French Polishing and Bespoke Furniture
Wood primer should only be used on bare wood furniture . If your furniture has previously been painted or varnished, use a multi surface primer. For the decorative coat, look for paints labelled ‘for wood and metal’, such as gloss, satin and eggshell. If the piece has fine details like doors, start with these.
My favorite paint for wood furniture is Rust-Oleum Painter’s Touch Semi-Gloss (view on Amazon). This paint is thinner than ordinary paint , which makes it easier to achieve a smooth finish. Painter’s Touch comes in several different sheens, but I like to use the semi-gloss.
A big factor in getting that factory smooth finish is using good quality paint made for doors and trim like Benjamin Moore Advance or Sherwin Williams ProClassic. Add a small amount of Floetrol (affiliate link) to help the paint level better. Brush paint onto the cabinets.
Milk paint , which you can purchase as a powder or premixed, or even whip it up yourself at home, is a nontoxic and biodegradable paint option that’s great for use on wood furniture—and if you mix it with an equal part of bonding agent, you don’t need to sand the piece before beginning.
Can you paint over varnished wood without sanding? Yes. There are a few ways to do this, but we choose to use an oil based primer to prepare our varnished wood for new paint . The oil based primer will stick to varnished or sealed wood .
A decorative paint known for its matte, chalky appearance, chalk paint is a popular choice for giving furniture and home decor a rustic, vintage, or shabby-chic style. Because it can easily be given a distressed look, chalk paint is ideal for those who want to add character and vintage charm to their home.
Prime gives you a smooth and even surface to start your project, it also gives you the ideal surface for paint to adhere to. Without priming, paint peels more easily because it doesn’t easily adhere to the furniture underneath.
These tips will help you minimize your brush strokes and remove distractions from the smooth, professional finish of your piece. Use the Right Brush for your Paint . Use Good Brush Technique. Paint in the Same Direction as the Wood Grain. Lightly sand in between each coat of paint and after final coat.
Although a wall paint can be applied to wood , its best to use a specially formulated wood paint on a wood surface if you want to get the right finish. A few different types of wood paint that can be used are chalk paint , milk paint , acrylic paint , oil paint and latex paint for wood .
Dip an enamel brush into the enamel undercoat and cover an entire square foot of the wall, using brush strokes in the same direction and finishing the entire portion of the wall before dipping the brush again. This keeps the brush strokes flowing in one direction, eliminating brush strokes on all but one end.
Try to limit brush marks by painting with the grain of the wood. While on the trim boards, using the foam roller and brush paint only one side of drawers and doors. Next, using the same brush and foam roller apply a coat of Cabinet Enamel to the base cabinets . DRY OVERNIGHT and clean your brush.
Just wait till the paint is dry and lightly sand it with a fine grit sanding block to smooth it over. Paint over it again and you should be good to go!
For furniture it’s best to use a satin or semigloss finish in either a latex or an oil-based paint . Never leave primer unpainted. If you choose a latex paint , a latex primer is an excellent choice for most uses. It goes on easily and blocks most stains, but it doesn’t have the odor of an oil-based primer.
When You Can Skip Sanding , Deglossing and Priming If the finish on your furniture isn’t damaged or chipping, it’s flat not shiny and you aren’t painting it a drastically different color, then you may be able to just go ahead and start painting . Before painting though, do make sure the piece is clean.
Never attempt to paint an existing wood surface without preparing its surface. Applying a direct coat of paint over the old coating will not work and eventually will tend to peel, especially if it has a glossy finish.