How to Refinish a Solid Surface Counter Top

My kitchen may have been outdated with honey oak cabinets and salmon colored tile, but the solid surface counter tops were still in pretty good shape. They have flecks of red, which is why I chose red as my accent color in the kitchen. The only problem with the counters is that there were a few burn marks and some scratches. With granite or laminate, this would have been bad news, but easily fixed with solid surface. Here is what I did to get brand new counter tops for free:

 Before picture with light brown burn marks.

1. I pulled out my palm sander and used the roughest grit sandpaper I had (about 120). I sanded in circular motions until I had gotten out all of the burn marks and scratches.

2. I switched to a finer sandpaper (about 220-grit) and sanded the entire area in circular motions.

3. I used about a 320-grit sandpaper and repeated sanding the entire area in circular motions.

4. I wiped away all the dust (this does make a pretty big mess of fine white powder), and buffed the counter tops with a wet abrasive cleaning sponge.

5. I had some counter top polish that I sprayed on and buffed the counter with, but this part is not necessary.

This was the easiest and cheapest of all my kitchen projects and people keep asking me if I bought new counter tops.

These solid surface counter tops are over 10 years old, but they look brand new.