Question: Our Corian countertops have gotten a few scratches over the years. Can these be fixed or is it a very expensive process?
Answer: Scratches in Corian are relatively easy to remove. You will need a palm sander. You can either use a round format random orbital or a quarter sheet palm sander. You will need several sheets of the following grits of aluminum oxide sandpaper: 120, 150, 180, 220 and 320, and several sheets of 400-grit wetordry (black) sandpaper.
Start with the 120-grit paper and sand until all the scratches are removed. Keep the sander moving so the surface remains flat. Wash and dry the surface and sand with the 150-grit sandpaper. Repeat with the 180, 220, and 320-grit sandpapers. Inspect the surface and if all the scratches have been removed go on to the last step. If there are scratches remaining, repeat the sanding steps from 120-grit through 320-grit.
When you have removed all the scratches, it is time to wet sand the surface to put a gloss back on. Put a sheet of 400-grit wetordry silicon-carbide sandpaper on your sander. Put three tablespoons of water on the surface you just sanded. Place the sander in this water and turn it on. Move it over the surface to polish it. Stop occasionally to clean and dry the surface. When you reach gloss level you want you can stop. If you would like a little higher gloss you can repeat this step with 600-grit wetordry sandpaper.
Below is a link to a Youtube video that shows how to repair scratches in Corian.
Battery tips
Have you ever taken a camera off a shelf where you have stored it for a couple of years only to find the batteries have corroded and ruined the camera? If you have battery powered devices, like cameras, portable radios, flashlights, recorders, MP3s, barbeque fork thermometer, etc. that you may not use again this year you need to remove the batteries to avoid them corroding and ruining the device they should be powering. I place the batteries in a plastic bag and tape it to the device.
If you have suggestions for future tips or have questions about maintenance around your home submit them to ask.the.woodchucks@gmail.com.
