Epoxy is a powerful medium to produce stunning countertops that resemble natural stone for a fraction of the cost. A popular stone that is easy to simulate is granite. To make this look, follow these steps.
1. Bag It
Before adding the epoxy, paint the surface of your board with your main underlying base color. I like to do a mid-tan color for any earth-tone granites, a light grey for grey granite, or a Dark Charcoal Grey (almost black) for really dark granites. Then, use a plastic grocery bag that you wad up into a ball, and spray color onto the bag, and dab the bag across the surface to texture the surface with that color. Build up a few different colors (about 4-5 total colors), and you have a good underlying tone to start the effect.
Here is an example of this step. I advanced the video to the point where the bagging begins.
2. Pour Clear Epoxy
Mix enough epoxy for 3 oz. per square foot of your surface, and pour this out onto the board. Use a square notch trowel (1/8th inch square notch works best) to further mix the epoxy on the surface and spread it out evenly. Use a 2” paint brush to chop the epoxy to further mix it, and brush out the sides using long horizontal strokes. Then, use either a blowtorch or a heat gun to pop any bubbles on the surface. (I prefer the torch for this step, it goes a little quicker).
3. Spray It
Lightly fog the surface using Black Rustoleum® Spray Paint. Then, spray a mist of 90% isopropyl alcohol mixed with the metallic color additive of your choice to fracture the spray paint and make a stunning crackle effect. The effect will continue to spread as time goes, so be patient. The look you see immediately will not be the end result.
You can see these steps here, where I showed my Grandmother how to make a green Brazilian Granite:
4. Add More Layers
What helps the realism for this effect is the fact that you can see through the fracture effect to the layers underneath. You can further re-spray paint over the fracture effect you already performed and fracture the new layer.
Here is an example of layering the fracturing effects on this outdoor kitchen I made for a client. I advanced the video to the point where the fracturing comes in:
If you really want to take your counter to the next layer with the 3D effect, allow this layer to cure, then the following day, add a new clear coat over it that you can further fracture by spraying paint and misting that with the metallic-mixed isopropyl alcohol. That will give a dramatic look and feel like you are looking a little through the stone. Just remember to still give it another coat of clear without any color effects afterwards to lock in the effects and to make the surface food-safe for use as a countertop.
And there you have it. This is a fun and realistic effect to do, and it’s perfect for your next renovation project. Have fun!