Performing minor repairs or refinishing can be cheaper than replacement as far as keeping your laminate countertop in great shape goes. But with so many repair and resurfacing kits on the market, filtering out substandard products can get tricky at times.
The best laminate countertop repair kits for minor repairs and refinishing are the Kampel SeamFil SF941 Original and Rust-Oleum Countertop Transformations Kit, respectively. Fix a Chip Repair Kit and Armor Garage Kitchen Countertop Refinishing Kit can be great alternatives.
Read on for details on the best laminate repair kits for correcting minor defects and refinishing, as well as useful pointers on what to consider when choosing kits for each purpose.
Types of Laminate Countertop Repair Kits
The first step in any buying process is knowing exactly what you need to avoid overspending unnecessarily or underbuying. The same rule applies to buying countertop repair kits.
Typically, countertop repair kits come in two types:
- Small kits meant for fixing minor countertop defects such as nicks, gouges, or scratches.
- Complete resurfacing/refinishing kits meant to give your entire countertop a new coating.
As you’d expect, resurfacing kits cost more. Thus, buying one of these to fix a minor scratch would be a waste of money. On the other hand, smaller kits won’t cut it when you want to resurface an entire laminate countertop.
The key is to buy what your countertop needs. To help you choose an ideal product, let’s review the best buys in each category.
Best Kit for Minor Laminate Countertop Repairs
When you want to make minor repairs on your laminate countertop, you want to choose a kit that’s pocket-friendly and versatile. This way, you’ll save a few bucks and make the most of your purchase by reusing the kit on other surfaces that might need patching up.
Here are two kits that tick both boxes:
Top Pick: Kampel SeamFil SF941 Original
Kampel’s SeamFil SF941 Original isn’t a kit per se because it’s a one-part laminate repair system that, unlike other repair kits, doesn’t involve color mixing. Instead, it comes ready to use, in a one-ounce bottle that can fill up to 8 ft. (2.4 m) counter seam with a 1/8″ (3.2 mm) bead.
This product takes our top spot for several reasons. First on that list is its ease of use, which is down to the fact that it comes premixed, with no color mixing involved.
With no color mixing required, you might wonder how you’ll find a color that matches your countertop. Well, there are up to 20 color options to choose from. These are custom-mixed to match the exact colors of the current line Pionite, Formica, Nevamar, and Wilsonart laminate.
If you still can’t find a perfect match for your countertop’s color, color mixing is still an option. Free color matching guides are available, along with the exact mixing proportions for Pionite, Nevamar, Formica, and Wilsonart colors.
This laminate repair solution is also versatile. You can use it to fill standard joints, chips, cracks, gouges, and virtually any other imperfection that leaves your laminate’s dark substrate visible.
The result doesn’t disappoint either.
Properly applied SeamFil forms a mechanical bond with your laminate’s substrate that dries hard, blends into your countertop’s surface, and conceals its imperfections throughout its life. What’s more, SeamFil-repaired parts don’t match just the rest of your countertop’s aesthetics; they also match its resistance to detergents, moisture, and other common household products.
Last but not least, SeamFil’s versatility, user-friendliness, and impressive results don’t come at a premium.
Perhaps the only drawback to this product is that you might need to purchase a Kampel SeamFil SF-99 Solvent separately. You can’t buy any other solvent, either; other solvent brands may cause crazing of the material. You’ll also need to purchase a retardant separately if you need it.
Pros
- Versatile
- Comes ready to use
- Forms long-lasting repairs
- Can withstand moisture, detergents, and other household chemicals as much as laminate
Cons
- Retardant and solvent sold separately
- Can only be used with SF-99 solvent
Runner Up: Fix a Chip Repair Kit
The Fix a Chip Repair Kit is all about versatility and cost-effectiveness. It can be used on various surfaces, including:
- Kitchen cabinets
- Plastics
- Laminates
- Countertops
- Desktops
It can also be used to repair furniture, boats, and vehicle parts.
This kind of versatility is especially handy because fixing a minor scratch, gouger, or nick in your laminate countertop likely won’t consume the entire product. You’ll likely have some leftovers, and you’ll want to be able to put them to good use in other parts of your home.
With over a dozen uses as far as home repairs go, you can rest assured you’ll be able to reuse any remnants.
To support its versatile usage, the Fix a Chip Repair Kit comes in up to seven colors to ensure that repaired parts blend well with the rest of your countertop (or any other surface you’re fixing). And if you can’t find a perfect color for your countertop from the seven standard choices, you can use the included mixing chart to create one that matches your specific countertop.
The kit is also fairly easy to use for the DIYer with the following steps:
- Simply mix the compound to match your laminate countertop color.
- Apply to the scratched/gouged/nicked area.
- Let it dry.
- Once dry, you may sand lightly to smoothen things up.
- Apply the clear finish. The surface should be ready to use in about 24 hours after applying the finish.
The result doesn’t disappoint either. The repair compound dries into a hard, durable plastic finish. And depending on how good a job you do with the application (i.e., your layering skills) and color coordination, you can match the repaired surface to antique colors and woodgrain.
As with any other product, this kit isn’t immune to a few flaws. Luckily, these have to do with your DIY skills rather than the product quality.
If your countertop doesn’t match the seven standard colors, you’ll need a bit of artistry to mix the colors to create a like-for-like match. Sure, a color mixing guide is included, but you still need some experience in mixing colors to get things right.
That’s why many online reviewers complain about being unable to create a compound that perfectly matches their countertop’s color, yet we still have people raving about the product’s effectiveness. It all comes down to how good you are at color mixing.
On the bright side, there’s enough product for a dozen repairs, so you have enough room to try several times until you get things right as far as color mixing goes.
Pros
- Cost-effective
- Versatile
- Long-lasting results
- Color mixing guide included
Cons
- Mixing the various colors to match your countertop requires some experience
Best Laminate Countertop Repair Kit for Refinishing
Refinishing is ideal when your laminate countertops are still in good structural shape but are beginning to look a bit old. It helps restore your countertops to their initial condition in terms of color and feel.
While factors like pocket-friendliness and versatility are important, durability and aesthetics take priority when shopping for a laminate countertop resurfacing kit. And since refinishing is a bigger DIY project than fixing chips and scratches, you’ll want your kit to include all the necessities. In other words, user-friendliness, too, is a critical consideration.
Let’s review two kits that meet these selection criteria.
Best Overall: Rust-Oleum Countertop Transformations Kit
Rust-Oleum is one of the best laminate countertop refinishing kits for novice DIYers. It comes complete with easy-to-follow instructions that don’t require any special skills to execute, as well as all the necessities, so you don’t have to pause your project to make a supplies’ run.
Here’s a list of what’s included:
- Adhesive base coat
- Wetting agent
- Decorative color chips
- A two-part protective coat
- A diamond-embedded sanding tool
- A sanding block
- A decorative chip dispenser and scraper
- Stir sticks
Moreover, the Rust-Oleum kit leaves your countertop with a durable finish that doesn’t fade. It can cover up to 30 sq. ft. (2.8 sq. m) or 12 ft. (3.7 m) linear countertop surface. If you have any leftover product, you can use it in your bathroom, too, because Rust-Oleum is versatile.
Wherever you use it, you can expect a premium natural stone look that resembles a newly installed HD laminate.
The one issue you might have with this kit is that sanding (one of the installation steps) can be a bit challenging with the included sanding block. It requires a significant amount of physical strength and precision (to avoid oversanding).
Luckily, you can solve this by using a power sander and then applying the finishing touches with the included manual sander to get your desired smoothness without exposing your old countertop.
Pros
- Beginner-friendly
- Creates a durable finish
- Gives countertops a sleek-looking natural stone look
Cons
- Sanding can be a bit of a hassle; you might need a power sander
A Great Alternative: Armor Garage Kitchen Countertop Refinishing Kit
If Rust-Oleum doesn’t meet all your requirements, you might want to look at the Armor Garage Countertop Refinishing Kit. Using this beginner-friendly kit involves only three steps of rolling on the coating; no squeegeeing or struggling to get the right look with special effect flakes.
The kit also comes with the essentials, including:
- Primer – 1 quart (946 ml)
- Stone epoxy – 2 quarts (1.9 L)
- Standard 2-coat clear topcoat or a super thick 1-coat topcoat
- 4″ (10 cm) roller tray and 3″ (7.6 cm) handle
- Topcoat and primer roller cover – 2 pieces; 3″ (7.6 cm)
- Special roller cover for granite epoxy – 3″ (7.6 cm)
- Granite epoxy corner roller
- Brushes (to cut in primer and clear coat application) – 2 pieces
- Step-by-step instructions
Perhaps the one shortcoming is that it doesn’t include conventional paint job accessories such as stir sticks (included in Rust-Oleum above). You’ll need to gather these separately. On the bright side, this kit gives you over ten color options, making it an ideal alternative if Rust-Oleum’s natural stone finish doesn’t appeal to you.
Pros
- Great for first-timers
- A wide range of color options
Cons
- Stir sticks aren’t included
Winding Up
There you have it; the top picks and alternative kits for the two types of laminate counter repairs. Hopefully, this post has simplified everything for you and that I’ve helped you choose the right product for your next DIY countertop repair/refinishing project.
