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Introducing Custom Vanity Top Designer

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Design a Corian® custom solid surface vanity top with dual sinks.

Design a Corian® custom solid surface vanity top with dual sinks.

SolidSurface.com is known for carrying the top brands of solid surface sheet material. What you may not know is that we also have a virtual Custom Vanity Top Designer tool that makes it easy for you to virtually see your vanity top design come to life as you move through the steps. Design your own custom Corian® Solid Surface or HI-MACS® Solid Surface vanity top and have it shipped in as little as 15 business days.

For fabricators, this can be a real time-saver, especially if you have a project that requires multiple vanity tops. For the DIY’er, you can now virtually see as you create what your vanity top will look like.

Let us show you just how simple it is, as we walk you through the steps of designing and ordering your own gorgeous custom solid surface vanity top. Short video clips are included here to further assist you along the way. Choose your material color from the premium lines of either Corian® or HI-MACS®, decide the length, width, number of sinks or sink holes, and edge options, and you can see exactly how it will look. You can also save your design to your account or share it to get another opinion.

Navigation from the SolidSurface.com Homepage

You can find the Custom Vanity Top Designer on the top menu bar of any of the SolidSurface.com pages.  Mouse over, or click on, “Custom Vanity Tops” at the top to open the program. (When you Continue reading →

Customer Spotlight: Cat Eye Countertops with Jerry Michaels and Jim Glinski

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Backlit solid surface kitchen countertop using Light Tape® in Cat Eye from STUDIO Collection®

Beautifully backlit solid surface kitchen countertop using Light Tape®, Cat Eye from STUDIO Collection®

Using Cat Eye from the STUDIO Collection® and Light Tape®, Jerry Michaels (the idea man) and Jim Glinski (craftsman and author) create an incredibly unique solid surface kitchen countertop.

Here at SolidSurface.com we enjoy getting to know our customers. It’s always interesting to learn their background, hear their ideas for the solid surface sheet material they purchase, and then see their projects come to life. We had an opportunity to talk with one such customer, Jerry Michaels, and his craftsman, Jim Glinski, about their DIY project and how it turned out.

The Backlit Countertop

Jerry Michaels first came to us with an interesting project in mind for his kitchen remodel. He discovered a product online called Vitrazzo, which is a countertop product made of recycled glass. He found pictures of their product done with backlighting and knew he just had to have a countertop like that. What he also discovered was that the cost was way too expensive. He then set out exploring what other materials Continue reading →

How to Clean and Refinish Corian® and Other Brands of Solid Surface Countertops

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Corian® Sonora - matte finish

Image 1: Corian® Sonora in a matte finish

With the holidays right around the corner, you’re probably thinking about cleaning and getting the house in order before all the guests arrive. Two questions that come up quite often at this time of year are:

  • What is the best way to clean and refinish my Corian® [solid surface] countertop?
  • How can I remove stains from my solid surface countertop?

Whether you have Corian®, Avonite Surfaces®, LG HI-MACS®, Staron®, Mystera®, or any other type of solid surface countertop, the basics are the same since they are all made of acrylic-based resin material and fillers (except Aristech®’s STUDIO Collection® which is a more translucent resin).

Consider the Finish and the Color

Consideration of color is important when it comes to the use patterns and the way stains and blemishes are approached because darker colors show use more than lighter colors.

Before using any type of cleaner or performing any repairs on your solid surface countertop, consider the degree of shine on the finish and the color of the solid surface. The degree of shine on the solid surface finish is achieved by using increasingly finer grits of sanding abrasives. For a glossy shine, after using the fine abrasives, polishing with a buffing pad and polishing compound is the final step of the process. We mention this to assure you that what we discuss below is in keeping with the way the finish was originally applied to your countertops.

Examples of Shine

Examples of shine can be seen in the images of this article. Image 1 is done in a flat/matte finish where none of the objects on the countertop have a reflection. Image 2 has a satin finish denoted by the “not so distinct” reflection cast by the objects on the countertop. Image 3 presents a semi-gloss finish with a moderately distinct reflection. Image 4 shows a gloss finish where the reflections of the objects are distinct.

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8 Things to Consider for a Custom Corian® Vanity Top

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Corian® Vanity TopOrdering a custom Corian® vanity top on SolidSurface.com® can be a very rewarding experience, particularly when you have an understanding of a few important things to consider.  As the centerpiece of a bathroom, the vanity top, along with its vanity cabinet, must not only look stunning, but also:

  • Feel good to the touch with warmth and smoothness;
  • Be usable, forgiving and renewable (when needed);
  • Resist absorption of, or marring by, liquids;
  • Appear seamless for looks and hygiene; and
  • Prevent the growth of bacteria and germs.

Solid surface, commonly known as the brand Corian®, fits this description “like a glove.” Competitive products such as granite, quartz, laminate, cultured marble and tile have some of the above-mentioned characteristics, Continue reading →

Corian® Solid Surface for DIYers

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Oh the Things We Can Do!

For all you DIYers out there whose springtime juices are flowing, here are some things you probably didn’t know you could do with acrylic solid surface material such as Corian®, Avonite®, LG Hi-Macs® and many other brands. Simple woodworking tools are all you need to get started.

What is Corian® (a/k/a Solid Surface)?

Solid surface is a manufactured material most commonly used for seamless countertop installations. It is frequently referred to as Corian®, a product developed by DuPont™ in 1964.

Corian solid surface bathroom vanity tops look like marble.

It can be readily cut, routed and sanded like wood and formed into countertops, shower walls, external cladding for buildings, signage, and furniture where non-porosity and infrequent maintenance are highly valued.  These are just a few of the man applications.

Solid surface is made of acrylic resin, polyester resin or a combination of the two that is then combined with filler, color pigments, and acrylic chips. This composition is most frequently extruded or poured as ½” thick sheets that are 30” x 144” and are the same color throughout their thickness.

In addition to being workable like hardwood, it can be heated and thermoformed into curved and molded shapes. It can also be printed on, using dye-sublimation techniques that deposit the ink just below the surface so the image becomes permanent.

What can be done with it?

Thermoform It

Thermoforming (the process of heating and shaping synthetic material) is an increasingly popular way to utilize solid surface to create 3D curves and rounded shapes. This is a realm Continue reading →