Restoring/protecting kitchen worktop?

[Roger465]

A couple of years ago I had my ancient and hideous kitchen worktops replaced. Folks here recommended Duropal, so I was happy when that was the range offered by the kitchen fitter.

Unfortunately, the surface seems very soft and vulnerable to damage. We really wanted a glossy black imitation marble finish, and were very happy with it at first, but now is completely covered with a network of tiny scratches, which doesn't look great.

It gets very light use – no children here, and we don’t cook often. It’s really just setting cups and plates and things on it which seems to have had such a bad effect.

I emailed Duropal to ask if there was anything we could do, but there response was “Please be advised that scratches on laminate worktops are caused by mechanical means and it is not possible to restore the worktop surface finish.” Helpfully, they went on to say if we weren’t satisfied “please can you register your complaint with the company you have exchanged monies with in the first instance.”

Anything I can do to restore/protect the surface?

Thanks

 

[Lower]

A car wax polish will help disguise the scratches.

 

[Deleted member 174758]

Unfortunately, the surface seems very soft and vulnerable to damage. We really wanted a glossy black imitation marble finish...

And there's the rub - high gloss surfaces in any material show every mark, every scratch, so you end up polishing and polishing, and well... (think about what you need to do with a car)

I don't know if I was in that original discussion, but I'd certainly recommend Duropal worktops over many others because they really are made very well with a very good seal along the front edge (underside), however, if anyone ever says "high gloss worktops" to me (especially dark coloured ones) I always say the same: OK to fit if you don't want to use them extensively - they are the sort of sort of thing you fit to sell a house (then move - fast - or eat take aways until it is sold), but they are a complete disaster if you want a practical kitchen because they show every scratch. Don't blame Duropal - their laminate is no better or worse in terms of hardness than any of the other better quality manufacturers (e.g. Bushboard, Wilsonart, Resopal, etc) - this may sound harsh, but I'm afraid you simply chose an inappropriate material for a busy kitchen, and if I'd been asked to fit it I'd have advised against it (twice bitten?). If you want a worktop which won't show marks as much you need to go for a textured surface and choose a multicolour (e.g. astral quartz, abruzzo, etc) which will help hide marks from usage and also get into the habit of using trivets beneath pans and not dragging stuff across the worktop (i.e lift things)

Anything I can do to restore/protect the surface?

Keep polishing it, as @Lower recommends. it'll disguise it for a while, but you cannot restore it

 

[Roger465]

Thanks for that - at least I know. Funny enough, the fitter did try to steer me away from it, but only because "It'll make the kitchen look dark." He certainly didn't mention the finish...

Oh well, maybe we can give it a good polish with Autoglym, then put lots of mats on it