Giani Granite ~

If you are like me, you love granite countertops. Also, if you are like me, you can’t afford them. So, I have just lived without. Fortunately for me, the countertops in our home weren’t nicked or especially, they were just blue. And I am not a huge fan of blue, or laminate {or whatever they were}, so I set out to do something about it – cheaply.

Giani Granite For Countertops

Giani Granite kits come in several varieties so that you have tons of options of how you would like your counters to look. I chose Chocolate Brown.

Our kit came with…

-12 Oz. of IronCoreTM Primer-Base Coat
– 6 Oz. of Brown Feldspar Mineral
– 6 Oz. of Inca Gold Mineral
– 6 Oz. of Chocolate Brown Mineral
– 16 Oz. of Automotive Polyurethane Topcoat
– 6″ GIANITM roller arm and two roller pads
– 4″ GIANITM granite paint sponge
– 2″ Foam Brush
– Black Practice Poster Board
– ‘Paint-by-Number’ DVD for beginners
– Illustrated Instructions

The Giani Granite DVD is very easy to follow. The only thing I couldn’t understand in the directions was whether to caulk before or after. The directions seem to say to do it before doing the primer in one part and then after the entire process in another, so I assume either is fine. Luckily for me, when I went to a local hardware store to get some other items that I would need for this project {gloves, caulk, Frog Tape, etc} I found glass mosaic tile on sale for $2.33/sheet. It is generally $8.97/sheet and up. So, I will be doing the backsplash as well now. Be on the look out for that project as well.

First, we scrubbed the counter and cleaned it really well and then we taped off everything with the Frog Brand Tape. We made sure to buy this brand as this is what is advised in the video that came with our Giani Granite kit.

Next, we primed the counter. The primer is included and clearly labeled. Be sure to use the provided brush to get around the sink really good first and then use the roller for the counter. We put craft paper over a lot of the cabinets until we realized that the primer wipes easily off our cabinets with baby wipes {no, we don’t have a baby, but they are SO handy}. So, we just decided to wipe as we went after that. We don’t recommend this, of course. Please do what Giani Granite says, this is just what we chose to do.

The directions clearly state to use gloves. I bought gloves. Then I did not put them on. My bad. It washed off very easily, though, so I was pleased.

I also found this video extremely helpful. She made a couple mistakes and tells you how you might avoid them. For instance, I made sure to buy Frog Brand tape as suggested by Giani Granite, based on what I saw in this video. This entire project took me about 2 days. It really isn’t a long process – just the drying times between the coats slows you down, so I recommend this for a weekend project. I finished it today. So, what do you think?

Socialize With Giani Granite

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.