Anyone Try To Power Polish Their Solid Surface Countertops?

[Indyrvfolks]

Hi... Just curious if anyone has tried to polish their countertops to a high gloss finish with a buffer or some other means. Our 2005 35A Suncruiser has the standard solid surface countertops in the kitchen and bath. While they wear fine and are in very good shape, they never were polished to a high degree (more of a semi gloss finish I guess). Retirement (i.e. too much time on my hands) has me wondering if I could bring them up to a high gloss with some work. Anyone try? I know the material is rather thin (looking at the sink covers anyway)and suspect it can't be worked too hard. Thanks for any thoughts. Regards.

[Jim Stewart]

The way the Corian or Corain like (solid surface)counter tops are supposed to look is a satin or slight sheen, not normally a shiny surface. When they get shiny over time, you sand then to get the satin shine uniform.

In my house, I used a Black and Decker Mouse Sander with a rough scotch bright type pad on it. They sell them at along with the sander at most stores like Lowes. That type of sander (with a point on one side) gets right up to the corners.

If you want them shiny, you can use progressively finer pads and the finer you go and the longer you sand, the more they shine.

Hope this helps.

[Indyrvfolks]

Thanks Jim, I appreciate the input. I was wondering how to deal with the inside corners... AND an excuse to purchase a new tool... better still.

Regards

[Jim Stewart]

Your welcome, the basic sander is on sale at Walmart for $20.00

http://www.walmart.com/catalog...?product_id=10741121

[jimandsue60]

Originally posted by Jim Stewart:
The way the Corian or Corain like (solid surface)counter tops are supposed to look is a satin or slight sheen, not normally a shiny surface. When they get shiny over time, you sand then to get the satin shine uniform.

In my house, I used a Black and Decker Mouse Sander with a rough scotch bright type pad on it. They sell them at along with the sander at most stores like Lowes. That type of sander (with a point on one side) gets right up to the corners.

If you want them shiny, you can use progressively finer pads and the finer you go and the longer you sand, the more they shine.

Hope this helps.

There is not a certain way Corian is supposed to look, it all depends on what the installer wants or customer asks for.

Our coach came with a highly polished gloss look. Our countertops are slowly turning into a satin look. I have already purchased sanding pads ranging from 360 grit to 1500 grit from this company.I have owned a makita dual action polisher for quite a while for the exterior of the coach. I will be polishing as you say with a finer grit till I get the gloss we like very soon. I will let you know how it turns out. I do plan on getting one of the corner sanders posted earlier.

Jim

[Indyrvfolks]

Jim:

Thanks for your suggestion and input. I took a peek at your photos and noticed picture number JIM_5498.JPG (RV set,2nd page). Is this an example of the gloss finish that your coach came with? Very nice. Just to be clear though, our Suncruiser does not have Corian, but some other solid surface material. I'm assuming the properties and therefore the polishing process are similar. Great photos by the way! Regards.

[Tom N]

Your Suncruiser has a Vendura counter top.

http://www.vendura.com/

Vendura® Countertop Care

WIT Club News – July/August 2008

Vendura® countertops appearance may be easily maintained, under normal circumstances, with little effort by using a spray on type window cleaner or warm, soapy water.

Since Vendura® is nonporous, any stain is only on the surface and will nearly always disappear using the procedure indicated above. If a stain has dried on, the spray or soapy water should be allowed time to re-moisturize the area, after which the stain will wipe off. A bleach solution may also be used on the surface.
If the stain is not of a water or oil based material, it may have to be gently scraped off using a plastic material (throw away plastic knife for example), and then proceed with normal cleaning methods.

Periodically you may wish to go over the entire surface evenly with a mild abrasive cleanser such as Soft Scrub™, Bon Ami™, or Barkeeper’s Friend™.

To keep your countertop looking its best and to minimize care efforts use a cutting board rather than slicing directly on your countertop. Your Vendura® cutting board will provide an easily accessible cutting surface.

Vendura® is heat resistant; however, the sudden application of a very hot material to a cold surface may cause a repairable crack. Likewise, exposure to a high heat source in a small area such as that generated by a crock pot or an electric griddle, may cause a repairable crack. Use of a trivet is strongly recommended in these instances. Candles should not be allowed to burn directly on the Vendura® surface.

Vendura® is also chemical resistant to most substances, but exposure to harsh materials such as paint remover or oven cleaner should be avoided. In case one of these materials does contact the Vendura® surface it should be removed at once. If it is not, a professional repair or a replacement may be required.

Cuts and scratches may usually be removed easily by using a more aggressive cleansing powder such as Comet™, a moistened SOS™ pad or a white Scotch-Brite® pad. The entire surface must be gone over using the same procedure to maintain a uniform appearance. For a temporary gloss look, if you desire, a good quality furniture polish such as Pledge™ or an automotive polish (non-cleaner type) may be used.

Vendura® Customer Service may be reached at 1-800-394-4524.

[Indyrvfolks]

Tom: Thanks for the ton of useful information, much appreciated.
Regards

[paz]

IMO the problem with a high polish on solid surface counter tops (Corian, Vendura, etc.) is that fine scratches will easily show up on the high gloss.

The material used for solid surface counter tops is all similar and is based on acrylic (Plexiglas is also acrylic). Acrylic is not that hard, and it will scratch fairly easily. That's the reason solid surface counter tops are usually provided with a satin finish - to help hide imperfections. Material like granite is much harder; therefore, granite is usually polished to a high gloss.

[jimandsue60]

I took a peek at your photos and noticed picture number JIM_5498.JPG (RV set,2nd page). Is this an example of the gloss finish that your coach came with?

Yes, that photo was taken just after we had the dinette/computer cabinet made for us.

Paz is correct, the high gloss does show finer scratches easier especially the darker colors. Even so, the gloss does have a richer look to me.

Thanks
Jim

[Gary RVRoamer]

We have high gloss Corian in our American Tradition. It does show scratches easily and after awhile just normal usage takes a toll of the shine, reducing it to semi-gloss. I can get it to shine up fairly well with fine rubbing compound or a car/boat polish with oxidation removing properties, but to get back to the original shine I use a 4000 grit polishing pad on my 5" random orbital sander. I also had a desktop made but it came in a low gloss finish and I polished it up to match the rest of the coach. I used the Abralon pads from Woodworkersupply.com which are designed for solid surface materials. The whole kit (all grits and a hook & loop backer) was only $30.

In some areas like the bath we are maintaining the Corian at the semi gloss rather than the full gloss level, but my wife likes the galley table and countertops to really shine, so I do them once a year. In between we use a commercial Corian polish, usually Weiman's.

[TXiceman]

We had Corian in our 95 Avion and it was a satin or Matt finish and did great. Current home has a Corian look-alike and my wife loves it much better than any glossy surface counter top.

The satin finish is easy to care for and dose not show streaks and such nearly as badly as gloss finish.

If you are wanting low maintenance, stick to the satin or matte finish.

Ken

[Indyrvfolks]

Paz, RV Roamer and TXiceman, thank you all for your input. Much appreciated.
Regards,

[Ray,IN]

I use Gel-Gloss on wife's counter tops, same product I use on the exterior.

[Suncircles]

As mentioned by many above the "solid surface" countertop materials are generally installed with a satin finish. The acrylic or polyester material base is relatively soft and can scratch easily. Keeping a "glossy" finish requires periodic polishing with very fine grit polishing compounds.

I have "solid surface" commercial fabrication experience in my recent past. The salesmen were always trained to discourage selling "glossy" finishes because of constant calls by customers for scratch repairs. Granite and "quartz" countertops are sold with gloss finishes because of their relative hardness and resistance to scratches.

Bottomline: If you want a glossy finish on the Ventura countertop in you MH, you can use a rotory or random orbital electric polisher with a cotton polishing pad. Find the finest polishing rouge you can get and polish in a circular pattern over the whole surface, but don't bare down or stop in one place. Always have the polisher running when you sent the it down on the surface and when you pick it up. Never stop the polisher on the surface since swirls will develop. If you have a piece of Ventura to practice on before you tackle the countertop, all the better.

Keep you polisher and polishing rouge handy because you will need them to polish out the scratches or dulled surface areas from the simple use of the countertop.

My two cents is "be happy with a satin finished Ventura countertop, or have granite of quartz installed".

Suncircles