Liquid stone for countertops. What is it and what is it combined with?

Modern psychologists claim that people who successfully lead active professional activities, in fact, mentally have their place of residence not their house or apartment, but, strangely enough, their work. Having analyzed data on the average amount of time that people spend at their workplace, the circle of communication of working people, the content of their mental activity during the day, experts made an almost paradoxical conclusion: people live at work, and the home is a place for the necessary rest and restoration of strength.

But even without this information, it is absolutely obvious that the kitchen occupies a very special place in the overall arrangement of an apartment and a house. This is the holy of holies for housewives of all ages. Here, young girls make their first culinary attempts, accepting congratulations from their father and older brother. Wives cook, understanding how important healthy, home-cooked food is for the family. Grandmothers work hard, putting their love for their grandchildren into baking and sweets.

That is why it is natural for any person to want to arrange the kitchen as best as possible, providing it, if possible, with all the necessary furniture and other interior accessories. Nature has arranged the human body in such a way that timely food intake is extremely important for it.

Table top in the interior

People try to buy comfortable chairs for their kitchen, equip it with a high-quality soft corner and all the necessary cutlery. They light the room with bright, warm light from spotlights or chandeliers. At all times, the tabletop has occupied a special place. It has always perfectly coped with the function of the surface for installing all the necessary kitchen appliances, placing cutlery and cooking utensils, and a cutting board on it.

What is liquid artificial stone?

The half-century history of successful use of artificial stone is widely known. Its manufacturing technology is based on the property of stone chips molecules to enter into a high-quality, inseparable connection with molecules of synthetic resins. At the same time, the material obtained as a result of such mixing, due to subsequent surface treatment, both in its internal properties and in its external characteristics, is very similar to polished granite.

The year of creation of the material is considered to be 1967, when specialists from the French company DuPont first presented products made of artificial stone on the European market.

Benefits of using liquid stone countertops in the kitchen

1. Hygiene.

Thanks to special treatment, the material acquires active antibacterial properties. Such treatment gives it an absolutely smooth surface, which in turn does not allow organic substances, such as food particles or traces of pets, to stagnate there.

2. Easy furniture care.

Any cooking process inevitably involves the formation of a small amount of dirt. Spilled ketchup, chocolate, or sunflower oil... It is from such a countertop that they are extremely easy to remove. And is it worth mentioning that there are no traces left after this?

3. Resistance to damage.

It is difficult to damage a countertop made of liquid stone or spoil its appearance.

Let us recall that the material has almost all the properties of real polished granite. And therefore it does not have the disadvantages that wood and plastic have. It is impossible to leave a scratch on it with any sharp object.

It is worth mentioning the downsides as well.

• When using artificial stone as a material for making a kitchen countertop, you should be careful when using heavy objects such as a kitchen cleaver or a hammer on its surface.
  

  

• The second thing that cannot be ignored is the relatively high price of the stone.
  

  

Types of liquid stone

Depending on the material used as a binder and the proportion of quartz chips in it, artificial stone is divided into two types: quartzite and acrylic stone.

Quartzite (agglomerate)

The composition includes:

1. TOvartseva crumbs (at least 9/10 of the total mass);
2. TOcoloring pigments (the final color of the countertop varies depending on their combination with the shade of quartz chips);
3. Poleaster resin as a binder.

Such a high content of mineral components is achieved through a complex production process - vacuum high-temperature pressing of components. This implements an extremely durable structure of the material. The tabletop is not exposed to high temperatures that can be encountered in everyday life.

And it is clear that this version of the tabletop cannot be made independently at home. The parts of the overall structure cannot be glued. They are joined as a result of precise dimensional adjustment.

Acrylic liquid stone

The composition of this type of artificial stone is distinguished by a high content of acrylic resin as a binding material, and, accordingly, a small proportion of mineral filler.

The material also has its pros and cons.

• Due to the composition being filled with acrylic, the tabletop will be less “afraid” of chipping.
• Low thermal conductivity creates a warm feeling to the touch.
• Scratches accidentally left by a sharp object can be easily removed using sandpaper and GOI grinding paste.

Buying liquid stone

Planning to buy a good thing that will serve for many years, while having a good idea of ​​the necessary sizes, style and the material from which it will be made, there is very little left - to find somewhere a real embodiment of all this. And what a disappointment it will be if at this final stage we suddenly fail. What to do then? Resign ourselves to the inevitability of choosing from what is offered? Of course not!

There are at least two ways out of this situation. The first is to order a kitchen countertop, as you imagine it, directly from a furniture manufacturing company. The second is to make it yourself.

Manufacturing of countertops from liquid stone. Method of spraying polyester acrylic.

1. A form made of chipboard is prepared with the calculation that the stone will cover 5 mm of the surface on each side.
2. The creation of the form is partially carried out using a perfectly flat surface, such as large-format glass. A kind of formwork made of cut chipboard is mounted on it.
   

   

3. The entire inner surface is lubricated with wax mastic in order to create the necessary insulating layer.
4. Three layers of acrylic without dye are applied one after another using a spray gun. Each subsequent layer is not applied until the previous one has polymerized.
   

   

5. Next comes the preparation of the main mixture. For 3 parts of acrylic, 1 part of mineral chips and the required part of dye are mixed. The mineral chips must first be washed with water and dried. The hardener comes last, preceding direct application.
6. Then the mixture is applied to the inner surface of the form with a brush. It must be applied evenly and in several layers.
   

   

   

7. Let's start reinforcing. Glass mat is placed in the form and pressed down, onto which glue is applied (1:1 polyester resin and calcite) mixed with a hardener. A pre-prepared chipboard form is inserted. A load is placed on top.
8. Finally, the last layer of glue (1:1.5 polyester resin and calcite) mixed with a hardener is poured.
9. After the polymerization process is completed (about 4 hours), the chipboard blank is removed and the product is finally cleaned and polished.
   

   

Today, not all people can afford to buy expensive trendy furniture items and accessories. Not everyone can afford the services of professional interior designers, with their proposals for decorating with endangered wood species.

VIDEO: All about the production of countertops from acrylic stone.

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