DIY Faux Marble Epoxy Countertop Tutorial

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Are you looking for a practical and cost effective way to upgrade your countertops? This is it! I have fallen in love with DIY faux marble epoxy countertops and I promise you will, too! Several years ago, I discovered Stone Coat Countertops for my first epoxy project and decided to give their countertop epoxy a whirl. I’ve never looked back! Their beginner-friendly products made it possible for me to achieve stunning results with my countertop makeover, and they remain my go-to for all of my epoxy needs. Not only are epoxy countertops beginner friendly, they are also super cost effective, SO durable, scratch resistant, stain resistant, bacteria resistant, and heat resistant up to 450 degrees. That’s a lot of resistance I can get behind!

Several months ago, I started planning a living room built-in desk and cabinet project and I knew I wanted to give the epoxy another try!

I’m cheap. I love the challenge of keeping my projects as low cost as possible. This project was no exception! I already had a perfectly good desk that I picked up from a thrift store a little while back and I wanted to figure out a way to incorporate it into my overall design.

Here is a quick mockup I did of my original design plans:

However, there are a few reasons the original desktop was not going to work for this project. 

1. It was too wide and would leave a weird gap to work with between the top and bottom of the desk. 
2. I wanted to increase my desktop space since I was going to add cabinets on top of the desk AND I wanted to be able to look out the window to the left while working so that meant adding a pull out slide of some sort in order to increase the workspace and change the direction I face.
3. I really wanted to do more epoxy. Two years ago, I built our kitchen countertops out of MDF boards and epoxy and I’ve been dying to do it since! This was the perfect opportunity. 

In order to accomplish all of these goals, it was clear to me that I needed to remove the original desktop and build my own – something I was actually very excited about!

I needed to build a new desktop, a slide out desk top and something to hide the slideout when it was not in use. AND, try to make it all look as cohesive as possible…

Why Should You Consider Epoxy Countertops?

You can get a custom, luxury look for much less! It cost us roughly $800 to build and epoxy about 100 square feet of kitchen countertop and we were quoted over $8000 for actual granite countertops…. that’s a no brainer to me. Create high-end surface finishes while staying within a budget that works for you. DIYers can easily achieve sleek and durable surfaces that give the appearance of professional work, no matter your experience level.

Stone Coat Countertops’ Countertop Epoxy is specifically designed to be poured over top of a variety of surfaces including porcelain and ceramic tile, laminate (formica), granite, marble, quarts, cultured marble, and solid surface like corian.

It’s perfect for easily creating richly pigmented, dark or earth-tone surfaces. Whether you’re mimicking the natural beauty of stone or clear-coating wood, it is low-odor, zero VOC epoxy that offers a pleasant indoor application experience for DIY homeowners and woodworkers alike. 

With long working times and self-leveling properties, achieving a high-end, smooth-as-glass finish on countertops, butcher block, wooden bar tops, and even shower walls has never been easier.

Designed to withstand heat, chips, scratches, and everyday wear, this epoxy ensures your surfaces look stunning for years to come. It’s also FDA approved for food contact and cleans super easily!

When I first decided to upgrade my countertops, I was overwhelmed by the options. That’s when I discovered Stone Coat Countertops’ epoxy kits. They made the process approachable, even for a beginner like me, and the results were stunning. If you’re ready to create a show-stopping countertop, check out their products here!

Not all epoxy is created equal. Stone Coat Countertops stands out because their products are specifically designed for DIYers, with detailed instructions and unbeatable durability. Plus, they offer customizable color kits to match any style. Use my affiliate link and code: PEARLS to save 10% on your next project!

Step 1: Cut and Sand the MDF Board

Using the table saw, we cut the MDF pieces to size. I needed one large piece to serve as the new desktop and one smaller piece to be the extra pull out desktop.

I also used some scrap pieces of wood and cut them to match the depth of the desk. I did this so that the desk top would be raised up about 1.5 inches to give room for  the pullout desktop. 

Then, I lightly sanded the edges using my palm sander just enough to round them out. I also rounded the corners a tiny bit as well so no little heads would get hurt when bonked into them.

 

I used 220 grit sandpaper to start and then went back over them very lightly with 320 grit. MDF board is super easy to sand so you don’t need much pressure at all! I also suggest wearing a mask or doing it outside because the sawdust is intense. 

Step 2: Paint the Desktop

Our kitchen countertops were painted to look like white marble but I wanted to try my hand at black marble this time. You have to be careful when you are using paint under epoxy. If you don’t use the correct paint you can run into issues with yellowing epoxy and/or difficulty adhering to the paint.

It’s important to use only use acrylic and latex paints when coating with epoxy. And, you must allow them time to fully dry. When varnishing art projects with epoxy, allow 24-36 hours of dry time to make sure that everything has time to off-gas and not pose a problem with chemically reacting with the clear coat of epoxy.

Paints that are NOT recommended to use with epoxy:

• Anything oil-based: oil paint, oil-based enamels
• Anything high-VOC (this causes chemical reactions and yellowing)

I found the most perfect, velvety black paint color out there. It was a custom color match at Home Depot (see picture below). I used a roller to roll the paint onto the MDF board. I did three coats to ensure it was totally even across the entire surface. 

If you don’t want to attempt painting your surface yourself, I highly recommend looking into Stone Coat Countertops’ several different epoxy kits that allow you to use different colors to achieve whichever look you’re going for. You can find their kits here.

Step 3: Paint the Veining

I found it a bit more complicated to make the veins of the black marble look realistic than the white marble I did in our kitchen. But through a lot of trial and error, I got there eventually! 

I experimented using a feather to draw on the veining, I tried a very thin paint brush, a sponge, a towel, watered down paint, concentrated paint, and different combinations of all of the above.

Here’s what I did that I was happy enough to move forward with.

First, I took a small bowl of water and added about a dime size of paint and mixed it in. Next, using a paint brush I transferred the watery paint to the desk top. I blew on it with my own breath to move the watery paint around in very vague shapes of veins and then let it dry. This produced a murky, kind of dirtier more stone-line appearance to the surface of the desktop instead of just plain black.

Once that was dry, I used a dry bowl and added another dime size amount of paint and a small splash of water. Taking a small, thin paint brush, I traced the thicker outlines of the watermarks and then used a wet towel and dabbed over them to soften the edges.

I kept repeating that process until the veins started to become more pronounced. I didn’t want a huge contrast between the veins and the black so I stopped before it got too crazy. 

Once everything was completely dry, I went back over it all with a paint roller and very watered down black paint just to soften all of the veins evenly. 

The nice thing about painting MDF board this way is if you mess up or don’t like what you’re seeing, you can always start over! Just roll your base paint back over the area you’re not happy with and try again.

Pro tip: make sure you carry the veins down the edges of the board just like real marble does!

Step 4: Epoxy the Desktop

Hands down, the absolute BEST countertop epoxy is made by Stone Coat Countertops. I had absolutely ZERO experience with epoxy of any kind before doing our kitchen countertops in 2022 and as a complete newb, I was able to create a full kitchen of countertops that people constantly compliment and ask where we got our marble at – lol! I don’t say that to brag but to hopefully make you see that there is NO WAY I would have been able to do that if it weren’t for Stone Coat Countertops’ amazing products!

Their countertop epoxy is so easy to use and leaves such an amazing finish that is durable, heat resistant up to 450 degrees, stain resistant, scratch resistant, and beautiful! And did I mention… addicting!! 

I’m going to break it down step-by-step for you:

1) Prep Your Area

The epoxy is messy and anything it touches will be epoxied for life. So, using thick, plastic drop cloths I covered the ground beneath my workspace. I also draped plastic from the work table down to the floor and created little troughs for the epoxy to collect in.

2) Mix the Epoxy

Using two quart size plastic containers, mix part A and part B together in a 1:1 ratio. Mix thoroughly using a paint stick for 1-2 minutes. Don’t freak out when you see a million little bubbles in the epoxy while mixing it – totally normal and you’ll eliminate them in later steps.

3) Pour the Epoxy

Pour the epoxy onto your surface in a S shape.

4) Spread the Epoxy

Using a paint brush, spread the epoxy evenly over the surface. When you get near the edges, push enough epoxy over the edge so that it coats the edge and drips off.

The epoxy is self leveling so it will even out with time. Take your paint brush and run it along the edges to make sure they have an even coat of epoxy.

Repeat steps 2-4 until the entire surface is covered.

5) Check Epoxy for “Things”

Once you’re done pouring your epoxy, look back over it very carefully for “things” – bugs, dust, hair, dog hair, paint brush hairs, etc. Use tweezers or a toothpick to pull out what you find.

Anything you miss will be there permanently once it cures.

You have about 1 hour to pull things out before it won’t level itself back out.

6) Use the Heat Gun

Use a heat gun (or blow torch) to pop all of the bubbles in the epoxy. Keep the heat gun about 2 inches away from the surface and move it around slowly watching all of the bubbles pop. You don’t want to hold it in one place too long because you can burn the epoxy.

The heat from the gun will also act as one last leveling mechanism.

Don’t forget to heat your edges, too!

7) Scrape the Drips

Your epoxy should be dripping off of the edges. About 1 hour after you poured the epoxy, come back to it and use a paint scraper to scrape off all of the drips. You’ll have to do this a few times over the next couple hours. As the epoxy cures it will stop dripping eventually.

 

I usually set timers to scrape after 1 hr, 2 hrs, 3hrs and 3.5 hrs. Peek at it after 4 hrs but it likely won’t be dripping anymore. If you missed any drips and they cure, you can easily sand them off.

8) Let it Cure

The epoxy will be hard to the touch within 24 hours. After three days it is safe for light use but it does take a full 7 days to completely cure. After that, you’re good to go!

9) Apply a Second Coat (optional-ish)

For a thicker and more durable surface, repeat steps 2-8. Technically, you don’t have to if you don’t want to.

Step 5: Apply the Ultimate Top Coat (optional)

After your epoxy is fully cured you can stop there -I did in our kitchen! I have been incredibly impressed with how well our kitchen countertops have held up over the years. Aside from normal wear and tear type scratches (which are only visible if the sun is hitting it just right) we haven’t had many other problems.

However, if you want to add an extra layer of protection then you’ll want to apply The Ultimate Top Coat. Using the Ultimate Top Coat will provide maximum scratch resistance and resilience to your surfaces. It does have a little bit of a texture to it that you can see and definitely feel. 

I opted to use it for this desktop because I wanted it to look more stone-like and have a matte finish and I wanted to test the durability difference between this and our kitchen countertops. 

Here’s what I learned…

Applying The Ultimate Top Coat is stressful and tricky but if done correctly, it is DEFINITELY much stronger than just the epoxy itself.

Key Features of The Ultimate Top Coat:

• Exhibits extreme resistance to heat damage and scratches
• Simple single-coat finish
• Available in two gorgeous TEXTURED sheens: Matte and Gloss
• Easy 2:1 mix ratio by volume + water   
• 15 minutes of work time
• Cures in 24 hours
• FDA approved for food contact
• Low-odor for indoor use 

First, I’m going to walk you through how to apply it CORRECTLY. Then, I will tell you what I did and how it turned out – lessons learned!

1) Prep the Surface

You must allow fresh epoxy to cure 24 hours before sanding the surface and edges.

Use a random orbital sander (very important!!) and 220 grit sandpaper on the epoxy surface until a MATTE finish is achieved. Sand using 320 grit when applying Ultimate Top Coat in Textured GLOSS Finish.

Next, use a dry rag to wipe away as much dust as possible. Then, go back over it with a wet rag to get the rest of the dust off.

Once that dries, clean the sanded surface with 91% isopropyl alcohol and allow it to fully dry. 

Use contractor masking tape to remove the lint from the 1/4” roller covers. Roll the rollers across the tape until all lint is removed. 

For a 40-square foot kitchen, prepare 2 rollers to apply the material wet and 4 rollers to dry-roll and remove excess material. I had about 15 square foot so I did not use as many rollers.

2) Mixing

From their website exactly:

“Textured Matte Finish:

• Multiply the project square footage by .275 to determine how much Ultimate Top Coat to mix.
• Multiply the amount of Ultimate Top Coat needed for the project by .16 to determine the amount of room temperature water to add to the Ultimate Top Coat after mixing.
• Measure and mix the material with a flat bottom paint stick at a 2:1 ratio in a mixing cup for 45-60 seconds.
• Add in the room temperature water and mix again until a consistent mixture is achieved. 

Textured Gloss Finish:

• Multiply the project square footage by .275 to determine how much Ultimate Top Coat to mix.
• Multiply the amount of Ultimate Top Coat needed for the project by .5 to determine the amount of room temperature water to add to the Ultimate Top Coat after mixing.
• Measure and mix the material with a flat bottom paint stick at a 2:1 ratio in a mixing cup for 45-60 seconds.
• Add in the room temperature water and mix again until a consistent mixture is achieved.”

3) Application

Pour the fully mixed mixture into a paint pan.

Use a delinted 1/4” nap microfiber roller to apply the material over the project one section at a time*. Make sure to apply material over the entire surface and edges. 

Feather out high point lap lines while your Ultimate Top Coat layer is still wet. This is very important! You will see lap lines even if you do a very good job at this but the better you are at feathering them out the less visible they will be.

Product will go on milky white and dry clear

PRO TIP! Keep from over dry-rolling as the material sets up. Attempting to dry-roll once the material is past the 15 minute work time and has become VERY tacky, the roller will pull the material and cause peaks and stippling to occur.

The Ultimate Top Coat will be dry to the touch in 8-10 hours and ready for light use in 24-48 hours. 

I have a highlight on my Instagram account called “Epoxy Desk Top” that details videos of me doing this entire process. If you ‘d like to see more, check those out!

So, What Went Wrong?

Well, a few things…

First, their instructions say to use a random orbital sander to sand the epoxy but I didn’t have a random orbital sander. I did have a palm sander, though, so I tried that instead. IT DID NOT WORK!

Because the palm sander only moves back and fourth instead of in a random motion, it was leaving a lot of sanding tracks. I don’t know for sure, but because they say to use a random orbital sander I can only assume it’s because the sanding tracks may show through under the Ultimate Top Coat.

I quickly aborted that mission and acquired a random orbital sander from my father. That left a muuuuch smother surface. So, lesson number 1: USE A RANDOM ORBITAL SANDER!

Lesson number 2: use very light pressure when sanding! My epoxy was not very thick on the edges and the sander took it right over in some areas, exposing the MDF board. I just went back over those spots with my black paint to cover it up.

Lesson number 3: Alright, so, even though I read and re-read and RE-READ those instructions, I still managed to screw it up. For some reason, I was really struggling with the mixing instructions. They aren’t quite as clear as I would have hoped. 

They don’t include any units of measurement which was throwing me off. As long as you mix a 2:1 ratio and add in your water, you should be fine.

My top coat was still very wet after 10 hours and just starting to get tacky after 24 hours. I obviously did something wrong. Looking back at the photos I was taking along the way, I most definitely did NOT mix a 2:1 mixture. It was closer to 1:1…oops. 

After discussing it with the brand, I decided to just let it keep going to see what would happen. After several days it did finally get hard to the touch and then after several more days it eventually cured. And now, it’s tough as nails!!

Had it never gotten hard to the touch, their advice was to scrape it off, sand it down and start over.

SO, how did it turn out? A M A Z I N G ! !

Materials Needed

• Desktop/countertop
  • 4×8, 1/2in MDF Board
  • Table Saw
  • Palm Sander
  • 220 Grit Sand Paper
  • 320 Grit Sand paper
  • Black Paint
  • 1/4in roller
  • Acrylic Paint
  • Paint brush
  • Rag
• Epoxy
  • Painter’s tape
  • Plastic drop cloths
  • Countertop Epoxy – 1 gal kit
  • 2 Epoxy Mixing Containers
  • Stir stick
  • Paint Brush
  • Tweezers
  • Heat Gun
  • Paint Scraper
• Top Coat
  • Random Orbital Sander
  • Dry rag
  • Wet rag
  • 91% isopropyl alcohol
  • Ultimate Top Coat
  • 2 Mixing Containers
  • Water
  • Stir Stick
  • 3-6, 1/4in rollers

Upgrading your countertops doesn’t have to be expensive or intimidating. With the right tools, a little creativity, and the amazing products from Stone Coat Countertops, you can achieve a custom, high-end look that will have everyone asking, “Where did you get this done?” Whether you’re a seasoned DIYer or just starting out, Stone Coat Countertops’ epoxy kits give you the tools to create professional results at home. Don’t wait—check out their products here and use my discount code: PEARLS to start your dream project today! I hope this tutorial inspires you to take on your own DIY project and create something uniquely yours.