Painting a piece of furniture is a great way to redo some thing for your home or a great way to flip something to sell. Paint is generally inexpensive and creates a big impact. There are lots of different paint varieties out there and it can be confusing to know which ones will last the longest and give the best results. I’m going to go over at my favorite techniques for painting, a piece of furniture for longevity and durability.
Materials
- Paint- There are so many to choose from and I will go over this later.
- Sandpaper in grits ranging from 60-120
- A orbital or belt sander
- Caulk
- Paper towel
- Optional- stripping agent or de- glosser
- Bondo as needed for repairs
- Paint sprayer like THIS one.
- Foam roller brushes
- paint tray
- Top coat or sealer
Step 1: Remove old paint
When I first started flipping furniture, I was living in an apartment. I did not have a garage or an outdoor space in which I could really get messy and go to town on a piece of furniture. I found some great options for small spaces that really make a big difference when flipping furniture. One of my favorite things is a de-glossing agent. The de-glossing agent helps remove any kind of sealer or shiny surface that has been applied to the furniture and allows the next coat of paint to grip it better.
This stuff is a little bit smelly, but it creates no dust or other debris like stripping or sanding might. I used to flip furniture over a tarp in my living room on carpet.
Just make sure that you leave a door or window open.
I simply applied the de-glossing agent with the foam brush on the piece I wanted and then used an old rag to wipe off any excess. It would take-off the sheen and leave me a surface ready for painting.
If you are not working in a space where you can make a little bit more of a mess, removal varnishes or sanding is a great option. I prefer this method now that I have a space to work outside and can get sawdust everywhere, because it’s a little bit faster and more aggressive than the de-glossing alone.
If you have thicker finishes like a lacquer or shellac, or depending on what kind of finishes on your piece already, you might need a chemical remover to remove some of the finish.
If there is not a thick finish on the piece, a light scuffing or sanding will do depending on the paint that you choose to use later.
*Some thing to note that a lot of people miss is you cannot put water base paint over anything that is oil based paint. Anything that self levels or gets rid of brush marks generally won’t hold paint well over it without a sanding or a removal. If you find paint gums up or scrapes off easily after you have done it, you most likely are working over some kind of oil based paint or lacquer that does not allow for adhesion of another latex or water-based paint on top of it.
When sanding, I usually start with a heavier grit sandpaper like 60 or 80. You need to be careful if you’re working with a softwood as some of the granules on the sandpaper, can damage the surface if you press too hard.
This step usually takes off any paint and will get you down to a surface that is workable whether it’s Wood or veneer. After this, I will move up in number grit sandpaper to either a 100 or 120 to help smooth out any of those rough spots caused by the more aggressive paper. For sandpaper, remember this rule:
The smaller the number- the more aggressive it is.
The bigger the number- the more gentle it is.
If you don’t want to use the sandpaper, you can also use a chemical remover, and then do a light 120 grit sand after that.
Sometimes hand sanding is needed in order to get into grooves or crevices, depending on the detail work of your furniture. Even brand new raw wood needs to be sanded and prepped for paint. You don’t want to build something, paint it, and then have splinters everywhere.
This is the most important step. Do not skip on prep. It will make all the difference later on your paint.
Step 2: Repair or Prep
After you removed any previous paint, you might find that your furniture needs repairs. Whether this be gluing up some shifty drawers, or fixing damaged corners or holes, its all important to do now.
I love using Bondo because it doesn’t shrink cures fast and is durable. I use this kind.
You have to work quickly when using Bondo. You don’t have much working time, so mix in small batches and go fast. I use a spackling knife to get the Bondo into the holes and crevices that I need.
I even do this with a new piece of furniture that has brad nail holes or other imperfections in the wood that needs to be repaired before painting.
After I repair all of the holes with Bondo. I like to caulk my seams.
Make sure that the caulk you’re using is paintable and water clean up. There are lots of caulks out there that are for tubs and other areas that are so messy and hard to work with.
I love Alex plus caulk, because it is water clean up and I can use my finger to smooth it without having to get out all sorts of chemicals to get it off my hand. Plus, it is paintable, works for interior / exterior, and doesn’t shrink or crack.
I caulk all of the seams where two joints meet or anywhere that would help the overall finish look smoother. You don’t want gaps or big lines on your furniture where they don’t belong.
This is especially true if you were adding decorative or trim molding to the front and don’t want the gap between the piece and the molding. Caulk is great way to seal that crack for painting later. Make sure you let the caulk dry ALL THE WAY before painting it. If you don’t, it will gum up and the paint won’t cure correctly.
Step 3: Clean up
Before you can apply any kind of paint, you need to clean off any dust that might have settled onto the surface. If you do not clean off this dust, it will prevent adhesion of the paint to the surface you’re working on.
A great way to do this is with paper towels and a little bit of water. You can also use a very lightly damp sponge or something called a tack cloth.
Usually these clothes are made of a microfiber material and soak up sawdust really well.
You can swipe the cloth over the surface and it will remove any of the sawdust that might be sitting there. This step is really important, but often overlooked.
Step 4: Prime
This step is an important step for whatever kind of paint you are using. Some paints have built-in primers and others don’t.
Make sure that you read whatever paint you’re using before you start. Most of the paints that I use, do not have a built-in primer and I need a primer in between the furniture and the finished paint product.
A primer that I love to use is a BIN primer. This primer has great adhesion, is usually white in color, and ensures that my finish coat will be smooth.
If you are using spray paint, there are plenty of primer spray paints out there. They are usually flat and sheen, and have extra things in them to create it huge in for the topcoat. I do not recommend skipping a prime coat, unless your paint specifically says to do so.
I learned this lesson the hard way when painting some doors.
The doors came pre-primed from the factory, and I thought that I would be just fine applying a high-quality latex paint to them.
I sprayed the paint on, and to my dismay when I moved them, a small bump happened and scuffed the paint right off of the door. It turns out that the pre-primed factory doors were not actually a primer that is great for adhesion of a final coat of paint.
I ended up having to remove all of the finish paint for 20 doors, sand the doors with a light grit sandpaper, then prime, and then paint again.
It was an expensive mistake and very timely. Prepping and priming the right way ensures that all of your hard work stays put.
I like to use a paint sprayer to apply all of my paint when working on furniture.
Sometimes I will use a foam roller if I cannot spray. I spray both the primer and the finish coats. I love the look of a piece of furniture that has been sprayed because it has no brush marks.
Sometimes though this is just not possible due to the area you were working in or if the furniture piece has built-in. If you cannot spray I highly recommend using a foam roller. This is a no nap roller and creates a seamless look. They usually come in in a little set with a tray and lots of additional foam rollers.
Sometimes you can go through them kind of quickly depending on the chemical or material you are using so having lots on hand is great.
You can also add some thing like a flow agent to your paint that will help to level out some of those brush marks.
I don’t use this most of the time because it is kind of expensive and I haven’t seen crazy great results but it is an option.
Step 5: Paint
This is the most exciting part of the whole project because this is where your piece really starts to come together. I love painting, a bold color and seeing my vision come to life.
This is not going to be a comprehensive list of all of the different kinds of paints out there, as there are too many to name. I will go over a few of my favorite paints that I go back to time and time again for each project.
These paints have great qualities about them, are tintable in lots of different colors, and have other properties that make them my favorite choices.
I use my sprayer or foam rollers to apply all of these paints to any furniture pieces I do.
One of my favorite go to paints for furniture is this cabinet and furniture paint by Valspar. It is a water-based oil, enriched paint.
This means that while using it it will self level. This is a great feature because brushstrokes are not a problem. I have applied this using a brush, a foam roller, and I’ve also tried spraying it.
All three options were great with this paint. It dries with a hard finish doesn’t ding easily. The sheen is not too shiny or not too dull. I love that it can be tinted to whatever color I want.
Then the best part is, I can clean up with soap and water and my brushes don’t have to be soaked in any kind of chemicals. This paint is a little bit stinky to use, so make sure you use good ventilation wherever you are working.
It also requires a longer drying time between coats than most other paints. It doesn’t require a topcoat, which is some thing I love about it. I used this to paint my girls bunkbeds and all of the doors in my house. After 2 1/2 years it is still holding up great.
Another paint brand that I’ve been loving recently is Dixie Belle paint. They have several different options of mineral based paint between chalk paint and regular paint.
I’ve tried applying it with a brush and a sprayer so far and have had great results. The finish is on the more matte side, and I really like that about it. It also dries very quickly.
I was very impressed at the durability of this paint. It took some serious, scraping on my test swatches for it to come off of the piece of wood.
The best thing about their silk paint is it it has a built-in primer and topcoat. That makes it really easy and fast to use because you don’t have to prime or seal the piece!
I recently used it to paint my bathroom vanity and I cannot wait to show the finished piece after I get the doors and counter done. Here is a link to Dixie bells website if you were interested in looking at their line of paints.
I’m sure if you’ve been painting furniture for any amount of time you have heard of chalk paint. The company I mentioned previously also offers chalk paint.
Chalk paint is great because it requires very little prep to use. In the past I have used rustoleums chalk paint available at most big box stores, and I really liked it.
I was able to use it directly over other finishes with very little prep, sanding, or de-glossing. I wouldn’t say it was the most durable paint I’ve used. I used it on my dining room table, and after several years, you couldn’t even tell that I had painted it from all of the scuffs and marks.
I didn’t prep very well, and it was lacquered before, but I was really impressed with the coverage of painting a black table, white.
My favorite part was that it sands completely smooth. You can sand AFTER painting, and it won’t gum up like other paints do. It is a great way to get rid of any brushstrokes in the process. It’s very easy to get a shabby chic look with this paint as you can sand down to under-layers easily. It has wax coating options, which I found easy to apply, but not the most durable out of the different kinds of paint I have used. The cleanup on the brushes is also pretty messy.
One of my favorite things to use is spray paint. There are so many different paint options out there now for spray paint. I have used so many different kinds, including textured spray paints and metallics.
Spray paint is a fun way to add different sheen to your piece or even just to seal it later.
Lots of times I will paint a piece and then seal it with a satin clear spray paint to help protect the paint underneath. It’s a quick, easy way to get a seamless finished. Just make sure that you go slowly and in long fluid strokes. You don’t want to stay in one spot too long or you will get lots of drips.
Step 6: Seal
Similar to the last step, some paints have topcoats built into them others do not. Make sure that you look at the paint you are using, and read the instructions while using it.
Some require several hours or even days of dry time before a topcoat can be applied.
Some topcoats requires several hours between applications, and may require 2 to 3 layers.
I try to spray all of my top coats to get the smoothest finish possible.
There are other top coats out there like wax sealer, that can be applied with a brush or cloth that are also so great.
I will list out a few of my favorite sealers that I have used in projects in the past and have shown to hold up overtime. Again, this is not a comprehensive list as there are so many out there.
I use this wax sealer on my wood table topper that I made a couple of years ago. It’s tinted which was neat because when I applied it with a cloth, the tinted wax would sit into the grooves of the wood highlighting some of the grain. I thought this was a really interesting technique to try and really liked the overall outcome. It gives it a really weathered farmhouse look. It was easy to apply and I could just throw away the rag when I was done using it. It left the finish nice and smooth with a slight sheen to it.
Most recently, I used this extra coat paint from Dixie bell on my bathroom vanity. It has a light satin finish and sprayed it nicely. The paint that I used had a topcoat in it but since I am using it any wet moisture heavy area, I wanted to make sure that there wasn’t any kind of issues that way. They suggested that this extra coat would be the perfect thing for that. It is water, cleanup, and not very sticky which I loved.
Another sealer that I have used in the past on furniture is this non-yellowing matte finish sealer from Benjamin Moore.
I originally discovered this when I was trying to seal all my hardwood floors in my girls room. I was really worried about using a sealer that would turn yellow later and create that orange hue on wood floors that I really didn’t want.
This non-yellowing clear sealer was just the perfect thing. I ended up not liking the matte sheen on the floors and went with a satin sheen instead.
So… I had a lot of matte sheen left over and decided to use it on my furniture projects.
It didn’t disappoint and created an extra layer of durability that I needed on my girls desks. It has been 2 1/2 years of them using their desks, and if they are still holding up great. Plus, the underneath color was not affected at all by the sealer because it is guaranteed to not yellow. It’s water clean up, fairly easy to use and not smelly at all.
Thats it! Below are some before and afters of the bunk bed I made for my kids. I included photos of it raw, primed and then painted with the valspar cabinet and furniture paint. I used the color tricorn black.
Hopefully these steps will help you with your next project and ensure that your piece has a quality paint job that will last a long time. Drop any comments or questions below and I will try to answer them as I can. Thanks for being here!
-Amanda