How to Paint Furniture?

Traditionally, wooden furniture such as a sideboard or a coffee table would be varnished in a variety of brown hues such as mahogany or pine. However, as trends have changed and fashions have altered, it is now desirable to paint your furniture in a wide range of colors and using a variety of types of paint and creating different appearances, such as a distressed look.

Painting your furniture can create a whole new vision for your home, transforming dull and drab wood into vibrant, colorful homely creations. However, painting your furniture can become a difficult task if you do not know exactly how to complete such a project.

Here at Best of Machinery, we have compiled a complete set of information to enable you to comprehensively paint your furniture in order to create the best possible results for your home.

Related; Paint for Kitchen Cabinets.

Preparation

The key to creating fantastic painted furniture is to prepare your item fully. Covering your furniture immediately with a thick coat of paint on an unprepared surface will result in a poor finish which will ultimately chip and peel away. The first step is to create a space in which you can work effectively in, as well as a well-ventilated space such as outdoors. Cover your floor surface to ensure that the materials you are using do not spill onto areas which you do not want to color.

To prepare your furniture, first of all, give it a good clean. Use soap such as Murphy’s Oil Soap in order to clean all aspects of your item, taking out each drawer if necessary and thoroughly cleaning each drawer individually. Next, you should sand your furniture, eliminating all of the glossy finish previously painted onto the furniture.

Medium-Grit sandpaper would be perfect for this type of project. There is no need to sand the furniture vigorously until all of the paint has been removed, however, just until the gloss or the shine has been removed and the furniture is showing a dull surface.

Priming Your Furniture

Once the furniture has been cleaned and sanded and completely free from any dust, you should paint the item with a primer so that the subsequent paint covers better and so that any discoloration, stains, or imperfections are covered well. In particular, an oil-based primer is a good choice for furniture.

Once you have primed your furniture, you should sand the whole item again using fine-grit sandpaper, removing the sanding dust completely. Sanding should be completed after every coat of paint on your item of furniture in order to achieve a professional finish.

Painting Your Furniture

Once your piece of furniture has been fully prepared, cleaned, sanded, and primed, you are ready to begin painting. Interior latex paint in a semi-gloss finish is a good choice to start with. Remember that for use on an interior item of furniture, a glossy finish is ideal as it is easy to clean. A great tip to remember is that even with your choice of paint, ensure that you sand the furniture in between coats.

When painting your furniture, you can use a roller for the larger areas and a brush for the smaller areas and the crevices, although be sure to watch out for visible brush strokes which will need to be blended well. Alternatively, you could use a paint sprayer to create a flawless finish for your furniture items.

Protecting Your Furniture

In order to gain the most out of your furniture, and the most out of your paint project, it is important to protect and seal the item. After the furniture has been painted, leave it to dry for a full 24-hours and then prepare your item to be sealed. Additional protection is achieved, and the surface becomes easy to wipe and even easier to clean.

A water-based topcoat may be the best choice for sealing your furniture as there are fewer fumes present in addition to an easier clean-up. Alternatively, you could use furniture wax, applying with cheesecloth and allowing the furniture wax to dry for up to 15 minutes.

Follow this process by buffing the furniture with clean cloth and shine the item to your satisfaction. A great tip is to leave the furniture alone completely for a few days once you have completed this stage so that no immediate damage is done.

Color Choices

When painting your furniture, the trend is currently to paint wooden items in a white, or off-white, color or finish. A variety of hues such as creams and beiges also work great on furniture. For the more adventurous individual, teal hues look effective and stand-out against a range of backgrounds, while shades of lemon and rose are also current winners with us at Best of Machinery.

Of course, with such a wide range of colors and blends available, you can choose any color or combination of color to suit your taste.