that helps the process slow down. However, the best thing that helps is to stay away from whites and or light colors. Yes, white marble looks nice but in time it will be yellow, then it doesn't look so nice. Darker colors also look nice thus making it harder to see the yellowing effect ... thus you have a bigger window (time) when it comes to redoing or just repairing the countertops ... etc.

спасибо

Thank you, very thorough review. Friendly FYI… the correct pronunciation of Turmeric is: TURR-MARE-ICK 👍

The link for the epoxy seems to lead to boba straws??

Sounds like there was no top coat used after top coat was poured..

Stonecoat!

"buff" liquid bartenders cleaner to get matt finish..

You didn’t answer the yellowing question. 😭

TL;DR- Epoxy is a terrible idea for a counter top. Epoxy for kitchen countertops is basically like using carbon fibre for a deep see submersible. Epoxy WILL discolour without UV protection, and no epoxy on it's own provides life-long UV protection, which means you need to add UV every year or so, even using a clear coat epoxy like West System's 207 hardener. And it's not the thickness of coats that causes yellowing. It's the thickness of the epoxy. And WTF??? Use a notched trowel to apply epoxy? There's stuff for pouring and then there's everything else. Epoxy is supposed to be applied in micro-thin coats. 1/8" is waaaay to thick. Epoxy WILL scratch, which means microscopic bits will be on the counter-top. MY GOD LADY! using epoxy for food absolutely can be MORE risky than using aluminum. Some of the stuff I see on RU-vid on using epoxy baffles the mind. Builders treat it like some magical material. It's not. It's a plastic resin, the application of which is for layering composite materials. No manufacturer has made a "special" builder-friendly epoxy. Many manufacturers have however made many marketing epoxy, case in point; "mould release". Dunno why everyone buys that spray when industrial manufacturing (ie, automotive, areospace, etc) have used paste wax or car wax for decades prior to DIY'rs getting their grubby hands on epoxy. Whatever problems you have now will pale in comparison to the problems you'll have in another 3yrs. The epoxy itself (strength + bond) will be just fine. Aesthetics... not so much.

red wine stain

The ring….heat it up with a heat gun

That’s a pot cake 😂

You should 10000% be putting a urethane top coat on those. Very badly recommendation. They have gloss and matte top coats, also solidifying the tops and making them scratch resistant.

Its rust ! Lol. Come on man. I can see that.?