Kitchen Project: Polycrylic on Countertops

When deciding what to seal my countertops with, I had to research several options.  Many suggested polyurethane, but others stated that it could yellow over time.  I did not want no pissed on looking countertops, so I chose Minwax Polycrylic finish. This stuff looks like milk, and is like painting with it. It's super watery, paints on easy.  But it stinks to high heaven. Ventilation is key.

I was a bit freaked out when it painted on and IT WAS BLUE. 

Holy crap, it's blue...

But it dried clear and shiny.  Very nice.

My mom read that putting on several thin coats is better than thick coats.  She, like a sensible woman, painted the first coat on thin.  I decided her section would be the control group, and poured that shit on the counter and slathered it around with the paint brush.  

Luckily, thick coats are fine.  Especially with this textured paint, I'm going to need a ton of coats.  Right now there is 6 thick coats, and I'm guessing at least 4 more will be needed.  

Bubbles are bad.  This was really only a problem around the bottom edge of the counter, probably because I wasn't putting enough of the Polycrylic on the paintbrush because I was trying to avoid drips.  The half-dry paintbrush created a bubbly foam.  The bubbles create white areas when dry. 

 

You can see the white area centered in the picture where bubbles were accidentally allowed to dry.  I will be sanding that down before I add any more coats. Also, note the texture of the countertops.

The most ghetto factor is that when this stuff gets wet or hot, it turns back to that weird blue-white shade. What the hell is that?!? Why wasn't I warned of this??

It goes back to normal after it dries. Not really what I'd like to happen, especially if I ever have guests over.  Being accident prone, I will spill something, and then I'll have mood-ring countertops.  I'm going to look for a solution to this oddness.

Fun fact:  Rubbing alcohol will get oily dog barf out of couches (as mentioned in a previous entry).