How to paint your furniture - an easy DIY step by step guide for anyone!
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If you know me, you know I love painting furniture. It’s one of the best ways to create a unique look to old & worn furniture, and turn it into something outstanding.
I’ve painted a few pieces of furniture in my home and I’m telling you… every time I post a photo of it on Instagram, I get a TON of responses from people asking me where I got my furniture piece from, or they ask how I was able to achieve the look.
So, in order for me to give you guys the best, I decided to put together a blog post to answer some of your questions.
Over the years, I’ve tried a few things out and have come to form a system on how I like to paint my furniture. You can use all or some of my tips I’ve come across that give me the best look to my painted furniture. Check out my step by step guide to paining furniture with ease!
Get the right products
Just like a chef would say the right ingredients will make or break a meal, the right products will make or break your painting efforts… I’m telling you.
This should go without saying but you'll be surprised on the amount of people that don't get the right products when paint furniture.
They use old paint, bad brushes, or improper techniques.
Here, I'm listing for you the products that I have on hand and use (depending on the outcome I want). You don't have to purchase or use all items here, but it does help to give you the BEST look to your finished product.
the right paint! (furniture paint is IDEAL. My favourite to use is Fusion Mineral Paint or Sherwin Williams ProClassic)
lint-free brush and/or roller
sandpaper of varying grits (80, 100, 120, 180, 220, 400)
polycrylic (matte or satin finish) or wax top coat
drop cloth
painter's tape
screwdriver
primer (BIN Shellac or Zinnser Bulls eye 1-2-3)
TSP or degreaser
stir sticks (get them free from the hardware store)
plastic cups
old t-shirts or rags
dust mask/respirator
microfiber cloth
eye wear protection
tack cloths
Aqua Coat Clear Wood Grain Filler - this stuff is magical if painting oak. It fills in the wood grain so well, it’ll give you a smooth finish to your furniture or cabinets, no one can tell it was oak.
2. Know your substrate (what material you’re working with)
This part is a big one. I will cover the types of materials you will most likely come in contact with in this section. The most common types of furniture material you may come across are:
laminate
wood
wood veneer
particle board
Some other pieces of furniture may include:
plastic
metal or
ceramic
Laminate
Laminate furniture is what we see quite often, for example, what you may find in thrift stores, some IKEA furniture, or even in the big box stores. Laminate furniture is a mixture of synthetic materials bound together to form a thin layer that will resemble wood. It often will have a shiny appearance to them and are rather low maintenance as it doesn’t require polishing or refinishing. This makes it easy to clean with a wipe of a damp cloth.
Wood veneer
Veneer furniture is a bit of a step up from laminate in that a thin layer of real hardwood is glued to the exterior of either MDF or pressed particle board. The only downside to veneer furniture is that it scratches very easy, therefore, you have to do a fair bit of prep and seal your furniture piece real well to help prevent or minimize the effects of scratching that may occur.
Wood
Wood furniture is just that - pure solid wood ranging from either soft to hard wood types. Solid wood furniture is what a lot of people love. There is so much texture and character you can find in this type of material. Solid wood is very durable and can stand the test of time, making it ideal in a home setting. One thing I love about solid wood furniture is if a ding or scratch happens to your furniture, you can take wood filler to it & sand it down. It will look good as new if it’s painted or stained.
Pressed particle board
Particle board or chipboard is a an engineered board made from wood shavings, wood dust, and wood chips, all bound together with resin or glue, pressed together to form a board.
3. Prep it well!
In my opinion, this is where the magic happens!
A correctly prepped surface is what makes your piece of furniture last and look professional after it’s painted. Remember people…prep and prep well!
What you need to do to prep your furniture well is to give it a good cleaning and remove any sticky residue, marks, or dust. You can use a combination of vinegar and water or a really good degreaser works well too.
Make sure to get in all the little nooks and crannies with either a soft bristled toothbrush or Q-tips to help you in the detailed carved areas if you’re worried about a brush that could scratch your furniture.
Some furniture may need to be sanded as well such as laminate furniture, to remove the shiny coating in order for your paint and primer to stick.
When you’re sanding your furniture, make sure to sand in a well-ventilated place like outside in your garage or work shed. If you don’t have either one of these options due to space or weather conditions, you can safely sand indoors.
Choose a palm sander that allows you to attach the hose of a shop vac to where your dust collector bag is. Just make sure to detach the dust collector bag prior to attaching the shop vac hose.
This will allow for the dust to be collected in your shop vac instead of your living space. Also, remember to always wear the appropriate respiratory mask and eye wear protection when using power tools.
Which now brings me to… THE PRIMER!
You need to invest in a good primer, one that will allow for adherence of your paint and provide you with a smooth finish.
Some of my favourite primers are:
Zinsser B-I-N Shellac (great for knots, heavy tannins, and smoke)
Zinsser Bulls eye 1-2-3 Primer
KILZ Adhesion Bonding Primer
INSL-X Stix Waterbourne Bonding Primer
I have used all of these primers with great results. These can be found at any hardware or paint store. Just be sure to follow the instructions on the can of primer to ensure proper drying and curing times.
One tip that my mother has taught me is if you have paint that’s been sitting around for a while and you’re needing to use it for touch ups, strain the paint through some old cheesecloth or pantyhose. This will remove any sediments or paint lumps that can accumulate over time in the paint. Once you do that, stir it up & it’s good to use to paint anything you like!
4. Seal it well!
From prep, to prime and paint, you’re now ready to seal your furniture!
Polycrylic
Minwax Polycrylic protective finish is probably one of my favourite top coats to use. I used it successfully on quite a few projects of mine and have always had great results.
It comes in varying finishes such as clear glossy, semi-gloss, satin, or matte.
My personal experience has been with satin & matte and they’re my preferred choice of finish for any painted furniture.
I love it because not only does it add a protective coat to your finished product, it does not yellow over time like a polyurethane would, and it also dries quickly and cleans up well with water as it is water-based.
There are polyurethane top coats on the market that claim to not yellow, I just have not tried them. I prefer to stick to what I know as I don’t want to take the chance on potential yellowing over time.
If you’re wanting your painted furniture to last and know that the top of your dresser or nightstand, for example, will get a lot of use, make sure to use a polycrylic top coat. With furniture pieces like this, I like to use 2-3 coats for extra protection.
I even used polycrylic on my painted stenciled tile floors in my bathroom, and I have to say, after 2 years of consistent use (we only have one bathroom for a family of four!), my floors are still holding up!
I call that a WIN ;)
Wax
Now I will preface this post and say that I have never used wax on my furniture, so I cannot give you my honest opinion, but I know there are lots of people who use wax on their furniture and love it.
From my research, wax is often used to obtain that ‘antique’ weathered look.
Waxes come in varying finishes such as dark, white, or metallic.
If you paint furniture with chalk paint, the wax will help to seal the pores of the paint and furniture as wax is easily absorbed into the surface and give a nice soft sheen.
But, wax does not provide the full protection like a polycrylic would on a painted surface if you were to use your piece in a high traffic area such as a children’s room or even a high humidity area such as a bathroom.
Paint-sealer Combo
In today’s market, there are many paint-sealer combos but I do have a love for Fusion Mineral Paint.
My first time using this paint, was breath-taking. One small dip of my paint brush, and one smooth swipe on my dresser and I couldn’t believe the coverage it gave me. I’m telling you… I painted an IKEA Hemnes 8 drawer dresser and I still had more than half of paint left over in the jar!
One of my favourite reasons to love this paint is because it has a built-in sealer (top coat) in the formula.
That’s right y’all!
You don’t even have to buy anything else if you don’t want to!
Another thing about this paint is that you don’t even have to sand your furniture piece before you start, although, I still would recommend you to sand your item.
Even if you are still thinking to use a top coat over this, you are still able to do so. If you’re curious how it would look, I recommend you try it out on a scrap piece of wood to see what the finish looks like, as sometimes, a polycrylic or wax may change the colour of your painted piece.
Some things I suggest:
When you’re painting your furniture, don’t load up your brush with paint and continue to apply heavy long strokes. This will increase your chances of your brush strokes showing through your paint, leaving you disappointed about your painting project.
One of the best things that helps you achieve a smooth finish is SANDING! Use a higher grit sand paper (such as 120 or 180 grit) and lightly sand between your layers of primer and paint. Just remember to use a tack cloth to remove the dust particles that will occur after you sand. And remember, you don’t have to sand heavily! Picture yourself sanding like you’re wiping a kitchen table. The same pressure you’d use to wipe a table is all you need to sand your furniture - nothing heavier than that an never sand in circles!
If using the existing hardware holes, place a piece of painter’s tape to the underside of the drawer. As you paint over the drawer front, paint will seep into the holes and create a mess inside. The painter’s tape will decrease the chance of this happening. All you have to do is remove the tape and voila! No mess to clean!
This is a quick guide to help you paint your furniture with confidence! I hope you found this post informative and helpful.
Got questions? Leave a comment! Let’s chat.
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