faux marble concrete vanity top.

When we sold our Wisconsin house and moved to California, we had to give up the vanity I had built for my wife in the main bathroom.
Empty is a table. -
She can sit down and use it as the height of the dresser. -up table etc.
The house we moved to had a large master bathroom, but no seats. -
Put down your vanity, there\'s hardly any room for one.
The only possibility is a small corner, 25 inches wide and 14 inches deep, but it needs a custom dressing table to accommodate such a limited area.
I\'m interested in the idea of concrete countertops, and I\'ve learned from some of the technologies on the Internet that are technically overly called concrete.
This dresser is also the testing ground for a larger project I\'m going to do next spring, a 3-foot by 13-foot concrete outdoor kitchen counter.
Therefore, although the time, energy and money required to make this very small desktop may not match the final product, it is a good learning experience and these technologies may be useful for others who want to extend it to larger projects.
The materials you need include: * enough 3/4\"MDF（MDF)
For countertops and edges * strong enough（with polymers)
Versabond Thin Set for your project, I used less than 1/8 of 50 pounds.
This 2-Square bag. ft.
Projects * Not enough-
Grinding ceramic tile sealant for your project.
I used less than one-eighth of a 10-pound box for this project * a piece of metal mortar slab（
About a fifth of the paper was used for the project.
* A small amount of latex and acrylic paint, if you want marble or granite effect * environmentally friendly resin epoxy \"bar coating\". (
Four ounces is a square foot, so you can buy a \"suite\" that fits your project size.
* Screws, staplers, nails, woodworking glue * Rubber \"Bondo Spreader\" and steel dry wall knives/splicing knives * Sandpaper（50 to 400 grit)
The wooden core of the mesa is made of 3/4 \"medium density fiberboard\". (MDF).
Cut the top to the desired shape and size, then cut the 1. 5 inch wide MDF strip to circumvent the edge of the top.
This will make the finished top look like 1. 5 inches thick.
Coat the edges with high quality carpenter glue, such as Titebond II.
Position edge parts and fix them in place with nails or screws.
If you have bare corners on your countertop, cut them at 45 degrees.
Then grind the corner into a smooth curve.
If you use an electric or pneumatic sander, such as a track Air Sander for this project, it will speed up sanding.
But if necessary, you can do it by hand.
The top edge of the mesa can be kept square, and the mesa can be softened by sandpaper or router as shown in the figure.
When finished, your core should look like the final picture.
There are 27 \"x 96\" sheets in plaster nets or slabs.
The cost is about $9 a piece at Home Depot or Lloyd\'s.
Cut the mesh with tin shears, angle mills or metal saw blades.
The tape can be used to mark the cutting guide. -
It is almost impossible to draw a straight line on the grid.
Cut the mesh large enough to wrap it around all the exposed edges and the bottom of the MDF edge piece.
Do not wrap grids around walls or exposed edges.
Position the mesh and nail it to the top of the wood core.
Cut a small pie in each exposed corner and then bend the grid tightly around the curved edge of the core.
Trim corners of material, whether it may overlap.
You want all the slats as flat as possible on the core.
Bend the grid around the bottom edge and fix it to the bottom with staples.
Knock down any nail you are proud of with a hammer.
The finished wire mesh should look like the final picture.
Mixed intensified（polymer)
Thin layer mortar（
I use Versabond.
Follow the instructions on the bag.
It is strongly recommended to use a paint mixer driven by drilling holes.
If you have a big project, it will ensure that your mortar mixes well and will save you a lot of pain.
I found that the dry wall tools and the body \"Bondo\" spreader were the most suitable for me to use this thin set.
The \"right\" approach may be to use concrete plasters and floats.
I\'ve tried, and I\'m more satisfied with the tools shown in the photos.
Use the grid as the thickness guide and apply the first thin coating.
Push the mortar down into the mesh as far as possible, and then smooth it at the top of the mesh.
Don\'t care too much about the smoothness of the first layer.
You basically just want to fill the barbed wire with concrete.
When the first layer of thin aggregate is dry（
Usually at night)
As shown in the figure, use No. 30 to 50 sandpaper or angle grinder with concrete wheels to polish the highs and \"wipe the buttocks\".
At this point, you don\'t want anything to go smoothly.
You just want to get rid of the flaws, wrinkles and sharp points that affect the second coat.
Apply a thin second layer.
The goal of this coating is to apply about 1/16 \"to 1/8\" mortar to the plaster slabs.
If you create circular edges, you can get fairly smooth edges by simply cutting the paper into a small rectangle.
Coat the entire length of the edge with a thick layer of mortar, then start at one end of the workpiece, as shown in the figure, wrap the paper around the outline of the curve, and pull the paper to the other end of the workpiece.
With a little practice, you can feel how much pressure is exerted and how fast the paper is moving.
You\'ll also learn to hold paper so that the edges don\'t drag around in the wet mortar.
Mylar can do this well, but ordinary paper can do it at a critical moment.
In the process of drawing paper, don\'t worry too much if you leave a small line or ridge on each side of the paper.
It can be sanded off when it is dry.
This photo was taken after the edge of the paper was dried, just to show how the paper was formed and maintained when it was pulled down.
When the sheet is dry, sandpaper No. 50 is used to grind it to remove the high points, grease and wipe thread.
Apply the last thin layer. Be careful this time to make the surface as smooth as possible.
Your goal now is to get a fairly smooth surface at a uniform height.
When the last layer of thin coating is dry, the surface is polished with sand paper No. 80.
Mix a batch of unbonded cement slurry according to the instructions on the box. (
I used PolyBlend. .
Unbonded cement slurry has several basic colors, and you can buy tones to further customize the color you want.
You need much less cement slurry than thin cement slurry.
I mix the cement slurry by hand, not by drill and paint mixer, because the batch is too small.
Apply a thin layer of cement slurry on a rubber binder spreader.
You want each layer of cement slurry to be slightly thicker than the coarse sand in the slurry.
So the rule of thumb is multiple thin layers.
In order to smooth the curved edges of the grouting layer, I made a moulding tool by flooding a small roof.
As shown in the figure, the tool bends into a rough shape with curved edges.
Coat the entire edge with enough cement slurry, then pull the tool from one end of the workpiece to the other, and move right around any bending exposure angle that may exist.
It takes several exercises to feel the technique.
Don\'t worry if you leave fine lines or ridges in wet cement slurry.
You can come back when it\'s dry, fill low places and sandpaper any high places.
When grouting is dry（
Usually at night)
Block up the sand with sand paper No. 120.
The curved edges can be polished with fine gravel foam pad pads from ACE hardware or other suppliers.
After sanding, apply a thin layer of slurry.
Then grind it again when it\'s dry.
Keep putting a layer of cement slurry on until you can no longer see the thin concrete layer passing through the frosted cement slurry.
I have to apply three coats.
Depending on your particular project, you may need more or less.
When you can no longer see fine sand, block the sand with 240 sand paper and 400 sand paper for the last time.
Your results should look like the last two pictures.
If you want a straight stone appearance, you can skip any paint or special effects and apply the final epoxy coating on this.
However, if you want, you can also use a variety of techniques and materials to create artificial marble or granite effects.
There are dozens of ways to create these effects, dozens of websites and you-
The tube video describes these methods in more detail than I can.
Just Google \"artificial granite\" or similar terms.
I strongly recommend that you observe as many of these \"experts\" as possible and then do some experiments on your own to find out what works for you to get the results you want.
In this project, I use Kilz white latex primer as my \"foundation\" because it\'s what I have at hand.
I diluted the base with water and then added the acrylic paint to the apple barrel. (
Wal-Mart hobby area)
Coloring and shading of colours.
Use torn typewriter paper to dip in paint, then gently apply and drag on the workpiece to produce texture effect.
Cloudy/foggy areas are formed by applying a little paint and then stirring the top in multiple directions with a soft brush, just like referees throwing ash on the home plate.
If you make a mistake, don\'t worry.
Just put more paint on the top until you start to see an effect that you feel is right.
If you are satisfied with the marble/granite/stone effect and all the paints are dry, please apply Envirotex Lite epoxy finish.
This epoxy resin, commonly known as the \"strip top\", provides a thick, smooth self-leveling protective layer on the counter surface.
Just follow the instructions attached to the product.
Please note that envirotex is not ultraviolet resistant and should not be used in places exposed to sunlight.
Also, don\'t use it where hot pots and pans may come into direct contact.
It can be used in kitchen counters, but there are always suitable tiles or pan racks to place hot objects.
In addition, do not cut directly on the counter.
Use the cutting board.
This is the dresser installed in the small corner of the main bathroom.
There\'s also a picture of my wife driving a test drive.
The cost of making this dresser is difficult to estimate, because the amount of each material is very small, and I have many projects from previous projects.
However, I\'ll make a budget of about $200 for the 3\'x 13\'counter I\'m going to do in a few months, which will give you an idea of how much a larger project might cost when using this manufacturing method.
I hope that after the completion of the project, I can publish a detailed description of the cost of the project.