Staining Corian

[Karen Young]

Hi,

Has anyone ever successfully stained Corian? I have a kitchen full of white Corian that will be available as soon as the contractors can fit me into their schedule and I'd like to turn it, but there's just so much you can do with white. I found an article on eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_6623516_stain-corian-counter-tops.html, but it's very vague when it comes to which products to use. I've "commented" on the article asking for specifics, but haven't received a reply. I followed the links in the Reference section, but when I contacted those companies they said their product can't be used on corian. I also went to two different Home Depots, since this site appears to be linked to Home Depot, but no one in the paint department knew anything about it. Any suggestions welcome!

Karen

[Steve Schlumpf]

Karen - no idea if this will help or not but check it out... staining (http://www.ehow.co.uk/how_6623516_stain-corian-counter-tops.html).

[Scott Lux]

Try turmeric. It stains everything else. If my college roommate's spill is any indication, 1/2 cup should be enough to stain the deck of an aircraft carrier yellow. :D

[Dan Hintz]

Karen - no idea if this will help or not but check it out... staining (http://www.ehow.co.uk/how_6623516_stain-corian-counter-tops.html).
Steve,

Not enough coffee this morning? That's the same link Karen posted in her question :D

[Steve Schlumpf]

Well... that should teach me to not get in a hurry and to read the entire post before jumping on Google!

Sorry about that Karen! Hopefully someone here will be of some assistance!

[David E Keller]

Based on very limited research, I'm not sure you could reliably stain Corian... The Dupont website says it's non-porous, so you would be unlikely to get much penetration. Seems like it would be a good candidate for carving and texturing. Colored wax might be useful for adding interest to textured surfaces. Painting and airbrushing techniques might add interest as well.

[Keith Outten]

There is a glazing technique that works really well on Corian. I saw some Corian projects that were glazed at Jim McGrew's Aspire gathering, great stuff and all of the supplies you need are available at the Borg's. Sorry but I can't remember the details but I may have a document I was given at Jim's event if I can find it I will provide some details.

FWIW you can paint Corian with just about any type of paint, inlays work well and you can fill it with contrasting colored adhesive. Last but not least you can dye-sublimate Corian.
.

[Karen Young]

David - Dupont says it can't be stained, but my kitchen counter begs to differ (maybe the former owner used turmeric...) When I found the article on eHow.com I thought someone had found something that worked so I thought I'd reach out to see if anyone had done it. Regarding "painting and airbrushing", I'm still left at what type of paint would work on corian.

[Karen Young]

Keith - I've contacted Jim to see if he can share any information with me. I've also starting reading what I can find on dye-sublimate on Corian. Thank you for the pointers.

[Peter Blair]

I'm playing with making rings from Corian right now and wonder too about dying or staining it. I intend to do some tests later today and if I get any interesting information I'll pass it along here. As far as paint goes, I haven't tested it but would assume if the surface is scratched it would likely take most paints . . . .

[Reed Gray]

Well, it is a polymer, and I don't think that will take stains. I would expect that if you scuff the surface, pigment could fill in the scratches, but doubt it would stick. Well, it might temporarily. Personally I wouldn't want white counter tops. I am one of those who can get dirty in one of the sterile lab rooms...

robo hippy

[Richard Dooling]

I din't know what will work, but wine doesn't stain it and wine seems to stain everything. That's why I own so many burgundy shirts.

[John K Jordan]

Well, it is a polymer, and I don't think that will take stains. I would expect that if you scuff the surface, pigment could fill in the scratches, but doubt it would stick. Well, it might temporarily. Personally I wouldn't want white counter tops. I am one of those who can get dirty in one of the sterile lab rooms...

robo hippy

I've wondered about enhancing something from bland corian by cutting a groove and filling with metal powder and CA glue. That works well on wood.

I don't have a good picture but I used this on the goblet here:
428610

I haven't tried that on corian but I might. I seem to have some extra shop time this spring...

JKJ

[Jamie Buxton]

I've wondered about enhancing something from bland corian by cutting a groove and filling with metal powder and CA glue. That works well on wood.

I don't have a good picture but I used this on the goblet here:
428610

I haven't tried that on corian but I might. I seem to have some extra shop time this spring...

JKJ

Nice inlay on white corian.....seems quite like the proverbial lipstick on a pig.

[Keith Outten]

To me a stain is a product that is used on permeable materials, those that will allow the stain to be absorbed to some extent. Dupont Corian and all of the other solid surface materials are non-permeable. Paint and other types of finishes that adhere to a surface are the only option I know of that will work other than the glazing technique mentioned above.

I have mentioned this before, to the best of my knowledge I have used every type of paint from a large number of manufacturers on Corian and they work well whether sprayed or brushed. I prefer to use Ace Hardware brand spray paint because it doesn't load up sandpaper as bad. About 98% of the time I am using paint on Corian I either laser engrave or CNC Route a cavity and then spray paint the surface. Once the paint is dry I simply sand the surface to remove all of the surface paint. No masking required unless the cavity is not painted and the surface color needs to be changed.

For exterior service I prefer either enamel or acrylic enamel paint simply because I have lots of exterior signs installed that I used these two types of paint. I also use a lot of Testor's model paint for laser engraved evacuation maps. Many of these are painted with Q-Tips or artist brushes.

John, I often mix epoxy with small amounts of paint or sanding dust to fill laser engraved areas on handwriting pens. CA glue will work but I have more confidence in epoxy for its durability.

[Peter Blair]

So yesterday I put a small ring of white Corian in a red dye. It is slightly pink but the dye as has been suggested is only into the fine sanding scratches. At the end of the day I put a small piece of 1/2 think white Corian in the same dye and today I removed it and cut it in half revealing that no dye actually penetrated the Corian. Sure there is some surface colouring but that's it. Just verifying in my own way what all the experts here have already told us.

[Keith Outten]

Been thinking about this and a very long time ago we used to put our safety glasses in a pot of water, add colored dye and turn on the heat. There was a time when it was common to see people with safety glasses of every imaginable color and the dye was not just on the surface it sublimated into the plastic . I wonder if its possible to use this technique with Corian?

I dye sublimate Corian all of the time so I know the colors are not just on the surface. I use a heat press for sublimation, never thought about using clothing dye and boiling water. The pictures below are all dye-sublimated Corian and the color is one to three thousandths of an inch deep. This technique is to expensive for background coloring but it proves that heat might make using colored dye work.

[Keith Outten]

Peter, why don't you repeat your test and this time add some Ritz Dye from the grocery store, water and heat. You have to get the temperature hot enough to soften the plastic but not melt it.

[Peter Blair]

I may have done something wrong but yesterday I boiled a small white piece in some red water based dye and then sanded it a bit and the dye did not penetrate. I only boiled it for a few minutes though.

[Keith Outten]

Peter,

I'm thinking again. I dye-sub Corian at 320 degrees F for 20 minutes. The dye won't transfer until the Corian gets soft and I guess you can't obtain the required heat with open boiling water. My Bad.

[Peter Blair]

sooo, I'm no chemist although some of my friends do refer to me as the Mad Scientist. If I put a piece of corian in water and boil it I thought that it would only go to 212 f or 100 c? If this is not hot enough to soften the Corian how then should I get extra heat?
My wife doesn't like me experimenting in the house so I will be forced to use a counter top oven or microwave oven in my workshop. I am interested in this process because I would like to dye corian finger rings. So I only would need to do this to quite small reshaped pieces of Corian.

[Malcolm McLeod]

sooo, I'm no chemist although some of my friends do refer to me as the Mad Scientist. If I put a piece of corian in water and boil it I thought that it would only go to 212 f or 100 c? If this is not hot enough to soften the Corian how then should I get extra heat?
My wife doesn't like me experimenting in the house so I will be forced to use a counter top oven or microwave oven in my workshop. I am interested in this process because I would like to dye corian finger rings. So I only would need to do this to quite small reshaped pieces of Corian.

Use a pressure cooker. Maybe The Boss has one in a cupboard?

As pressure rises, the boiling point of water increases. Didn't read back, so not sure what temp you need, but I vaguely recall my Mom's cooker had a reference label on it; temperature vs the size of weight on the vent...?

[Bill Dufour]

I would try iodine. I have used it to stain pine to match old yellowed wood. Cheap and easy to try if you already have a spare drop. I wonder if it is sold out these days? Urine?
Bil lD