Iron Burnt Counters

No matter how careful you are, everyone has an accident in the bathroom every once in a while. One of the more common accidents is to leave something hot, like a curling or straightening iron, on your laminate countertop. Normally this isn't a big deal, but it can be when it begins to burn the counter top. Here is everything you need to do in order to fix those iron burnt counters. Best of all, you may not need to replace that laminate countertop.

Materials needed.

• Powdered cleanser (i.e. Oxy-clean, Comet, etc.)
• Rubbing alcohol
• Sand paper
• Putty
• Melamine paint
• Sponge, brush, or roller

Process.

1. How bad is the damage? First you will need to assess the damage to your laminate countertop is. If the damage is negligible say smaller than the palm of your hand, then you may be able to hide it. That being said, if it is around the size of your palm, you will need to fix the burn. When assessing the situation, be sure that you are as realistic as you possibly can be, remember that you will be doing this work yourself. So anything that looks too big (like the size of a dinner plate) then you should either hire someone else to do the repair work for you, or to replace the countertop.
2. Clean. After assessing the situation, you will need to begin cleaning the burnt countertop. Clean your countertop like you normally would, but be sure that you use as strong of a powdered cleanser as you can. You want to use powdered cleansers such as Oxy-clean and Comet with Bleach, because it will help to remove any grease based material that may have been on the countertop. That grease based material will interfere with your repair job later on.
3. Sand. Once you have cleaned your burned countertop, it is time to begin sanding. In order to do this though, you will need to remove as much of the burned laminate material as you possibly can. When you do this, you may need to use a screwdriver to help remove it, and this could gouge the substructure. After you have removed the burnt countertop, go ahead and begin sanding. You will want to do this by hand since a mechanical sander can sand a little too quickly. Make everything as smooth as possible. For any deep holes that may be in your countertop, fill this with some putty. Be sure that you wipe up any putty that you may have gotten somewhere other than the hole. Allow the putty to dry completely before sanding again.
4. Paint and seal. Finally, you are on the home stretch. Before painting, you will need to clean your countertops again. This is to ensure that you remove any and all dust that may have settled on the countertops after the last round of sanding. Once that is done, get your melamine paint and begin painting. You can use a paint brush, sponge or roller, though you will usually get better results if you use a roller. Allow the first coat to dry before checking to see if you need a second coat. Often if you did a good job, you will not need a second coat. Allow the melamine paint to dry completely, and then wash down the countertop with rubbing alcohol, and enjoy your new countertop!