DIY Solid–Surface Kitchen Countertops
If you can cut and shape wood, you can install your own acrylic solid–surface kitchen countertops. Acrylic solid–surface kitchen countertops of which, Corian® by DuPont® is the most widely known, is easier to handle and cut than most people think.
If you don't already know, solid–surface countertop material is practically indestructible and impervious to stains. It can be glued together to form invisible joints, creating a solid–surface countertop in any configuration, right on the site. This makes it one of the best choices you can make for a kitchen upgrade at an affordable price, if you do it yourself.
About Acrylic Counters
This material is a mixture of acrylic, fine mineral particles add for appearance and binders. The result is a materials with a color that goes all the way through, so you can sand it over and over again and the finish will always be seamless. This means you can keep it looking new for life, all that's required is to polish it from time to time. Any scratches can be sanded out before polishing if necessary. After years of use and repeated scratching, sand the whole countertop to bring it back to looking brand new.
Buying Solid–Surface Counters
Corian® is hard to buy except through a dealer, but other manufacturers are producing the same material and selling it for less, over the internet. The sheets come in 12 foot by 30 inch sheets and can be ¼inch or ½inch thick. Depending on the pattern you choose, the sheets can run $200 to over $800. Some suppliers will ship for free if you buy 3 or more sheets. The sheets are shipped on a heavy palette that will require two people to lift. They ship to a loading dock but not to a residence, so you'll have to go pick it up. A small pickup truck will work to carry it, in a pinch, but if you have an eight foot bed it would make the job easier and safer.
Working with Solid–Surface Material
You'll only need a few basic tool for this job and a couple of special ones. A circular saw with a sharp carbide tip blade will be needed to cut the sheets down to size. A router with a ¾ inch carbide tip pattern bit will be needed to trim the finished edges and the pieces to be joined. A belt and rotary sander with several grades of sandpaper will be needed to sand the joints away and finish sand the surface.
You can and should do as much cutting of acrylic solid–surface countertop material outside, on two sawhorses. When you do have to cut inside the kitchen, you will have to cover the door and window openings to contain the dust. This is an extremely dusty job.
About Solid–Surface Adhesive
A special adhesive is required to join solid–surface countertop material and you will need to buy this from the same supplier where you get the countertops. The adhesive must be the right color and type to match the finish or the joints will not be invisible. The two part adhesive will set in about 30 minutes but is only workable for a few minutes. It is applied using a gun similar to a caulk gun. This tool is made to dispense the two parts of the adhesive at an exacting ratio so it is mixed and activated as it comes out of the tip. The tip for the adhesive tube is removable and you will need 4 or more replacement tips to complete a kitchen countertop installation.
Joining Solid–Surface Material
Joining the material is the hardest part of the job. The joints require some precision when positioning and clamping. To minimize sanding with the belt sander and the danger of over sanding one side of the joint, the two pieces should line up as closely as possible before the adhesive sets. Most minor mistakes however, are easy to correct with only light sanding.
After joining all the pieces to form the countertop, the job is finished by gluing a thin strip of material along the bottom of the outer edges. After the adhesive has set, the router is used to trim the joint off smooth and no further finishing is required along the edges except to break the corners with light sanding. Or cut a decorative profile along the top edge with the router and a bevel or round–over bit.
Sanding and Finishing Solid–Surface Material
Finally the whole countertop is sanded with the rotary sander and progressively finer grades of sandpaper. The first couple of passes are done using water to wet–sand, producing a slurry to polish the material like stone. With the wet sanding done, an oil such as olive oil or a polish made specifically for buffing Corian® is used, along with finer sandpaper and then a soft cloth, to bring out a gloss in the surface.
The degree of gloss possible on any particular solid–surface material is dependent on the manufactured finish and the degree of sanding and polishing you do. More work will produce a glossier finish, even if the finish is called matte it will still shine up with polishing.
