Repair Scratch Marks on a Bathroom Countertop
Most people love to have a great looking bathroom while there are those who couldn\’t care less. The appearance of your bathroom countertop could affect the overlook of your bathroom. Antiquated bathroom countertops are the usual problems in older houses while the newer houses would have bathroom countertop problems with scratches and water damage-related worries. Water damage is a problem that arises from an improper installation. If you want to save money, you can fix your damaged bathroom countertop by yourself without hiring a professional contractor.
Whenever you have been using your bathroom for a long time, countertop materials such as granite and marble can be scratched. Using your own creativity and a little effort, it is possible to repair the scratched vanities and the most important thing is that you must know what material is the countertop made of.
What you need:
- Sponge
- Newspaper
- Painter\’s tape
- Water
- Clean shop cloths
- 1,000-grit sandpaper
- Small power buffer or hand buffer
- Meguiar\’s Medium-Cut Cleaner
- Marble polish
- Paper towels
- Abrasive cleanser
- Vinyl sealer or silicon caulk
- Tinted epoxy
- Diamond wt-grinder
Method:
- For a cultured marble, you can use a newspaper and painter\’s tape in protecting its surfaces, faucet and handles whenever you want to wet sand the countertop using a 1,000-grit sand paper. Remember not to press too hard or the gel coat that seals the surface of the vanity top will break through. Then, rinse the countertop and dry it thoroughly.
- Use the Meguiar\’s Medium-Cut Cleaner for smoothing out any remaining scratches and providing the counter a fresh shine.
- After that, apply marble polish onto the countertop, rub it using a clean shop cloth and let it dry until it is opaque. Then, rub it with clean paper towels to give it an extra layer protection.
- For Laminate and Vinyl, you can use an abrasive cleanser namely Ajax to “sand” fine scratches before going back to clean it using a gentle cleanser.
- If the scratch is large on vinyl, you can use tinted vinyl sealer or even you can use silicon caulk to keep water from soaking through and damaging the wood beneath the vinyl. Then, wipe off the countertop by using a damp cloth or sponge.
- As for granite, you can simply fill deep scratches with epoxy tinted that match the granite and this item can be purchased from your local hardware stores. Then, it must be dried thoroughly and once dried, use a wet grinder to polish the epoxy and always remember to use very light pressure in order to not damage your granite.
- Finally, you need to clean away any dust using a soft or damp shop cloth.
There are several types of bathroom countertops that are solid and durable. Bathroom countertops which are made from composite are equally beautiful and durable for your bathroom accessories. This countertop is made from synthetic stones that contain epoxy or acrylic and quartz. Just because the finishing of the countertop looks so natural, it will be difficult to tell the difference between composite and marble countertops, they are pretty much alike.
Additional Reading:
http://www.ehow.com/how_5729520_repair-marks-bathroom-vanity-countertop.html
http://homerenorepair.suite101.com/article.cfm/repairing-scratches-on-laminate-countertops
http://www.ehow.co.uk/countertop-repair/
Image Credit:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kimnovakremax/4259511808/
