chrisguga Posted September 7, 2011 Share Posted September 7, 2011 We bought our house about a year and a half ago and it was built in 1934, but was completely gutted and redone nicely 3 years ago. The counter tops were looking pretty dull and were pretty scratched up so I decided to try and spruce them up. I read online that you can wet sand and then machine polish them so I figured I'd give it a go. I treated this much like I would treat a car, partially for the fun of it and partially to make sure I got the best results possible. Washed it with Dawn to get it really clean: Clayed with Adam's clay and detail spray: Various IPA wipe downs during the process to check my progress: Brought in the halogens to make sure I can see exactly how much progress I'm making: I usually have some wine, beer, or a liquor drink while I detail my car so I figured it was only fitting: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisguga Posted September 7, 2011 Author Share Posted September 7, 2011 Used my tape to protect the back splash and get a nice 50/50. Some of the equipment: Soon realized I'd need to do a little wet sanding to get the defects to a satisfactory level. The guides online recommended starting at 180, but I chose to go 600, 1000, and then 2 stages of polishing with wool and 105 handled the polishing marks. And there were some marks left by the 1000 grit: But I must say that after the wool, orange/orange and white/white, it came out pretty darn well. This is after an IPA wipe down with zero sealant, wax, detail spray, etc. I cleaned both sides of the tape with the wipe down, btw. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisguga Posted September 7, 2011 Author Share Posted September 7, 2011 I then decided to try various types of protection so I masked off 4 areas. Left to right, nothing, machine super sealant, Americana, buttery wax: All 4 squares looked the same except the Americana left smudges of wax that I couldn't get out except with an IPA wipe down so that wasn't the best choice for this application. All squares looked the same, but I'm going to use the super sealant applied with the grey pad once I finish the whole thing. Example of Americana that couldn't be wiped off of the counter without IPA. It's the second square from the bottom: Thanks for checking out the thread. This whole process took about 3 hours for this one area because I wet sanded, took pictures, and learned as I went along. I figure I can finish all the rest of it and around the corner towards the stove and oven in another 3-4 hours or so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Team Adam's Posted September 7, 2011 Share Posted September 7, 2011 Pretty crazy difference, I would have never though to polish countertops! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisguga Posted September 7, 2011 Author Share Posted September 7, 2011 Pretty crazy difference, I would have never though to polish countertops! I'm using my Adam's products more and more around the house. I went around a few days ago using Super VRT on whatever that even half resembled plastic and made it all look fantastic. I think I'm going to try and polish the counter tops in the bathrooms next. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reichler Posted September 7, 2011 Share Posted September 7, 2011 Interesting. I have Corian countertops as well and have noticed that they are beginning to look pretty dull. Never even thought for a second that I could polish them back up. I might have to give this a try this coming weekend... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris@Adams Posted September 7, 2011 Share Posted September 7, 2011 Interesting. I have Corian countertops as well and have noticed that they are beginning to look pretty dull. Never even thought for a second that I could polish them back up. I might have to give this a try this coming weekend... I do too, hopefully my wife won't see this thread! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chase@InsanePaint Posted September 7, 2011 Share Posted September 7, 2011 Lol. Omg. This forum is out of control!!! Looks great man!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcampbe7 Posted September 7, 2011 Share Posted September 7, 2011 Awesome turn around! Makes me wonder what I can do with my granite countertops. They are due for a sealing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeebalow Posted September 7, 2011 Share Posted September 7, 2011 Awesome turn around! Makes me wonder what I can do with my granite countertops. They are due for a sealing. I remember Dylan mentioning that glass sealant works well for natural stone. Might give it a try and see what you get. OP maybe give glass sealant a go against the MSS would be good also if you have some. If not, it's a perfect excuse to get some! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golf for Life Posted September 7, 2011 Share Posted September 7, 2011 I do too, hopefully my wife won't see this thread! That's Priceless Chris, mine already did .. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J Tegeler Posted September 7, 2011 Share Posted September 7, 2011 would have been awesome for detail something differnt! nice turn around on them counter tops Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Ryan Posted September 7, 2011 Share Posted September 7, 2011 Holy crap that's impressive! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisguga Posted September 8, 2011 Author Share Posted September 8, 2011 would have been awesome for detail something differnt! nice turn around on them counter tops I know. I was thinking about that contest as I posted these pictures. I wonder if I would have placed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Kashinsky Posted September 8, 2011 Share Posted September 8, 2011 I'm using my Adam's products more and more around the house. I went around a few days ago using Super VRT on whatever that even half resembled plastic and made it all look fantastic. I think I'm going to try and polish the counter tops in the bathrooms next. I use Revive Polish and Buttery Wax on our dining room table and coffee table with great results. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StormChaser Posted September 8, 2011 Share Posted September 8, 2011 That is an AMAZING turn around. I am going to do my sliding doors soon with glass and whatnot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GtiGuy Posted September 8, 2011 Share Posted September 8, 2011 Dang that cleaned up well! Good work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
70'sChevyGirl Posted September 8, 2011 Share Posted September 8, 2011 Wow. Nice job and thats very impressive. Did you finish the job though? I don't see the after pic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisguga Posted September 8, 2011 Author Share Posted September 8, 2011 Wow. Nice job and thats very impressive. Did you finish the job though? I don't see the after pic. Not yet. I worked a 12 hour day yesterday because one of the other therapists was on vacation so I was too tired to work on it. I hope to finish it up tonight. I am thinking about buying some professional grade polishing compound and some cotton wheel buff pads and see what all metals around the house I can polish up. I'm thinking I'll try the sink first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveVY Posted September 8, 2011 Share Posted September 8, 2011 I am thinking about buying some professional grade polishing compound and some cotton wheel buff pads and see what all metals around the house I can polish up. I'm thinking I'll try the sink first. Love this thread and finding other uses for the Adam's products and our detailing skills! I love the Adam's products and after learning how to polish and trying diffferent Adam's products around the house I am getting curious about finding other products to complement what Adam's has available. For instance - after seeing how well it works to clean the glass top stove (burnt on food and water stains) I want to try using the Cerama Bryte on the hard water stains on the shower doors. Seems like it is a more aggressive compound and leaves a smooth finish on the glass surface. If that turns out well I will then be willing to try it on a car window. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisguga Posted September 8, 2011 Author Share Posted September 8, 2011 Yeah, I absolutely love the Adam' products as well, but I do add on to my staples with other brand products when Adam's doesn't make a type of product. For instance, I had to buy a more aggressive product combo than severe swirl remover and the green pad and I intend to purchase a two stage metal polishing compound that is delivered in hot dog shaped logs. It's an actual abrasive and should be stronger than the Adam's metal polishes. I will never stray from the products like super VRT, interior conditioner, Americana, detail spray, etc because they're the best I have used at what they do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisguga Posted September 9, 2011 Author Share Posted September 9, 2011 I had to break out the 180 grit tonight. I worked on the areas of the counter where we do cooking and food prep and it was much worse than that first area. I had to go over some areas 3-4 times with the 180 grit to get the finish perfect before moving on to the 600 and 1000. I'm saving the machine polishing for tomorrow night. Hopefully I'll have updated pics of the finished project tomorrow night because the wife and I are headed up to Atlanta on Saturday for a friend's wedding and we probably won't be back until Monday night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wardo Posted September 9, 2011 Share Posted September 9, 2011 This is great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JD_SS Posted September 9, 2011 Share Posted September 9, 2011 Awesome! I did something similar on my parent's countertops (avatar picture to my left) and planned to do it on our new white ones! This thread will be very useful! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisguga Posted September 10, 2011 Author Share Posted September 10, 2011 Ok, so using the 180 grit and hand sanding was really taking a long time and the dusting was ridiculous. I decided to use the backing plate and 120 grit sanding paper that came with the Porter Cable. I bought mine from Lowes and it was marketed as a sander, but it's basically the same thing as a PC7424xp. I'm not sure if the 7424xp comes with the sand paper? Anyway, this thing did some serious work on the counters and cut my sanding time from 1+ hours to 5 minutes. The dust cleanup took a little while, but it was well worth the hassle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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