Customer Reviews for Rust-Oleum Transformations 70 oz. Charcoal Large Countertop Kit

Wow. Great product. We did a kitchen makeover with fresh painted cabinets and tile walls. The onyx restoration kit was the icing on the cake. Nice durable finish. Highly recommended this product to anyone looking for a good cost effective way to upgrade your countertops.

Big mess and lots of work but the results were good.

It changed a 50 year old counter top into a beautiful top that transformed the kitchen, especially when I added a backsplash.

Depending on how long it holds p, it turned out fantastic

Very happy so far with the results. The only issue we had is there was no information in the instructions on how to do larger countertops were you have to use more than one kit. We looked over the directions and watched the video. It does mention if you have larger areas to work in smaller sections but didn't show in the video how we should do that. You apply the base and add the chips which go everywhere. How are you supposed to work in smaller sections. We lucked out that after sanding the countertops we had enough product to go over it a second time, we had some thin spots because we were afraid the product would be to dry with having to roll it all of it at once. Information was not their on how to work in smaller sections. On the upside going over it a second time made it thicker and it came out great.

Transformed our cabin kitchen counters in just 1 weekend all by myself. I would definitely recommend this product. Suggest watching the video and take your time to sand. Also, it was very easy to do with 1 person, but I would recommend 2 if I were to do it again.

This was my wife’s idea and she started it on her own. Once I saw what she was doing and the labor involved, I took over. Sanded the original countertops for approx. 5 hours to get them right. Applied the base coat which is to thin and doesn’t have enough “body” to it. You’ll find this out later. I used the brush and she used the roller then I applied the chips. The chip spreader is junk. You are better off using your hand. After waiting 14 hours to cure, starting the chip sanding process. This is like sanding sandpaper. They should supply you with at LEAST two of the two different sanding blocks. When you begin the sanding process with the intent of getting the surface to match that of the sample provided, don’t even attempt to get it to that point! You can’t! This is where the problem of the adhesive basecoat lacking in body comes into play. You’ll never get it to match the sample smoothness without burning through it and exposing the old countertop. If you do that, now you have more problems to fix. That being said, since you can’t sand it smooth enough, now your surface is very coarse. I could already see where this was going. Once you apply the clear top coat, (It doesn’t have enough “body” either) the surface being very coarse and rough, I was going to end up with a surface that was going to grab and hold food particles like crazy. I think I’ll call it tbe Covid Countertop because of the germs it will be retaining. I’m sitting here now watching it dry and cursing myself for doing it and Rustoleum for making it. I wish she just would have purchased new countertops and put the $200 towards that instead.

Product worked as expected and has held up good in the three weeks since I’ve completed the work. The grey did darker much more than expected and only reason I didn’t give it five stars.

It seemed to do a very good job. Easy but also an involved process. It may have been easier to just replace the counters. I am happy with the end results as long as it holds up for several years.

The product worked great everywhere except behind the sink! I redid my counters about a year ago and everything except behind the sink looks good. About 2 months ago the material started peeling and I spoke to rustoleum and the only fix is to redo the entire thing!

Definitely needed several coats of adhesive and chips. I tried doing small areas at a time so I didn't have to use the wetting agent. The wetting agent only ruined the coating of adhesive and I stopped using it after the first two tries. Very glad I bought extra. The finished look is great after 3 or more applications. Now to see if it holds up over time.

Very time consuming process. Don’t be afraid to go real heavy with base coat. Almost done the process. Had to do a second coat cause poor coverage. Some areas went to light with base coat. Definitely cheaper than a new counter and cabinets. Just make sure you have somewhere to prep cooking in between. Will be top coating tonight. Wish there was a way to use power sander for the prep part. Prepping laminate counters requires a ton of sanding.

After watching the Rust-Oleum Transformations promotional and how to apply videos, I thought it was to good to be true. Then I moved forward on getting a quote to replace the countertops and the cost was more than I could afford. So I went ahead and purchased the Rust-Oleum Transformations product hoping it would not disappoint. It has exceeded my expectations by 100%. I followed the directions as written and shown in the installation video and the results were amazing and it cost a little over $200. The finish looks professional, the durability is incredible, but most import the application was so easy.

This was very easy to use, fast and i love it

The product its very good, but the time to do the aplication was more of the instructions.

Fantastic weekend transformation!!!

This product did allow me to update my countertops without having to purchase all new ones. If I had a similar situation again I would use this product again but with more knowledge on how to apply. I was disappointed in the dispersion of the chips with the Decorative Chip Dispenser. I set the dispenser to #2 as indicated, pulled the trigger and tried to turn the handle at a steady pace but the chips did not come out anything like chips in the video. It was a slow, spotty application especially on the backsplash and front edge with a lot of cranking. I started grabbing handfuls of chips and tossing them at the backsplash and front edge. I actually went back and watched the video again and it appears that the chips might have been a smaller size than the ones in my kit. If the chips had dispensed as shown in the video this kit would have been great. If I ever have to do something like this again I will test the dispersion into a clean empty container and if needed I would crunch the chips up into smaller pieces. Each step along the way with the chips seemed more difficult and took longer than expected. The Chip Scrapper did very little to smooth out the surface and I figured I would make up for it by sanding. After about 5 hours of sanding (and this was a small job for this kit - nearly twice what I required) I decided that although not nearly as smooth of a finish as the sample it was going to have to be good enough and I will have a "textured" feel to my countertop. There was a couple of small sections that were smooth with my first sanding (of a total of 5 sandings with vacuuming between each) but the chips appeared smaller in those areas. I have just completed the top coat today and I hope the surface will last a long time - I plan to take very good care of it.

I am THRILLED! This product exceeded my expectations. I must confess that it was easy, but a lot of work and messy. The outcome made it all worth it! I have and will recommend the Rustoleum Counter Top Transformation kit to anyone. I also used the Rustoleum Chalked Paint In Linen White to paint over the laminate cabinets and updated the handles, pulls and hardware. My kitchen looks completely different, updated and this makeover has made my favorite spot so far! Thank you for a wonderful product!

We bought and applied this product 1 year ago. VERY pleased with it! Application was easy, and the instructional video was simple to follow. It has held up beautifully.

Excellent product and working really good.

This was the easiest project I did during this home restoration. Directions where easy to follow. I also used the cabinet transformation too and wish I had known about it before starting to sand a few of the cabinet doors. Thanks for a simple transformation at an affordable cost.

LOVE THIS! we have had it for 8 years. the edges get beat a bit, but it is easy to touch up. All you need is your receipt. Then you contact rust-oleum with pictures of the damage and a copy of your receipt and they send you out a new kit. In our 8 years, we literally just had to do this once, and it was a month ago. Holds up well and takes a good beating.

Love the way it turned my Pink, yes I said Pink counter tops to a Charcoal granite. I have been wanting to change the colors since we moved in! So easy that this 44yr old female did this all by herself! So pleased with results!! A month out and they are just as beautiful as the day I did them!

Product was easy to use. Make sure u follow the drying times. I used an extra layer of the top coat for extra protections. All in all the product dis what it said it would and counter tops look amazing.

PROS: Covered my dark red laminate counters CONS: Chips are very difficult to adhere to vertical surfaces and to get consistent look in corners. I had to use a beige caulk and touch-up quite a bit corners. Prepare to sand, then sand then sand again. It is a lot of sanding and the chip adhesion in very messy. I recommend removing your sink and then re-installing it. Getting adequate coverage around the sink was very hard. In hindsight, I wish I had just purchased new laminate, and went over the old laminate. The finished product does not look like real stone, it does look like it is an applied surface.

Very easy to apply my second time good stuff

OMG! I transformed my countertops and cabinets in one weekend. I'm a girly, girl type person and I did all by MYSELF! It turned out better than I expected. Save me hundreds, maybe a coupe of thousands dollars since I didn't replace the countertops with granite which was my first thought. The shine, durability and ease of application was unbelievable. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this product!

So far it's been on 2 weeks without any issues. Followed instructions and everything went as it was supposed to. 2 days to install total time about 12 hours labor. Yes I would use it again. I won't know about durability for a few months but seems pretty strong in a sense that if it holds up while sanding it Should hold up for use . Will also find out if top coat can take splatter from the stove over time.

Very nice product.

After finishing the cabinet transformations kit I decided to try the countertop one. These kits are not the same. Different paint, different process and different results. I have a 47 sq ft counter so I bought the kit that covers 50 sq ft. This stuff does not stick like it should. Now as for prep work, I used a belt sander, then a fine grit electric sander and then the diamond pad included with the kit. And the stuff still didn’t stick very well. I had 30 yr old laminate counters. They had a wood pattern that had large bleach spots that needed to be covered and since I’m going to be selling in a couple years I didn’t want to spend the money on replacing everything in the kitchen. However, if you want it to work I would highly recommend a few things: 1. Base coat. I was going from a very light color to a very dark color. Due to how thin the base coat is I can still see the old color thru it (see pic). Note I was using the Onyx kit which is solid black for the base coat. If you are going with a similar color this should not be as noticeable. Buy a kit or two larger than what you need. Do a base coat and let it dry, then do another full coat, filing in all the areas that are thin right before adding the chips. Cover every square inch with chips. These are the actual countertop surface, not just for added color. The instructions say to apply a thick coat of adhesive, but it just doesn’t stick, so its impossible to apply it thick. You can watch it beading up as it dries. It would be nice if they sold just the adhesive part separate, instead of buying all the other accessories. A dark primer might be an option too but I’m not sure how compatible the adhesive base coat would be with primer. For sure not latex based but maybe acrylic or something else. 2. Working sections. If you have to do this alone, you will see the transitions between sections. I’m not sure why, but no matter what I did, I can see where I stopped and started each section. Grab a buddy if you can. Neither taping off a straight line nor over-lapping worked. Work fast as this stuff dries too quickly. If you have a natural seam like a corner or separate section, do the smaller ones first to see how it works. Don’t forget edges along the stove, refrigerator and ends that will be slightly visible. I didn’t color chip the edges near the stove or fridge due to the size of the gap. 3. Color Chips… Tape off everything! If you can wall-off the room, do so because its very dusty. Wear a mask! If you can remove appliances, do. While those things may not stick to the adhesive very well, they sure do stick to everything else because they are statically charged. Including the refrigerator, walls, floor, etc. I had drop clothes everywhere (use plastic so you can just roll them up and throw them away). But no matter what, those darn things will stick to everything. Your shoes, your socks, everything. They will fall down in the cracks where you removed the caulking behind the countertop. You’ll find them in your pots and pans. You’ll find them for weeks. Even wearing a high end paint mask I had color streaks when blowing my nose for days due to all the dust in the house. You will need to empty your shop vac after each pass of vacuuming those things up. They are quite heavy in bulk and will clog the vacuum. The chip spreader worked for about 30 seconds. It kept jamming. Eventually I just used my hand and threw them around. The chip spreader shoots about a 4 ft wide pattern so no matter what you’re aiming at, they will go everywhere else. Everywhere….. Also I would recommend just dumping the drop clothes on the floor after vacuuming the counters and put fresh ones down when you start the sanding and top coat. Otherwise you’ll stir up dust. 4. Sanding. This is the worst part of the entire thing. And I’m not talking about the prep sanding. I’m talking about the post chip sanding. Once you scrape them down, fix thin spots, repair areas where they didn’t stick, missed corners etc, you then have to sand them smooth. The sample they provide feels like a piece of foam or cork. It doesn’t feel anything like the hard texture of the counter tops. However this is your goal in a perfect world. After a couple hours I finally gave up. I left the back splashes fairly course as I don’t touch them. I focused on the main working surface and even after hours they were still fairly textured. Consider how you use your counters to determine how much effort to focus. I don’t let food touch them, so really I just need a surface for cutting boards, pots, pans, etc. If you cut or roll out dough on your counters, skip this kit. If you’re OCD about crumbs, keep sanding. The texture will drastically affect how easy it is to wipe it down during cleaning. 5. Top coat. I did two passes of top coat and I still found spots that seemed thin. It’s hard to see it since its textured and very shiny. Use good lighting and check from different angles. Keep in mind you only have 4 hours to work with the top coat so don’t wait until the next day to find touch up spots. The top coat will show brush/roller streaks so after applying a thick coat, take your time to do a smooth finishing coat. I had lots leftover, unlike the base coat that didn’t have enough. 6. Durability. After two weeks of letting it cure, I still occasionally wipe up color chips when wiping down the counter. I also had some water drops that sat for an extended period of time and the counter started to flake. I would recommend you wipe up any spills immediately and don’t slide anything around as any uneven surface may catch and chip. Overall Summary. From the next room if I squint it looks great. A bit too shiny in my opinion and it clearly has a textured finish to it, but for a drastic color change it really changes the look of the room. However, up close you can see thru it so it looks like painted cork instead of granite. If you don’t have another option, this will due for a temporary refresh, but for long term I would not recommend this unless your countertops are completely trashed like mine were and can’t be replaced due to cost.