How to Create a Sandstone-Look Finish on a Tile or Formica Countertop

I was sick and tired of that white tiled bathroom countertop with its dark green grout. He was old-fashioned and ugly.

I wanted to give it a new surface without removing any tile, creating a beautiful sandstone finish right on top of the existing tile. After doing some research on the internet, I found the products and information needed to do just that.

Janice Faulkner of “Faux Effects” gave me simple instructions when I contacted her and asked how to create a hard limestone finish over the top of my existing tile countertop (disgusting is more of the word) in my master bath.

Here are the steps:

I gave the counter a good wipe down and then wiped it down with pure white vinegar to give it a little “tooth”.

I covered the wall, trim, and sink with blue painter’s tape.

I primed the surface with “Prime Etch” from Faux Effects. I let it dry overnight. A high quality primer would work just as well.

Using a gloved hand, I smoothed out “Aqua Stone” from Faux Effects.

Leaving the surface quite “bumpy”, I let it sit for a few moments and then used a plastic scraper to smooth the surface. The smoothing action left natural pits and “skips” that made the surface look like real stone.

I let it dry. The next morning, I noticed that I could still see the grout lines. So I refilled them with Aqua Stone, smoothed again like before and let dry.

Once again the grout lines became visible and I realized it would have been better if I had filled them in FIRST, letting them dry and then applying a single coat of Aqua Stone over the entire surface.

After filling them again, this time when it dried, the surface was finally flat. (Small price to pay for a great lesson learned). And that’s why WE do the test projects so you don’t have to go through dilemmas like this.

Once the surface was completely dry, I used my handy electric hand sander to smooth the surface. The product was very easy to sand which I was very pleased with! Natural looking pits and skips remained on the surface.

After sanding, I vacuumed up the debris, gently cleaned the surface, and then mixed a light colored neutral brown glaze and brushed it across the surface, immediately blotting the section with a dry towel.

Wanting additional “depth”, I reapplied the color to only certain areas for more variation. Again, drying as he went.

I let the color dry and then apply two coats of Faux Effects “Aqua Guard” Satin Sealer.

My bathroom counter now looks like REAL sandstone and I couldn’t be happy with the end results of the project.
The ugly tiles are gone, I didn’t have to take them out, clean up the mess, put in new tiles and grout them, I just applied a product and finished it the way I wanted to give my bathroom the look I was after.

Now that I’ve done it myself, there’s a particular Formica countertop in our house in Idaho that I had planned on completely replacing. I will not do it anymore. Instead I will do a beautiful stone finish thanks to the wonderful products at Faux Effects and Janice Faulkner for her help with this makeover.