How to Make a Backlit Cristallo Countertop With Resin and Acrylic
Updated: 2 days ago
The Most Sought-After Stone, Lit Up From Inside
Cristallo quartzite is one of the most sought-after natural stones on the planet. It’s soft, white and crystal-like, with fractures running through it. When you can find a slab at all, the price is usually out of reach.
So Mike set out to recreate it. And he didn’t stop at the look. He poured it over clear acrylic and lit it up from underneath, creating a backlit Cristallo countertop that glows like it belongs in a high-end hotel lobby.
In this video, Mike teaches Kathryn step by step. You’ll see how to cut and frost acrylic, the tint recipe, the drywall knife “chop” for realistic fractures, and the LED setup, all the way to the lights-on reveal.
[Click on picture to see full video— “Glowing Cristallo Countertop”]
Why Acrylic?
To backlight a countertop, light has to pass through it. MDF and plywood block light completely. Clear acrylic lets it through.
Mike used 3/4-inch clear acrylic sheet, the same kind of material used to build aquariums. It’s crystal clear and arrives with a protective film on it. He cut it the same way he cuts wood panels.
What You’ll Need
3/4" clear acrylic sheet
A circular saw with a carbide blade made for acrylic
A speed square, tape measure and clamp-on straight edge
A random orbital sander and 120-grit discs
A router with a 1/8" round-over bit with a bearing
Stands to raise the piece off the table, plus masking
Isopropyl alcohol
Resin (Mike used Clear Platinum in this video)
True Tint in True White and True Black
Mixing buckets, a measuring stick, a drill and mixing paddle
A drywall knife (for the chop)
A torch
Thin LED light strips and a 24-volt driver (sold separately from the lights)
Step 1: Cut the Acrylic
Measure and mark with a speed square and tape measure.
Clamp a straight edge in place to guide the saw.
Use a carbide blade made for acrylic. The right blade matters.
Cut in two passes, never one. Make a shallow first pass, then plunge all the way through on the second.
Repeat for the cross Step 2: Sand and Frost It
This is the step that makes the lighting work.
Frost the underside. Sanding the back gives it a frosted look, so the light diffuses instead of showing through as individual LED dots.
Sand the top wherever the resin will go. This creates “tooth,” a mechanical grip for the resin to bond to.
Use 120 grit. It goes faster, and acrylic tends to wear out ceramic sanding discs.
Skip the primer. The acrylic needs to stay see-through so the light can come through. The sanding gives the resin its grip.
Step 3: Ease the Edge
Run a 1/8" round-over bit with a bearing around the edge. It eases the edge while still keeping a clean, modern look.
[VIDEO: start at 3:17 for routing the edge]
Step 4: Prep for the Pour
Set the piece up on stands so drips don’t glue it to the table.
Mask off anything nearby.
Clean the surface with isopropyl alcohol.
Mike left the edges untaped on purpose for this test, to see how the resin behaved without tape.
[VIDEO: start at 4:56 for prep and cleaning]
Step 5: Do the Mixing Math
This piece is 6 feet by 2 feet, which is 12 square feet. At 6 oz per square foot, that’s 72 oz total. Mike split it into two 36 oz buckets.
A measuring tip from the video: the resin is a 2:1 ratio, and the back of our mixing bucket has 2:1 marks. Fill Part A to the mark for your amount, then fill Part B to the matching mark. No math on the fly.
Kathryn’s tip from customer calls applies here too: don’t make the job harder than it needs to be. Round up to an easy number. A little extra won’t hurt you.
Hold the bucket while you mix, and mix for 2 minutes.
[VIDEO: start at 6:38 for the mixing math]
Step 6: The Cristallo Tint Recipe
Cristallo is all about soft layers of white and smoke. Mike made three colors:
Color | Recipe |
Opaque white | 10 drops of True White per 10 oz |
Translucent white | 1 drop of True White per 10 oz |
Smoke | 1 very small drop of True Black per 10 oz |
The rule of thumb:
1 drop per 10 oz gives a translucent look, where light passes through beautifully.
10 drops per 10 oz gives an opaque look.
A pro tip for checking opacity: draw a line on a stir stick, dip it in your tinted resin, and see how much of the line still shows through.
[VIDEO: start at 10:07 for the tint recipe]
Step 7: Pour the Layers
Opaque white first. Pour it about 2 inches in from the edges.
Translucent white next, filling the spaces in between. These are the areas where light will glow through the most.
Smoke after that. Use it lightly. Even a small amount goes a long way.
Fill any gaps with a gray mixed from your leftover colors.
Push it to the edges with your gloved hands. Kiss the edge and come right back. Don’t push the resin off.
Scrape your hand off at the edge, so a little resin builds up there and flows over evenly.
No U-turns. Move across the surface in one direction rather than swirling back and forth.
Working with a partner? Mike and Kathryn each did half. On their next one, they’d switch sides partway through so the two halves balance out.
[VIDEO: start at 14:21 for the pour]
Step 8: Chop the Fractures
This is what turns soft white layers into Cristallo.
Mike uses a drywall knife. He cleaned all the old buildup off his with an angle grinder first, so it would cut a fine, crisp line.
Hold it loose and let the knife go straight up and down.
Don’t drag it. Dragging smears the pattern instead of fracturing it.
Change your angle slightly as you go, so it looks like nature made it, not a stamp.
Keep your chops spread out, not bunched tight together.
Run them right over the edge.
Keep a general direction so the fractures flow one way across the piece.
Then mist with isopropyl alcohol and torch. Add a little extra resin to the front edge and to any low spots while you still have working time.
[VIDEO: start at 19:43 for chopping the fractures]
Quartz or Marble? It’s All in Your Hands
Mike and Kathryn poured the same recipe on two halves of the same piece and got two different looks:
Mike’s side had fewer hand strokes, so it kept sharper contrast and read like quartz.
Kathryn’s side was worked more, which softened and evened out the tones into something closer to marble.
Both belong on the same piece. As Mike puts it, if you can follow a recipe, you can create countertops.
Want harder lines? Use fewer hand strokes. Want it softer and more elegant? Work it a little more.
Step 9: Light It Up
Even a flashlight held underneath shows the effect right away. But the LED setup is where the magic happens.
Use ultra-thin LED strips that daisy-chain together. The driver is sold separately, so make sure you order it.
Build supports from scrap template material to hold the lights up off the cabinet floor.
Notch out recesses with a multi-tool so the lights lay flat under the acrylic.
Set the countertop on top. You can register it in place so it lifts off whenever you need to reach the lights.
The next day, Mike sanded off the drips (he hadn’t stayed to wipe them every 15 minutes as it cured), set the piece over the lights, and switched them on.
[VIDEO: start at 24:37 for the flashlight test, and 27:09 for installing the lights]
The Reveal
With the lights on, the whole piece glows. The fractures, the translucent layers and even the front edge light up, and you can’t see a single LED dot. That’s the frosted underside doing its job.
The areas with more concentrated color actually make the glow pop even more. And every difference between Mike’s side and Kathryn’s side shows up in the light.
[VIDEO: start at 31:07 for the lights-on reveal]
Finishing It for Everyday Use
The piece in this video was shown before sanding and top coat. It still gets both. Anything used every day should be sanded and finished with Tough Top Coat, because the top coat is what gives it scratch resistance. You can finish it glossy, or frosted for a softer glow.
Where You Could Use It
Kitchen islands
Bathroom vanities (the ultimate nightlight)
Bars and reception desks
Tabletops and desktops
Wall art and accent pieces
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Cutting acrylic in a single pass, or with the wrong blade
Skipping the frosted underside (you’ll see every LED)
Priming the acrylic (it blocks the light)
Using too much black for the smoke
Dragging the drywall knife instead of chopping straight up and down
Bunching the chops too close together
Overworking the resin when you want crisp quartz contrast
Forgetting the driver for your LED strips
Skipping sanding and top coat on a piece that will see daily use
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a backlit Cristallo countertop?It’s a countertop that recreates the look of Cristallo quartzite, poured over clear acrylic and lit with LEDs from underneath so it glows.
What material goes under the resin?3/4-inch clear acrylic sheet, cut with a carbide blade made for acrylic.
How do you hide the LED lights?Sand the underside of the acrylic to frost it. The frosted surface diffuses the light so the individual LEDs don’t show.
Do you prime acrylic before pouring?Not for a backlit piece. Sand it for grip and skip the primer, so the acrylic stays see-through.
What’s the tint recipe?Opaque white is 10 drops of True White per 10 oz. Translucent white is 1 drop per 10 oz. Smoke is a very small drop of True Black per 10 oz.
How much resin do I need?6 oz per square foot. A 12 sq ft piece takes 72 oz.
What tool makes the fractures?A clean drywall knife, chopped straight up and down at slightly changing angles.
Does it need a top coat?Yes, for anything used every day. Sand it and finish with Tough Top Coat for scratch resistance.
Where do I get started?Start with the free Resin 101 training, and find True Tints, tools and top coat at remodelresin.com. Every project comes with free project support.
Question of the day: Cristallo, would you want it in your home? Rate it 1 to 10 in the comments. 10 means “I gotta have it,” and 1 means “no thanks.”
You Got This.
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