Modernise your kitchen by painting the benchtop

Before you do anything, you'll need to get rid of all the old silicon – that's the stuff that joins your benchtop to the tiles or splashback. Use a silicon scraper for this – get right in there and make sure you pick all of it out. For stubborn patches, you may want to use Selley's Silicone Remover and some 180-grit sandpaper.

Once you've done that, brush the silicon away and give the surface a good clean with sugar soap and warm water. You want your area to be as free of grease, grime and dirt as possible before you get started – it needs to be squeaky clean so that the paint adheres properly. You don't want any nasty mould spores sticking around before you paint - get rid of them with a spray-on mould killer. A word of warning: this stuff's pretty potent, so open the windows, put some gloves on and maybe wear a face-mask – especially if you're sensitive to chemicals.

Once you've done this, grab some steel wool to lightly rough up the surface of your bench top – this helps the primer to stick. If you've got a really glossy surface, you might want to use some sandpaper for this part. After you're done, wipe off all the dust and grit off and you're ready for your primer.

Before you do anything else, make sure you mask up all your edges so you don't get paint over other parts of your kitchen. Once that's done, it's time to pour out your primer – we've used the Dulux Renovation Range Plastic and Laminate Primer. This comes with the primer in a tin and a tube of additive in the blue lid. Add all the additive to the tin, and stir for two to five minutes, then pour your primer into a 110mm tray and grab your roller. Start from one end and roll the primer evenly across the surface of your laminate benchtop – you'll know where you've been as it will look wet. You need to leave adequate time for your primer to dry – eight hours is optimum.

You're ready for your top coat! Like your primer, your Dulux Renovation Tiles & Benchtops comes with an additive. Add it to your tin and stir for two to five minutes. Pour into another tray and begin to paint. Use a roller and make sure you do long, even strokes across the top – you'll probably want to use a brush for the edges and corners. You should apply two coats and remember: between each coat use an empty roller to go over the surface. This is called ‘laying off' and means you'll have a nice, smooth, even finish. If you like, you can apply a clear protective coat to your surface, but this isn't compulsory.

Once your paint is dry you can remove your tape and re-apply your silicone. There are various ways you can do this – we applied ours with a slow pressure on the ‘gun', working away from the body. Once you've applied this, use the nifty custom tool to make sure it's nice and smooth.

You're done! And you've got a simple, easy and stylish way to redo your kitchen bench without having to replace it. Now sit back and enjoy the view…