Advice on Restoring the Shine to Laminate Countertops

Laminate countertops are a frequent choice in today’s kitchen. Being one of the most used pieces of furniture the kitchen, they are also the most exposed to damage. Due to the daily activities taking place in the kitchen, the surface of laminate countertops can be damaged by staining or by coming into contact with very hot vessel or even cut with knives or other sharp objects. Some of the damages of laminate kitchen countertops can be eliminated by certain reconditioning methods, like sealing.

If you want to restore the smoothness of your plastic laminate countertop or if your old countertop has scratches and imperfections, you have numerous sealing products on the market from which to choose. Sealing the leaf surface of your countertop helps reduce stains, scratches and imperfections and considerably easies cleanup. A possible sealant which you can use is car wax, which is similar to automobile polish.

For the reconditioning process you will need: three clean and soft cloths, bleach, vinegar, car wax and a couple of free hours, depending on how affected the leaf surface of the countertop is.

Before doing anything, remember to protect your hands with rubber gloves!

For starters you will need to disinfect the leaf surface of your laminate counter by wiping it with a cotton, dust-free, soft and absorbent cloth which has previously been dipped in bleach or vinegar. The next step is to polish the surface of the laminate countertop. For this you need another cotton, soft and perfectly clean cloth and car wax. You must sink the cloth into the wax container and apply the wax on the entire damaged surface with the cloth, by pressing and rubbing with circular movements. After you have finished spreading the wax all over the counter, let it on for about 10 minutes. Excess wax will be removed by wiping the countertop with another clean, soft, cotton cloth.

The disadvantage of using car wax or other wax-based products available on the market is that wax will wear off over some time and you will need to reapply it. Some experts say it’s not recommended to apply wax on laminate countertops, but that it is best to use oil-based products instead, like Countertop Magic. This spray is designed to revive old laminate countertops, but its price also recommends it for everyday wiping. After you applied the product on the entire leaf surface, let it soak overnight and in the morning polish the surface with a clean cloth.