The first step is to quarantine the room you'll be working in. I was lucky to be doing this project in the midst of renovations, so dust was aplenty. But, if you're living in the house while doing this project, you'll want to thoroughly seal off the space to contain the mess. Note that this is a multi-day project, so plan accordingly.
I used a coarse grit sandpaper on my sander to rough up the counters. It seems silly to sand granite which is a pretty darn strong material, but I did it anyway to really clean up the surface and sand down remnants of anything that I didn't want between the counters and the concrete. If you have a softer countertop material, this step is helpful for scratching the surface and giving the concrete something to grip to.
After wiping up the dust, I mixed the concrete according to the ratio on the bag (2 parts powder to 1 part water) to get a toothpaste consistency. If you're doing a lot of vertical work you'll want more of a peanut butter consistency, but if you're just working on the flat counter, it can be runnier. Find what works for you! I mixed small amounts at first to see how far it went. If you mix too much, it will harden and all you'll have is a concrete mold of your bucket.
Coating the counter was like icing a cake - over and over again. The first coat is similar to the crumb coat of a cake - not pretty but an important base for the next step. I dumped out the mixture onto the counters and used the trowel to spread it to an even thickness. You don't want to go too thick or you'll prolong the already-lengthy process. Coat everything and don't worry too much about the edges.
After the concrete dried for a few hours, I followed up with a scraper to knock down the bumps and imperfections. You can try to make it perfectly smooth right after you apply it, but it's often too wet and you end up messing up, then reapplying, then fudging a little, then reapplying. Hot tip: set a lamp low on the counter and point it parallel to the surface; this will emphasize the imperfections so you can scrape them off easily.
What I’ve been up to - from gardening, to film photography, and the books and shows we’re enjoying. Plus a house tour that requires a closer look, grass seed to always have on hand, cedar shake excitement, historic window screens, and the privilege I’m reminded of daily.