LESLIE: Delores in Texas has a kitchen question. What can we do for you?
DELORES: Hi. I have a copper countertop in my kitchen and, of course, when it gets moisture on it, it – and water, whatever – it turns green. (chuckling) And then it has to be cleaned probably every three or four weeks. But I would like to seal it, some way, so that I wouldn’t … that wouldn’t happen when moisture gets on it.
LESLIE: Alright. Well, when you’re sealing the copper, you want to make sure that you have something that’s very durable, obviously, because you’re going to be cleaning it a lot and it’s going to be in a very moist situation. There are a couple of options. You can go with an acrylic top coat with something that’s in a high gloss that’ll go on there. But if you do that, make sure you pick something that’s non-yellowing. Because when you’re in a kitchen situation and there’s a lot of moisture, it can tend to yellow. So make sure you choose an acrylic topcoat that doesn’t have … I mean, that has a non-yellowing component to it.
Also, you can get a lacquer, which would give it a nice, high sheen. Or resin. And resin’s going to be a little bit more caustic. It’s a toxic smelling thing, but it’s safe to use. Just make sure you wear a respirator and install it properly. But that can do a nice, self-leveling, even top coat. And there’s something called EnviroTex Lite, which you can get at any sort of craft store. And it’s a two-part resin mixture and you can pour that on; it self-levels. And I like using that. I’ve done resin countertops with that before. And it looks really nice. It doesn’t yellow. It goes on very, very clear. But it’s very, very stinky.
DELORES: OK. Say that name again. It’s …
LESLIE: EnviroTex Lite. And it’s l-i-t-e.
DELORES: I-t-e. OK.
LESLIE: It can be kind of pricy, but if you’re only putting on a thin coat and you’re not trying to fill something up deeply, it would work well.
DELORES: OK. Maybe that might be the best (inaudible).
TOM: OK, Delores? Thanks so much for calling us at 1-888-MONEY-PIT.
If you use a stone coat countertop epoxy it has low odor, scratch resistant & heat resistant. I wouldn’t sit a pan straight off the stove on it. But I wouldn’t do that with any countertop. But it’s the longest working time and lowest VOC’s no odor.