Customer Reviews

Giani Granite FG-GI BOMBAY Sicilian Granite Paint Kit For Countertops, Bombay Black

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Didn't have the money for the granite I wanted, but I could not live with that pink laminate any more. I thought if I don't like it I'll just cover it with different laminate. I was surprised at how well it turned out seeing that I had NO artistic background at all. I had a problem with the top coat, not shiny in some areas. Called Giani up, very good customer service, sent me new top coat free of charge along with instruction on wet sanding. Its not as hard as it sounds, and only added another day to my project. The end result looks great and will definitely hold me over until I can afford the real thing. Try it and surprise yourself.

I used this on a wide (and thick) peninsula countertop, with a total surface area (including edges) of about 28 square feet. The results look great and customer service was incredibly good. I called a couple of times with questions, and I spoke with a human both times and got useful answers to my questions.

The primer went on easily, but I did that late at night and in a rush, so I ended up with lots of lap lines. I called to ask whether this would be a problem, and was reassured to find that it's not, unless the lines are so pronounced as to create an uneven surface---and even then they can be sanded down flush. In my case, the lines were not that bad, so I just left it alone. In the end, none of that telegraphs thru to the final finish, so it was no big deal.

As for sponging on the minerals that was the easiest (and funnest) part of all. When I called about the lap lines, they mentioned that a crumpled up plastic grocery bag can be used to "sponge" on the minerals, and so I tried that. It turned out that that technique worked great for the pearl mica (step 2). It's like the paper bag kind of sticks to the surface, and when you pull it up, it produces something that looks a little more like natural veins in stone. For the next step (black onyx), that stuff is much thinner and I found that the sponge gave me better control. After doing the whole countertop in about an hour, I left it for several hours, then came back and did some additional touch-ups. All of that was very easy to do. I would strongly suggest doing a brief test run on the provided black paper, but you really can't mess this up as long as you dab up and down, as opposed to smearing it. You can always come back later and make changes. Also, I didn't use the bronze (step 4) at all.

I've done a few woodworking projects involving polyurethane and I find that it's generally very difficult for me to get the results I want. I guess I'm a perfectionist, but it's common to have problems with bubbles in that type of finish. In any case, I was not looking forward to the topcoat, since it's polyurethane. However, Giani has a video showing some hints for rolling on the topcoat, and their suggestions work pretty well. The first topcoat that I put on left a few small dry spots (it's not so easy to see those when rolling it on), but I figured it would be no big deal, since it requires at least 2 coats (3 maximum). The second coat added a lot more gloss, but that also means that minor imperfections are even more visible. Anyways, the bottom line is that I had no trouble with bubbles (which is the usual problem with polyurethane finishes). There are a few minor imperfections, but you really have to look hard to see them. If I were to little sand it and do another coat, I might achieve perfection, but I'm out of topcoat and it's good enough. I'm pretty picky about these things, so that's saying something. The thing to remember with the topcoat is to roll it on, do the one backroll, and that's it. It's very hard to leave it when you see some minor flaw, but you have to trust in the chemistry---it will flow out really well. Also, I'd suggest keeping the room a bit cooler for the topcoating (more "open time"), and avoid having any moving air (less chance of dust).

I can't comment on the durability, since I just completed it yesterday. However, the ease of application and the customer support are both as good as it gets.

The bottom line...

The good: Excellent product and even better customer support.

The not-quite-so-good: The only negative I have is that 35 square feet seems a bit optimistic for the topcoat (there's plenty of primer and minerals, however). I have 28 square feet, and I ran a little short of topcoat on the second coat. It's imperative to keep a wet edge, and the Giani video makes it clear that you want to use a generous amount, so I don't see how you can get more than 30 square feet (and that's only 2 coats on the topcoat---no chance of doing 3 coats). If they'd up the size of the topcoat container, then it would be perfect.

Keeps amazing me the products that people think about to help us save money! We bought this product to re-do our 20 year old countertops. Prep of the countertop is important as you need to bondo (wood fill) any cracks or chips, as this product will not do that. We had enough in one package to do an L shaped countertop that is 10' one direction and 9' the other direction. When you use the minerals, they tell you to do the bronze last, but we went back over it with the black again so it wasn't so bronzy. Just our preference. We also had 2 different sponges, one to apply and one to come back over and dab the pattern out a little. We were really happy with the results, it doesn't look like any granite that I know of, but it has a very nice finish and for the price are you really going to care? Take your time and wet sand after the minerals are dry (8 hours as suggested) it really helps to make the finish much smoother. Also buy a second 4" roller for doing the top coat on a back splash or edge, it helps tremendously. Enjoy - we sure did. Took us about 2 days to complete with drying time and all.

I just finished changing my 30-year old beige laminate countertops to sleek black granite. The color actually makes the kitchen look larger and is perfect with the black frig and dishwasher. I researched every countertop paint available before I decided on Giani, watched every instruction video, read every tip, and even downloaded pictures of black granite to use as a guide. When you have zero artistic talent, you need all the help you can gather.

Important tips:
*Your kitchen will be out of commission for 2-3 days. Have a back-up location for the coffeemaker, microwave, and other essentials.
*Have touch-up paint for the walls. No matter what kind of tape you use and how careful you are, the paints will creep under the tape.
*Do the practice board. Find the combination of colors you like, then keep the board in front of you while you work.
*I wanted the look of tiny quartz chips throughout the granite so bought metallic silver acrylic paint at Hobby Lobby and spattered on tiny drops by flicking paint off a toothbrush with my thumb. It's very subtle and looks great. Practice first.
*The first coat of black paint won't look good over the primer. The second coat of white makes it slightly better. I only used a bit of the bronze to highlight, which looked like splotches of mud. Then, as promised in the directions, the top coat brings it all together to look fabulous. The primer turns black, the white shines, and the bronze shimmers.
*The acrylic caulk comes out white, but dries clear. Don't panic when it looks like toothpaste coming out of the tube.
*Someday you'll stop gazing at your new countertops, amazed by their beauty and your hidden talent. It hasn't happened to me yet, but I'm sure it will.

I love my new giani countertops, easy to use and great price. I lived with ugly countertops for 13 years, until I found this product. I feel like I have a new kitchen.

Julie
Phoenix, Az

I was very hapy with the results of this product. The DVD instructions were very helpful. The key is in the prep work. The instructions tell you to steel wool the couter before priming, but I would recommend sanding with 180 or 220 grit sand paper for better adhesion. It seems to be pretty durable but anything that you paint on will not be as durable as the original surface. One kit will probably cover 2/3 of what the package tells you.

I needed something to change my plain white countertops, this was a rent house that I purchsed. I found this (which was cheaper than using the $250 kit from the local well known hardware store, they wanted to sell me real granite but there was no way I could afford THAT) and first used it on my countertops to see how it would work. I was amazed!! I loved it soo much that I bought another kit for the backsplash. It is very easy, and yes a bit time consuming (waiting on it to dry) I had to ban my grandchildren from my house until I was finished lol.

Now if I could just find an inexpensive way to change the flooring................ lol.

I highly recommend this product, the only thing is that it tells you if you are going to take a break, rinse out your sponge, I did this and hours later it still had enough water left in the sponge to make the paint run, that was the only problem so I wouldn't recommend wetting the sponge for any reason (just put it in the plastic bag as listed as another option and it will work fine). Have fun and be creative!!

Thank you GIANI!!

OMG, I can't tell you how easy this was to do. You can NOT mess this up. This completely changed the look of my kitchen. The price of this compared to the local hardware store (248.00) is fantistic! I'm so glad that I purchased this as putting in new countertops was out of my budget, and this has done what I was looking for in the first place. You can do this and be proud of your new countertops with only 80.00 invested!

I researched DIY counter top kits for a while before deciding to purchase the Giani Liquid Granite kit in Bombay Black. I watched the very informative DVD which gives an easy, step-by-step guide to updating your kitchen counter tops. The product is of high quality, the steps are clearly labeled and easy to use..and best of all-you really can't "mess up" the color! It's totally up to you how much of each color blend you add to the counters. Be sure to follow the instructions suggested waiting time for the counters to properly dry.

I am very happy with my purchase and my kitchen looks brand new for less than $100!

Excellent product works well and makes a world of difference to any kitchen if you follow the directions. The paints are of the highest quality and easy to use.