How to install Contact Paper Countertops for a gorgeous marble look | The DIY Mommy

do you want to install contact paper countertops today i'm going to show you how i hope hey everyone it's christina from thediymommy.com i have installed contact paper countertops just like this faux marble one in three different little kitchens so throughout that process i have learned a lot i've had them for three years in one of the kitchens and i always get so many questions about installing contact paper on counters today i'm going to show you exactly how to do it step by step using this island top as an example plus i'm going to share with you one trick that i learned from one of you that totally changed my life for installing these and i'm going to share my review on them so let's get started what is contact paper contact paper is basically a vinyl like peel and stick sort of product that you can peel the backing off and put it onto almost any surface so can contact paper just like this be used on countertops my answer is yes i think there are many good applications for this stuff does contact paper come off easily my answer is usually yes it's going to depend on which type of contact paper that you use and it's also going to depend on your surface that you're putting it on i have a specific type that i use i've used it on laminate and wood countertops and in both instances i'm able to peel it off no problem in my opinion the best contact paper out there is this dc fix stuff right here i've used it in three different kitchens and i would 100 recommend it you can find it off amazon i'll make sure to leave my link to it down in that description box below i love this marbled look from dc fix so this is a vinyl substance it's thicker than the other contact papers that i've tried i did use one in the back of my closet recently and this one is definitely thicker the other one was almost transparent the dc fix is certainly not this one's also water resistant it installs beautifully and it's really easy to clean i've put this exact contact paper in our first camper that we did three years ago and it still looks great in there we definitely used a lot and we were able to wipe it clean no problem i also used it in our diy camper 2.0 that we started last year and so far that looks really great too and then finally i used it here in my studio on this butcher block countertop alright so ready to get installing contact paper let me show you exactly how step by step step number one is to make sure that the surface you're installing the contact paper on is really clean so for a laminate surface you're going to want to wipe the entire thing with a decreasing cleaner something as simple as windex is going to work for you and if you're working with a wooden counter top surface like i am here you might even want to give your surface a quick sanding in my case i use this countertop in my studio for doing all sorts of crafts with glue guns so there's all this glue on here and everything i wanted to stand right off next measure your counter and then measure your contact paper and cut it what i love about the dc fix brand is that it has the grid marks on the back you're able to cut it with just simple sharp scissors use that grid line to make a nice straight cut make sure you leave extra product to wrap around the front of your counter as well as underneath in my case i didn't need to go all the way underneath my island because i'm never really seeing that in the application i'm using it so i basically just added an inch to wrap around underneath make sure i covered the sides of the island and then of course the whole top now you can gently remove just the first couple inches of the backing of your contact paper and apply that to your surface i find that this is a lot easier than trying to take the entire backing off you're going to get a more even installation this way now you can begin by smoothing the contact paper onto your surface you can use a plastic spatula for this a soft cloth or your hand honestly i prefer to kind of use the heel of my hand because i find it so soft and i just can work better that way and i don't get any sort of really harsh lines or wrinkling using just my hand and then you're just going to continue on with this until all of your contact paper is applied to your surface you can just keep measuring and cutting and applying just like we talked about in the previous steps now [Music] yeah i [Music] now here is the part that i absolutely love the most and i actually learned from a few of you you commented this on our camper 2.0 video many of you told me to use a blow dryer to shrink the contact paper so it's going to wrap around any curved surfaces it also helps take out air bubbles so this is the final step i would recommend that i just learned this year so thank you so much for sharing that with me i really appreciate when you guys give me constructive criticism and ideas in the comments because i think that helps all of us so make sure to use your lowest heat setting on your hair dryer and go ahead and just hover that over top of your contact paper surface then you can use your hand or something really soft again to gently push out any air bubbles or to wrap around any curves in your counter surface please be careful that you're not burning yourself use your low heat setting know your hair dryer just make sure that you're safe with this as well now i'm not doing it in this particular installation however i did do it in my campers if you're cutting around the sink that can be a little bit tricky but here are some tips you can create a template out of scrap paper or brown craft paper first use that to trace around your sink and then use that as a pattern to cut your contact paper just leave an extra half an inch to an inch of ease and then you can trim that away no problem with a craft knife afterwards what about the corners and the seams on this stuff so for the corners what i like to do is just cut a notch 90 degrees out of the corner edge leaving just a little bit of extra contact paper for ease smoothing that down and then using the blow dryer to kind of shrink that and wrap that perfectly around the corners and i feel that method gives me a pretty nice edge on my corners as far as the seams go in the contact paper you will probably have seams in your installation because there's only certain sizes of contact paper you can buy just make sure to butt the contact paper up together rather than overlapping it and that's going to give you a more even finish it's also going to wear better because it's not going to have any lifting where the things are overlapping you can buy quite wide or narrow versions of this particular one the dc fix for this island i just used two wide pieces again check out the links in the description box below if you want to purchase this exact one now i didn't have to use it in this application because there is obviously no sync here but another thing you can do to make contact paper countertops look professional and stay all sealed up is put a little bead of caulking along where the counter meets your wall and you can also put a little bead of caulking around the sink i just use latex caulking but you could use silicone as well around the sink and that's going to give it a finished look and keep it from peeling up in those spots now what about cleaning contact paper countertops you can just use regular soap and water to clean them no problem they're quite water resistant and i haven't found any issues with staining or ripping yet if i do i'll make sure to update you guys down in those comments below another question i get asked a lot is is contact paper heat resistant again this is really going to depend on which brand you use but for this dc fix it's heat resistant up to 170 degrees fahrenheit so here is how this island top in my studio looked like before and here it is after i've been using a little makeshift faux marble piece to put down for my videos but i really wanted to cover this whole thing with a marble look because i really like that as a backdrop for diys i thought this was the perfect solution and if i ever get tired of it i can easily just remove it and do something else so my contact paper countertop review i think they're a fantastic solution to get a nice marble look on a budget they're easy to install i find them easy to clean and i think they look pretty good for what you pay for would i put this in my own kitchen permanently probably not i do think nothing beats the look of a real solid countertop like quartz or real marble which incidentally i wouldn't put real marble in my kitchen because i would just make it so messy and stained but i do think there is a pattern repeat on this you can see it it doesn't look as real as a real solid surface would look but i do think it is a fantastic solution for a small space like a camper i think it's a fantastic solution if you are renting and you really dislike your current countertops and you want to want to put something down that isn't permanent and i also think it's a solution for something like say you hate your current counters you really want to save up for you know quartz or granite or whatever but you can't afford it this could be a fantastic interim solution while you're waiting for that so that is how i install contact paper countertops that's what i think of them and now i want to know about you what do you think of this countertop installation and would you ever install contact paper countertops in your home let me know down in those comments below thank you so much for watching this video today i really hope you found it helpful and you got some tips and ideas if you like this video please give it a thumbs up and subscribe to my channel for more diy and decor ideas on a budget i'm gonna leave some more videos that i hope you will love and enjoy watching next right up here

Channel: The DIY Mommy

Views: 662,483

Keywords: The DIY Mommy, DIY, home decor, DIY home decor, contact paper countertop, contact paper countertop corners, contact paper countertop edges, contact paper countertop installation, contact paper countertop kitchen, contact paper countertop removal, contact paper countertop review, contact paper countertop tips, contact paper, how to install contact paper on countertops, install contact paper, countertop, diy marble countertops, peel and stick, rental kitchen makeover ideas

Id: Anpbxt-ER5E

Length: 11min 11sec (671 seconds)

Published: Sat Jan 23 2021