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MY SUN DAY NEWS

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Sun City in Huntley
 

Corian countertop maintenance

By The Woodchucks

Many of the homes in Sun City have Corian countertops. Over the years, many of these have developed stains and scratches that need to be removed.
Minor stains can be removed with a household cleaner like Simple Green. Pour a small amount of the cleaner on the stain and let it sit for a few minutes. Wipe the area with a microfiber cloth in a circular motion. Rinse with plain water and dry the area with a microfiber cloth or a paper towel.

For more difficult stains, use Bar Keepers Friend, either the “cleanser and polish” or the “soft cleanser” type. Wet the stain with water and sprinkle the area with Bar Keepers Friend. Let it sit for a few minutes and then wipe the area with a microfiber cloth in a circular motion. Rinse with plain water and dry the area with a microfiber cloth or a paper towel. If necessary, repeat this step.
Corian is a material that can be worked with standard wood working tools. In the wood shop, members have made cutting boards from Corian, and they have turned Corian into pens in the wood lathe.

Scratches can be sanded out, but read carefully and follow these instructions. Use a 1/4 sheet palm grip sander. These sanders have a 4 1/2″ x 4 1/4″ pad to hold the sandpaper. The sandpaper you use is 1/4 of a sheet or 4 1/2″ x 5 1/2″. Start with 220 grit and sand the scratches in a back-and-forth motion going beyond the scratched area. Keep the sander flat to the surface so you don’t dig in and keep it moving. Don’t sand too long in one area or you will develop low spots.

When you have removed all the scratches, look to see how the finish matches the unsanded areas. It will probably be more dull. If so, change the sandpaper to 400 grit to get from a matte finish to a semi-gloss finish. If you are getting too much dust, use a wet-or-dry sandpaper (black in color) and wet the surface before sanding. This paper is labeled wet sanding – waterproof. When you have a uniform finish on the surface, stop and rinse and dry the surface. If the finish on the surface is consistent, you are done sanding and ready to polish. In some cases it may be necessary to sand the entire countertop in order to get a consistent look to the finish.

Some Corian counters are made with a high gloss finish. If you have one of these, you may have to sand again with 600 grit sandpaper.

After your countertop is dry, you should polish it with a low speed polisher (1500 rpm to 2000 rpm) and polishing pads (Scotch Brite Polishing Pads are perfect). Apply some non-abrasive Corian cleanser to one of the polishing pads and use the low-speed polisher. Buff out the counter, reapplying the cleaner as needed using a gentle pressure to improve the general look of the countertop. This will restore much of the shine to your counters.
Next, change the polishing pads and add a little polishing compound to the pad. Slowly, gently, and moving in a circular motion, rub the polish into the countertop. Be sure that you are using a polishing agent that is designed to work with Corian. After applying the polish, wipe off any remaining excess polish, rinse, and dry the surface with a microfiber cloth or a paper towel.

For more information, look at this Youtube video:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=9e2yTizjyiU

• If you have suggestions for future tips or have questions about maintenance around your home, submit them to ask.the.woodchucks@gmail.com





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