How to Cover Old Tile Countertops With Resin (No Demo Required)
You Don’t Have to Rip Out Your Tile Countertops
Heavy grout lines, a dated no-drip edge, and a worn-out sink: it’s one of the most common kitchens out there. It’s also one of the questions we get most: “Do I have to tear out my old tile to get new countertops?”
No, you don’t. In this masterclass, Mike Quist and his sons take an old tile kitchen and turn it into a Black Pearl stone countertop with a full-height backsplash and chiseled rock edges. They remove only the front cap tile. The backsplash tile, the underlayment, and the rest of the countertop stay in place.
This post walks through the whole process, including the mistakes and the fixes. You can see exactly what it takes before you start.
Why Going Over Tile Makes Sense
Tearing out tile means hauling debris to the dump, damaging the kitchen, and buying all-new substrate. Going over it means you work with what’s already there.
Mike puts it simply. If you have more time than money, covering the tile saves you money on demolition, disposal and supplies. If you’d rather save time, you can hire out the demo and start fresh. Either way, you end up with a high-end stone look for a fraction of what natural stone costs.
Before You Start: Prep the Job Site
Remove the appliances and the sink. Pull the dishwasher, sink, cooktop and anything else in the way.
Turn off the power at the breaker. Test with a voltage tester before you disconnect anything. Have a helper call out from the breaker box while you find the right circuit.
Check the shutoff valves first. Shut the water off and turn the faucet on. If water still comes out, the valves need replacing before the sink can come out. Mike sees this on about one job in twenty.
Test every outlet before you touch anything. Some won’t work, and some run off a switch. If you test first, you can point out a dead outlet to the homeowner before it becomes your problem.
Order the new appliances now. If you’re swapping the sink, cooktop or dishwasher, order them before you start. That way they’re on hand when it’s time to dry fit.
Protect the floor. Do a final sweep, then cover it. Mike reuses quarter-inch sheet goods cut into 2-foot strips as floor masking from job to job.
Step 1: Remove Only the Cap Tile
The front cap tile, the no-drip edge, is the only tile that comes off. Use a wonder bar and a hammer, with a helper to catch the broken pieces. It’s the messiest part of the job, but it goes fast.
Once the cap tile is off, remove the cement backer board from the face of the countertop. Use a multi-tool with a grout removal blade. Plunge through from the top and angle the cut slightly so you don’t hit the cabinet face.
This takes the front edge back to the raw plywood, which is what you want before adding a new edge. The cut doesn’t need to be perfect, because you’ll fill that void later.
Step 2: Build a New Front Edge
Rip MDF into 1½" strips. Mike uses scrap pieces seamed together, since this part won’t show.
Pre-drill the screw holes. This step is optional, but it helps the screws countersink cleanly.
Screw the strips to the plywood face. Set a level across the top of the existing tile to set the edge height. Everything needs to be flush for the next steps.
Run the edge long, then trim it in place with a multi-tool. Overlap the final piece so the edging runs continuously around the counter.
Step 3: Template the Full-Height Backsplash
Never build a full-height backsplash without a template. This is where most of the work goes, and getting it right is what makes the install go smoothly.
What you need:
Template material. Thin plywood, about 2.7 mm (1/8"), ripped into 2" strips. One sheet gives you 24 eight-foot strips. Use plywood, not Masonite: superglue grabs plywood much better.
EdgeLock tape to hold the strips to the wall while you work. On a countertop, gravity holds a template in place. On a wall, you need something to hold it up.
Instant Bond & Activator (superglue and accelerator) to join the strips permanently. Use a small dab, a quick spray of activator, and hold for about 10 seconds.
How Mike does it:
Header and footer first. Put up the top and bottom strips, then glue every other piece off of those, the same way you’d frame a wall.
Keep the strips below the outlet screws. That way the template catches the outlet locations without forcing you to notch the backsplash.
Put a “band-aid” over every seam. Glue a short strip across each joint so the template can’t come apart in your truck.
Label everything: top, bottom, outlets, switches, edges. You won’t remember it all back in the shop. Recording a video of the template on the wall helps too.
For a long run, split the template. Add a support strip on each side of where the seam will go and draw matching lines across it. Then cut the header and footer with a multi-tool so the two halves line up perfectly later.
When Mike and his son tried to pull two glued strips apart, the wood tore before the glue joint did.
[VIDEO: start at 13:51 for backsplash templating]
Step 4: Fabricate the Backsplash in the Shop
Seam the MDF before you cut. For a long backsplash, glue two sheets of ¾" MDF together into one oversized panel.
Use biscuits to keep the top surfaces aligned. Mike made his own from a 2x4 on the table saw.
Glue the joint, then clamp it from the sides and across the top.
Put tape under the seam so any squeeze-out doesn’t glue the panel to your support boards.
To test it, Mike stacked weight directly on a glued, biscuited seam. It held 200 lb, and when it finally broke, the MDF tore rather than the glue joint.
Trace and cut as one piece. Lay the templates on the seamed panel, clamp them down, and trace. Make the straight cuts with a circular saw or table saw and finish with a jigsaw. Cutting the whole panel after it’s seamed is what makes the fit exact.
Cut the outlets with a jig. Glue together a frame the size of an outlet from scrap MDF, then follow it with a top-bearing router bit. The outlet cutouts don’t have to be perfect, since cover plates hide them.
Prep the edges.
Fill exposed MDF edges with fast-dry spackle. This seals the porous MDF so it doesn’t soak up resin, and it helps the resin flow.
For an organic “live edge” on a ¾" piece, apply Bondo, tap it to raise peaks, then knock it down. It works like a knockdown drywall texture.
Fill screw holes and the butt-joint seam so they don’t ghost through.
Sand everything with 220 grit, and add a small round-over where the backsplash meets the cabinets.
Step 5: Cast the Chiseled Rock Edges
This is what makes the countertop read as real stone. Mike casts the edges in Rock Edge Molds using Rezin Rock, a fast-curing 2:1 mold-filling resin.
Level the pour table. Mike uses adjustable cabinet leveling feet and a laser. Find the high point and bring everything up to it, so the resin levels in the mold instead of running to one end.
Mix Rezin Rock at a 2:1 ratio for 2 minutes with a drill, tinted with your recipe colors. He used the Black Pearl recipe so the edges would match the countertop.
Do an “exotic pour.” Pour the colored buckets back into one bucket and give it a quick stir. Pouring that into the mold creates horizontal grain, like layered natural stone.
Fill the mold. A chiseled edge takes about 48 oz, and a flat edge about 15–18 oz.
Torch lightly to release air bubbles.
Demold in about an hour. Fast cures mean you can pour several edges in one day with a single mold.
This kitchen used two chiseled edges plus a short flat “appliance edge” beside the fridge, so the fridge slides against a smooth face.
[VIDEO: start at 57:22 for casting the rock edges]
Step 6: Pour the Backsplash
Mike pours the backsplash flat in the shop, the way every Remodel Resin project is designed to be poured.
Prime with Resin Bonding Primer in the color your recipe calls for. Black Pearl calls for black. Use a ¼" nap roller, do the top first and then the edges, and don’t overload it.
Tape over the outlet holes. This keeps the veins from looking like they drain into a hole, which would look man-made.
Mix Rezinite. It’s a 1:1 extended-working-time resin, and Mike chose it because the shop was warm (about 78°F). Mix for 2 minutes, scraping the sides and bottom, until the color is uniform throughout. For a 20 sq ft backsplash, he mixed two 64 oz buckets.
Follow the recipe. The recipe calculator at remodelresin.com tells you exactly how many drops of each color to add for the amount you’re mixing.
Spread the colors evenly. Don’t dump all of one color in one spot. Work it in with a gloved hand, then do a Bondo chop in the same direction as the grain.
Mist with isopropyl alcohol, then torch. This creates the “reactive resin” movement you see in natural stone. Give the alcohol a few seconds to work before you add more.
Pull the tape when the resin starts to gel. If you pull too early, the resin runs. If you pull too late, it won’t flow over the edge.
Step 7: Sand, Top Coat, and Install the Backsplash
Sand from 180 up through 500, top coat, then polish (see Step 12 for the full finishing process). Then take it to the job site.
Turn the power off to the outlets. Unscrew the outlets so you can pull them through the backsplash openings.
Dry fit first. Set the bottom in, lean the top toward you, slide it into place, and fish the outlets through.
Reinstall the outlets with longer screws. The backsplash adds ¾" of thickness. Once the outlets are screwed back in, they mechanically pull the backsplash tight to the wall.
Side splash tip: build it slightly oversized, install the main backsplash, then measure and trim the side piece for a perfect fit. Hold it with EdgeLock tape and PL adhesive. Put temporary screws where the joint will be covered later.
Lesson learned on this job: Mike didn’t add a return edge to the side splash, so the old side tile left a visible gap. He popped those tiles off in about five minutes. Next time, he’d add a return edge to cover the tile instead.
Step 8: Fix Loose Tile and Fill the Gaps
Removing the cap tile can loosen a few tiles and leave a gap along the front. Fill it with rapid-set mortar mixed with polymer powder, which makes the mortar stronger, stickier and resistant to cracking.
Mix it to a thick peanut butter consistency. Too wet, and it disappears into every crack.
Screed it off a temporary wood guide screwed flush with the new edge. You don’t need concrete skills for this.
Smooth it with a damp sponge. Fill solidly under where the sink rim will sit, so the countertop doesn’t sound hollow when you knock on it.
Let it dry before the next step.
Step 9: Dry Fit the Appliances and Cut the Openings
Dry fit the sink and cooktop now, before the veneer goes on. If an opening is too small, cut the tile with a masonry blade made for tile. Mike’s first diamond blade started glowing, a sign it would warp. Then finish the cut through the plywood with a jigsaw.
Trace the outline of each appliance with a Sharpie. Later, you’ll overlap those lines with the veneer so everything still fits.
Step 10: Cover the Tile With a Veneer
This is where the tile disappears.
Clean the tile. Sweep, wipe it down with isopropyl alcohol, and scrape off any high spots like old caulk.
Cut the MDF veneer slightly oversized. Use a straight factory edge as your guide, and set the sheet on 2x6s so you don’t cut into the tile below.
Rough-cut the sink and cooktop openings a little inside your traced lines.
Apply EdgeLock tape in rows across the tile, front and back. Peel up a corner of each backing ahead of time so you can pull them all quickly.
Add beads of PL adhesive between the tape rows. Use an adhesive, not a sealant. EdgeLock grabs instantly, and the PL adhesive sets overnight for a permanent bond.
Hover the sheet above the tape. Push it tight to the back wall, then lower it and press it down firmly.
Flush-trim the openings and edges with a bearing router bit. Set the bearing to ride the MDF so it doesn’t dip into the holes, then finish the corners with a multi-tool.
If the veneer has any bow, weigh it down while it sets: dumbbells, buckets of water, or clamps.
Then dry fit the sink and cooktop one more time. On this job they fit the first try.
Step 11: Attach the Chiseled Edges
Sand the back of each cast edge with 80 grit to remove the curled lip left by the mold. The back only needs to sit flat enough for the glue to grab.
Put EdgeLock on the upper part of the back and PL adhesive on the lower part. This keeps adhesive from squeezing out onto the top surface, where it could interfere with the resin pour.
Press the edge on flush with the top and clamp it with three-way clamps. Let it set overnight.
Run each edge long, then trim it in place with a multi-tool. Cut the flat appliance edge at an angle so it continues the line of the chiseled edge around the corner.
Fill the seam where the edge meets the veneer. Use fast-dry spackle for small gaps and Bondo for bigger ones, so the seam doesn’t ghost through. Sand it flush with 220 grit
Step 12: Mask, Prime, and Pour the Countertop
Mask like a pro.
Use blue tape on finished cabinets and white tape to hold plastic. Use heavy 3M plastic rather than thin painter’s plastic.
Wrap the sink and cooktop openings with Remodel Resin Tape. Double-wrap underneath, with a lip standing just above the surface to keep resin out.
Seal the joint between the countertop and the backsplash with paintable clear caulk. Resin won’t stick to silicone.
Prime. Cut in around the perimeter with a brush, then roll the field. Pull back any tape on the backsplash before the primer sets, so nothing bleeds through.
Calculate your resin. Plan on about 6 oz per square foot. This countertop took about 96 oz, mixed as two 48 oz buckets of Rezinite.
Pour.
Distribute the colors evenly across the whole counter. Use a small cup to get resin behind the sink and cooktop.
Work it with your hands right up to the tape.
Bondo chop in the same direction as the backsplash grain, so the countertop and backsplash read as one stone.
Mist with alcohol and torch.
Finish the edges.
Watch the leftover resin in the bucket. When it starts to gel (about 25 minutes on this job), pull the front tape.
Rub resin over the front edge with your gloved hand, and wipe drips every 15 minutes or so.
On the chiseled face, use a wire toothbrush and a lint-free microfiber. Leave a little color behind so the face looks naturally chiseled.
Clean up while it’s still a gel. Peel the plastic slowly and roll it into itself. Check inside the sink and cooktop cabinets for leaks. Wipe any drips off walls or cabinets with isopropyl alcohol.
[VIDEO: start at 1:24:34 for the countertop pour]
Step 13: Sand, Top Coat, Polish
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You're also welcome to order over the phone if that's easier. Call us at 541-232-7042, or send your number and a good time and we'll give you a ring. We're happy to walk through what you'd need for your project so nothing gets missed.
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Your Remodel Resin Team
The next day:
Remove the plastic from the openings and score off any resin lips with a knife.
Dry fit the appliances again. Sand back anywhere resin grew into an opening.
Sand with the Sanding Disc Kit.
Start at 220 grit with a vacuum attached. Do the perimeter first, then the field.
Shiny spots are low points; keep going until they’re gone.
Go up through 320 and 400, wiping off the dust between grits.
Switch to the Abralon discs (no vacuum needed) and go 500, 1000, 2000, 3000, 4000.
Don’t hit rounded edges until you reach 500 grit, so you don’t burn through.
Working in a home where you can’t make dust? Wipe with a damp microfiber between grits, then dry it.
Top coat with Tough Top Coat. It’s a single component, so there’s no mixing.
Make a “mushroom microfiber.” Tape a microfiber cloth, rough side out, over a Top Coat Applicator.
Apply in sections. Saturate the applicator, spread the top coat to wet out each section completely, then stipple it.
Stipple to hide marks. Stippling removes any man-made lines.
Expect about 10 oz for this entire countertop.
Ventilate. The top coat has a strong smell while it’s going on.
After it’s set, sand 500 through 4000. Then polish with Ultimate Polishing Compound on a felt pad.
Finish with Resin Ceramic Spray and buff off the excess right away. It fills micro-pores and leaves the surface feeling smooth and slick. You can also use it as a maintenance spray before guests come over.
Top coat lessons from this job:
Sand all the way to 4,000 grit before top coating. The surface soaks in less top coat and gives a finer, more even finish.
Use a little less top coat and stipple a little more. Where Mike left it too heavy, he saw orange peel.
One coat gives a satin finish. Let the first coat dry fully and add a second if you want more gloss.
Mike is also testing a lower sheen on parts of the chiseled edge, since real chiseled stone isn’t glossy all over.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Building a full-height backsplash without a template
Using Masonite for templates (superglue grabs plywood far better)
Forgetting to test outlets and shutoff valves before you start
Skipping the return edge on a side splash over tile
Using the wrong blade to cut tile
Using silicone at the backsplash joint instead of paintable caulk
Pulling tape too early (resin runs) or too late (it won’t flow over the edge)
Using all of one color in one spot
Leaving top coat too heavy instead of stippling it out
Skipping the dry fit after the pour, when resin can grow into an opening
For Pros: Tile Overlays Are Good Business
“Can you go over my tile?” is one of the most common questions homeowners ask, and this process lets you say yes. Chiseled edges cost a few dollars a foot in material to make, and Mike charges about $10 per linear foot as an upgrade. It’s a detail that takes a project from a starter-home budget to a high-end look.
The Bottom Line
Old tile isn’t a reason to gut your kitchen. Remove the cap tile, build a solid foundation, template carefully, and follow the system step by step. You can turn a dated tile kitchen into something that looks like quarried stone. As Mike puts it in the video, the finished pour is only as good as the foundation underneath it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I put resin over tile countertops without removing the tile?Yes. Remove only the front cap tile, add a new MDF edge, and cover the tile with an MDF veneer bonded with EdgeLock tape and PL adhesive. The backsplash tile and underlayment can stay.
Why remove the cap tile?The no-drip edge has to go so you can build a new, flush front edge. That new edge is what holds a chiseled or flat rock edge.
Will my grout lines show through?Not when you cover the tile with a veneer. The resin is poured over a smooth MDF surface, not directly onto the tile.
How do I hold the veneer down on the tile?Use rows of EdgeLock tape for an instant grip, with beads of PL adhesive between them for the permanent bond. If the sheet has any bow, add weight while it sets.
Can I do a full-height backsplash over tile?Yes. Template it with thin plywood strips, EdgeLock and superglue. Then cut it from seamed ¾" MDF, pour it flat, and install it over the existing tile.
How much resin do I need?Plan on about 6 oz per square foot, and round up. The recipe calculator at remodelresin.com tells you how much colorant to add.
Which resin should I use?Mike used Rezinite on this job for its extended working time and easy 1:1 mix. It’s a good choice for large pours and first-timers.
How long do the rock edges take to cure?Rezin Rock is ready to demold in about an hour, so you can cast all your edges in one day.
Why does the edge adhesive go on the bottom?EdgeLock goes on the upper part and PL adhesive on the lower part. That keeps adhesive from oozing onto the top surface, where it could interfere with the resin.
How many coats of top coat?One coat gives a satin finish. A second coat, applied after the first dries fully, gives more gloss.
Is this DIY-friendly?Yes. Mike uses DIY-level tools on purpose, and the whole process fits in a two-car garage.
Where do I get started?Start with the free Resin 101 course, then find everything used in this project at remodelresin.com.
You Got This.
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