I purchased this contact paper in the hopes of covering over top of my old ugly RED countertop and it WORKED!!!! I want to remodel the kitchen, but for the time being, I wanted a quick fix that would look nice and it did the job! I would definately suggest this product. It was easy to work with and came up nicely when there were bubbles/wrinkles to remove. I used an old credit card to smooth it out. I did have some bubbles here and there, so I used a pin to poke a little hole and smoothed it out. Also, I do have a seem since the width wasn't wide enough to cover the entire counter, but since the way it is designed with the granite look, you can't even tell unless the light shines on it or you run your hand across it (I put the seem in the back of the counter top to try and hide it better since I have my canisters, toaster, etc along the back). Yes, I had a few headaches doing this, but I also had 2 little children trying to help :)
I got this for about six dollars per roll with free 2 day prime shipping and couldn't be more pleased. It is actual Con-tact brand, which matters for durability and adhesive quality.
Anyways, as you can imagine, squee-jee-ing the stuff on without major bubbles or wrinkles is a feat. It took me a few hours to do the counter tops BUT it was well worth it since I'm in a rental house I love (but cannot change the tacky yellow counters.) The final product is quite handsome, considering the total cost for all the counters was under 20 bucks. It looks like faux granite-definitely not like the real stuff, but also not like 40 year old scratched counters with stickers slapped on top, which is essentially what it is. :)
The sink is easy to cut around, for what it's worth-some tutorials online suggest cutting it perfectly to fit. That would drive me crazy. I cut out a hole for the sink, but a very rough one-and then used a common steak knife to cut the precise edges once the stuff was already stuck on evenly. Overlapping bits peeled right off the sink. Trust me, the stuff has some give/stretchiness (not unlike a tee shirt) so you don't really want to measure things until it's already down.
For air bubbles, try poking them with a tack or sewing needle and decompressing slowly. For wrinkles, try slicing and overlapping the pieces. The almost imperceptible line is WAY better than a grime-catching wrinkle.. or worse: tearing the thing up in frustration.
Good luck, you won't regret this weekday morning renovation! :)
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Bought this to install on ugly green countertops and it looks better than I could have hoped. Sticks well and is fairly easy to apply unless you have never done this before. Seams don't show too bad due to random pattern. Highly recommend
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This is an amazing product if you're willing to tweek it. It's needs effort and patience to be installed right.
Tools I used:
Sharp scissors, hair cutting size
Razor Knife
Large Phillips head screw driver
Large Flat Head screw driver (for prying and lifting sink)
Folded index card for smooshing bubbles
Several straight pens
Hot Glue Gun
Rubber Dishwashing gloves
I live in an old farmhouse and I have nasty stained fake wood counters, no matter what I used to clean them they looked like crap. The first thing I did was remove the "Beading/Trim" section on the back of my counter that joins the wall. Mine was nailed so I just pried it off with a hammer and put it back on the same way.
Secondly if you can; undo your sink clamps. This will allow you to stick the paper right under the edge of the sink rather than trying to cut. I threw away one big piece trying to cut perfectly around my sink.
Third, lift up sections of the sink with the flathead screwdriver and slide small long skinny sections of paper under it. When I first started I had about a 2" outline of contact paper just around my sink. Don't worry the seams won't show, which is a great plus about this paper.
Fourth put the clamps back on the sink or it will wiggle, I put my clamps on last but I should have done it fourth.
Next take large sections and stick them down. I cut long ones the width of the paper. Stick them so they are smooth. This will require one or two resticks and then smooshing down with an index card. Use a pin to pop air bubbles. I stuck the pin in at a 45degree angle, then resmoosh. Don't worry about your edges right now.
***The edges won't stick, they peel up...this is what the hot glue is for in the last step***
Put contact paper everywhere you need it, and smooth it down. If there is a great deal of over hang trim it off with the scissors. You need about 2-3" to work with for the edges.
Finally take the hot glue gun and several sticks of glue ( I had a mini gun a big one may not require so much) and put a rubber glove or garden glove on the hand you aren't using to operate the gun. The glove is so you don't get burned. First put as smooth as possible a pretty thick layer of glue in about a 10" section of the bare counter facing toward you. I cut slits in the over hang paper every 10" so it would be easier. Give the overhang bit a tug a tightly secure it to the counter over the hot glue, the smoosh it down with the hand that's wearing the glove.
Wait about a minute and glue the underside of the counter where the rest of the paper will go, this was kind of an upside down motion with the gun so you may have to hold a glue stick in if it gets low. Then just smooth down the final bit with your gloved hand.
I had to trim the final bit with a razor knife to clean it up a bit, you may or may not have to do this.
Overall this is a great product. It looks fabulous and you can't see seems or where you popped bubbles. The craptastic part is it doesn't stick to the edges...at least not mine. Mine were really rough so if you have nice smooth ones you might forgo the hot glue. But, if you had nice smooth countertops you probably aren't covering them with contact paper.
The only other issue I had with this was it took 4 days for the seller to get around to shipping. I had to email and complain and it magically got shipped and I received it next day; so keep an eye out for that.
Overall I give it 4 stars, just because I had to tweek it with hot glue. But I bought 2 packs for $14 something including shipping and it was worth every penny. It looks amazing.
I've uploaded pics of my counter and final outcome for you. ☺
PS: This is a woman's review if you're a manly contractor dude you may have a better way to do this.
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While waiting for custom countertops, I covered my existing kitchen counter surfaces with this durable, shiny, easy-to-clean, amazingly realistic paper. Now I'm almost sorry that I spent so much money for hand-polished marble surfaces when I'm already enjoying essentially the same look at a teensy fraction of the cost.
My existing counters were scratched, dulled from years of wear, and hard to clean, but my new contact paper makes them look new! Plus, this paper isn't that flimsy thin stuff you find at discount stores . . . this stuff is thick and **sturdy.** Why didn't I think of this contact paper before ordering super-expensive countertop replacements?
Now I'll probably order more of this paper to line my cupboard shelves!
The shelf is cool looking. Assembly didn't take very long-it comes in 3 pieces and took less than 10 minutes. I like the fact that the piece (against the wall) has 2 notches to actually slide onto hooks or nail heads. What I didn't like was the color. It was a dark gray/brown hue--they call it java. It doesn't match my other furniture which is cherry and mahogany.
