How To Repaint Dining Room That Has Raised Decorative Trim

These ten tips for painting furniture like a pro volition help you get the cute pigment cease yous've been dreaming of.

Several years ago, I discovered the beauty of painted furniture. DIYer that I am, I rolled up my sleeves and immediately got to work painting some quondam cast-off article of furniture pieces.

Looking at those outset pieces now, I can see that I had no idea what I was doing. They weren't terrible and they wait corking from a distance…but upward close, not so adept

Since then, I take painted lots of furniture pieces, both to employ in my own home and to sell to others. In the procedure I've learned how to get really beautiful results that last.

These are my acme tips for painting furniture that looks cute and stands the exam of fourth dimension.

collage of painted furniture with text: 11 tips for painting furniture like a pro.

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How to Paint Piece of furniture Like a Pro

1. Commencement with a program – distressed or smooth.

Before you begin, decide what look you are going for – smoothen and flawless? Worn and distressed? This decision will lay the foundation for every other determination well-nigh your piece.

If you know you want an aged, distressed finish, cull a more than matte finish paint similar chalk pigment, Erstwhile-Fashioned milk paint , or latex paint in flat or eggshell stop. Every bit you are painting, you won't need to worry and then much well-nigh leaving castor strokes or getting a perfectly even end.

If you are going for a smooth flawless finish, y'all may want to cull a paint with a smoother, more reflective finish like latex paint in a satin or semigloss stop, Wise Owl 1-Hr Enamel , General Finishes Milk Paint . You'll besides want to exist much more than careful most keeping your brushstrokes polish and fifty-fifty.

Not sure which paints are best for furniture? I've got a review of all the pinnacle choices along with my top picks for the best furniture paints .

2. Know when to sand.

It actually is of import to properly prepare your furniture piece before painting. Always, always start by cleaning your piece of furniture to remove any dirt, dust, or grease.

You don't always have to sand article of furniture before painting, but sometimes information technology is absolutely essential. So how practise you know when yous need to sand?

If you are going for a smooth finish, information technology is a practiced idea to lightly sand the unabridged slice to smooth any flaws.
If your piece has a super shiny or a flaky terminate, yous should always starting time by sanding it.

On the other mitt, if y'all are going for a more weathered, distressed stop or painting a furniture piece that'south in good condition, y'all tin probably skip the sanding.

3. Use high quality paint brushes.

I am a major cheapskate and I used to buy the cheapest paintbrushes I could.

Large mistake.

Bristles were constantly shedding onto my projects and they left horrible brush marks. Getting a smooth paint finish was basically impossible.

I take since become a huge fan of Purdy paintbrushes . They are a piddling more expensive upward front, just they concluding and so much longer that it evens out in the stop. And you can become a much smoother finish with them.

4. Employ a roller for apartment surfaces.

Small foam rollers are perfect for painting large shine surfaces. The paint goes on much faster and leaves a very smooth cease.

Merely look for rollers specifically made for smooth surfaces – they oftentimes say they are for doors and trim.

v. Use the right primer.

Much like with sanding, you also don't ever have to employ primer .

If you are using chalk pigment, you may exist able to skip the primer. But even with chalk paint, you volition need to use primer if

you are painting furniture with a dark or reddish finish a low-cal color. These types of finishes ofttimes lead to wood tannins bleeding through and messing up your paint finish if they aren't sealed with a good primer showtime.
you lot are painting raw, unfinished forest.
you are painting almost whatever type of woods furniture a pure white. A skillful primer will help preclude yellowing and aid you need less coats of paint overall.

If you are using latex paint or other paints that exercise crave primer, I have become a huge fan of using oil based primer when painting furniture. My favorite primer is Zinsser cover stain oil-based primer . It will stick to about whatsoever surface and is fantastic at sealing in the sometime finish.

(Don't worry, y'all cannot paint latex paint over oil-based paint, just you can paint latex paint over oil primer .)

I used to use latex primer because clean up is easier. But I often had the old crimson wood finish seep through and discolor the paint. This has not happened in one case since I started using oil based primer.

One word of caution though – this primer goes on with a lot of texture so yous may need to lightly sand your piece over again before painting.

6. Getting a smoother paint finish.

There are a lot of factors in getting a smooth paint finish like using the right paint brushes. But one factor that often gets overlooked is making sure your paint is the correct consistency.

Sometimes over fourth dimension your paint may thicken a bit. Even if y'all just bought the pigment, information technology may have been on the shelves in the store for awhile. If it is too thick, information technology won't self-level on the piece of furniture besides which means more visible brushstrokes.

So how volition you know if your pigment is the right consistency? After stirring your paint well, lift your paint stirrer and let some paint run back into the paint tin. If it is gloppy or very slow moving, it is too thick. It should exist a similar consistency to heavy cream.

You can thin any h2o-based paint past calculation simple h2o or by adding Floetrol . Floetrol is a latex paint additive that thins the pigment and helps eliminate brush strokes.

If you are using an oil-based paint, you lot tin thin it with Penetrol .

Simply go slowly when thinning your paint. You can always add more thinner, only if you add together too much, it's tough to fix.

vii. Save fourth dimension on clean upward.

Yous don't have to clean your brushes and rollers every twenty-four hour period. Nearly furniture pieces require more than one coat of paint and more ane twenty-four hour period of work. Washing your brush/roller afterwards each coat of paint tin exist a huge pain.

Instead I put my brushes and rollers in a big ziplock bag or wrap them in foil and stick them in the fridge. As long every bit they are sealed, you can go out them in the fridge for a few days without the paint drying.

By doing this, you only accept to make clean all of your supplies once – when you are completely finished with your projection.

viii. Keep any sad natural-looking.

When you lot are going for a distressed look, go along the lamentable natural. Cypher looks more fake than random little circles sanded into the front of a slice of article of furniture.

Start with 220 grit sandpaper and then if that isn't working well, try 150 dust.

Whether you distress a little or a lot, focus on the parts of your article of furniture that would naturally receive a lot of wear and tear: edges, corners, drawer fronts, raised decorations. Slowly add more than distressing until you are happy with the look.

Call up yous want the distressing to look similar the natural effects of age, so try to avert the impulse to brand the distressing symmetric or even. Instead, endeavour to keep it a bit random.

antique child's chair painted light blue and distressed.

9. Protect your paint end.

After doing all of the work to paint a beautiful piece of a furniture, it'due south important to protect your cease.

If yous are sealing a stained surface, a wipe-on polyurethane works not bad. If it is a painted surface, a polycrylic sealer is better to prevent yellowing. This will protect your stop from the wear and tear of daily use.

So when do you demand to utilise a top coat or sealer?

If you are using chalk paint, you always need to protect information technology with a top coat.
You should always protect tabletops, shelves, or other surfaces that will have objects on them with a sealer.
If you are going for a flawless paint stop with no distressing, a good sealer will keep your finish looking perfect for longer.

I've also got more info on the all-time sealers for painted furniture right hither .

ten. Allow your paint to fully cure.

I used to think that if paint was dry out, then it was good to become. It turns out that isn't truthful at all. Drying is only the beginning step.

Latex pigment doesn't fully harden, or 'cure', for upward to 30 days. If you field of study your painted article of furniture to everyday use earlier that, there is a skillful chance you will terminate up with scratched and dinged paint.

This might non matter if you are going for the aged, distressed look, only if y'all want a smooth terminate definitely treat you furniture with care the commencement few weeks.

xi. Bonus Tip! The best furniture paints.

Since writing this post, so many new amazing paints created specifically for painting piece of furniture have hit the marketplace. I certainly oasis't tried all of them, simply I have used quite a few. At that place are two paints that actually stand out to me.

General Finishes milk paint is my go-to for an all-effectually peachy furniture paint. This is not like other milk paints you may have heard of that requite a very chippy, aged await.

General Finishes milk pigment is really an acrylic paint, information technology's like shooting fish in a barrel to piece of work with, and information technology's my preference for pieces with a smooth paint cease.

If you are looking for a great chalk paint to experiment with,Dixie Belle is a slap-up pick. It is piece of cake to work with, works well for both vintage and modern finishes, and is bachelor in a diverseness of pretty affordable sizes.

Both of these paints requite a fantastic finish and can also be used without primer as long as your piece is in proficient condition.

Y'all can, of course, yet employ latex paint for painting furniture as well. You will just need to be extra conscientious with sanding and priming your piece properly.

Whatever paint you choose to utilise, painting furniture is an astonishing mode to give onetime furniture new life.

Want a bit more help with your side by side piece of furniture painting project? Head over to my step-past-step guide to painting furniture .

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