I love experimenting with new furniture painting techniques and have perfected quit a few over the years. I’m constantly testing out new furniture painting techniques on pieces that I pick up at flea markets and estate sales. Once I perfect a particular technique I offer new options to my clients, who bring me their own furniture to be painted and refinished.
Plan on painting some of your own furniture? Here are a few tips:
Preparation is key!! It is very important to properly prep your furniture if you want your paint job to last. If it’s not cleaned and sanded well the paint may be rejected which will cause it to crack and peel. 1. Before painting clean your furniture thoroughly with Trisodium Phosphate, TSP for short. TSP can be found at your local hardware store in the painting section. This product will remove dirt, grim, grease, and other things that might prevent your paint from sticking. 2. The next step will be to sand the piece incredibly well using 220 grit sandpaper. Always sand with the grain of the wood, going against it will cause scratches. Using heavier grit sandpaper will also cause scratches that will be seen through your paint job. 3. After sanding give the piece a nice wipe down with a clean rag. A rag soaked in TSP might be necessary once again if the piece was real dirty or required a ton of sanding. 4. Now the piece is ready for primer. If stains show through sand with 320 grit sandpaper and paint again. Continue doing this until the piece has good coverage. Make sure you allow the proper dry time in between coats. 5. Now the piece is ready for paint. For a super smooth, perfect paint job I use a spray gun. If you are painting by hand make sure you invest in a good quality paint brush.
Frequently asked questions:People are constantly emailing me asking me about what type of paint I use, or what types of varnish I recommend. I’ll try to answer some of the most commonly asked questions below.
What color paint do you use to create the shabby chic look? I love Swiss Coffee. Lowe’s brand of paint, Valspar, makes a beautiful Swiss Coffee. It’s a nice soft white.
What finish do you recommend? My two favorites are satin and semi-gloss. I wouldn’t recommend using a flat paint on any furniture. It shows every little hand print and scratches easily. If you are painting a dining table or another surface that will get heavy traffic and possibly an occasional spill I would recommend a gloss. A gloss or high gloss finish will wipe up easily and is very durable.
Do you use a varnish or polyurethane? I don’t like either. Although they all say they don’t yellow I’ve yet to find one that doesn’t. If you want a nice white finish I wouldn’t recommend finishing it with a clear coat of any kind. Try a wax instead, sure you’ll have to reapply every once in a while, but it wont change the color of your paint and it will protect it just the same.
The paint is still tacky and/or scratches easily what’s the deal? Be patient. Paint takes at least a week, sometimes several weeks, to fully cure. Many times people paint a piece of furniture, then bring it into their home the next day and begin using it, which is sure to damage the paint job. Let it sit for a little while. Just because it feels dry to the touch doesn’t mean it’s truly dry.
What type of spray gun do you use? How do you like it? I use a Graco True Coat and I love it!! It shoots out a heavy stream of paint which will cover a piece of furniture in seconds. You have to be quick and have a steady hand to use it though. It would be very easy to get runs or an uneven finish if you’ve never used a spray gun before. I wouldn’t recommend starting out with this one.
Tutorials…….. As I mentioned previously I use many different furniture painting techniques. Most of the techniques I use are intended to give the furniture a rustic, shabby, or antique finish. Many of the techniques involve beating up the furniture, sanding the heck out of the paint to distress it, and staining the furniture after it’s painted to give it an aged look. I’ve created many videos that demonstrate the techniques that I use and continue to add new ones, so check back regularly.
In the following videos I give tips on how to paint and distress furniture:
Good luck on your projects!! If there is a particular project you would like to see featured in one of my videos I’m open to suggestions. Please feel free to email me with your questions too. I’ll try to answer more of them on this page as time goes on. I plan to update this page frequently with new information and content, your emails help me do that.
RELATED ARTICLES: (click on the titles below)
To Prime or not To Prime??
How to fix drawers that stick
Using a spray gun to paint furniture
34 Responses to Furniture Painting FAQ
Leave a Reply
Alchemy fine living is an antiques & home furnishings business located in Santa Ana, Ca. Alchemy can be defined as an inexplicable or mysterious transmuting power or process; transforming something common into something special.ABOUT ME
Alchemy fine living is my antiques & home furnishings business. I'm Deana, the author of this blog. My mom Connie & I followed our dreams & opened our store in 2008. It's a collection of all the things she & I truly love. We combine antiques with new treasures, as well as, a selection of handcrafted items created by the two of us. We also offer custom sewing, re-upholstery, & furniture painting services.
173 E City Place Dr.
Santa Ana, CA 92705CONNECT WITH ME
hi deana! i am an italian woman and i am so fascinating from your shops and your works. you are an artist!! here in italy (i live in the biggest city after Rome which is Milan) there are no shop like yours.. i lost my job and i would like to re-start by making from old furnitures the shabby chic furnitures.. i am learning so much from your tutorials that i just write to thank you very much!
with tons of compliment
ciao!! deborah
Thanks so much for your kind words! Good luck on your new adventure.
Hi Deana! I recently found your videos and I am so fascinated by them. You are amazing and your techniques are excellent!! My kids watch them with me too. I actually used your distressing technique and my furniture pieces came out so nice. I did goof up yesterday though. I stained a small table to give it a rich dark look but nothing happened. The color is exactly the same. And the stain gave me the worst headache. Can I paint over it with spray paint? Thanks!
Hi Saira,
You can paint over it, but you’ll need to sand it first. You might want to wash it with TSP first before sanding it. Use 220 grit sand paper and sand with the grain of the wood until it is no longer shiny.
Where you probably messed up was applying the stain to an already finished surface. You’ll need to strip it down to raw wood first if you want to try to stain it again.
Hope that helps!
I love your site and you do wonderful work. Thank you for sharing your talent. I have been picking up pieces from a wonderful thrift store – I want to try a spray gun. Which do you recommend for someone just starting out? I get way too many choices using google – it’s confusing.
I used a Wagner Spray Tech Control Spray HVLP Sprayer when I first started. It has a fairly light, small spray pattern, which makes it easy to control. It’s only about $75, so it’s a good buy too.
I am in the process of painting a dresser black. Was wondering how long you let the paint dry in your tutorial before you were able to sand it with the 100 grit sand paper? Thanks!
Just a few hours. As long as it feels dry to the touch you are good to go!
Hi Deana, I picked up a great china hutch already painted white. FREE. I sanded it. A lot – I hope not too much. I’ll use Watco Danish in Dark Walnut then Bees Wax. I’ll paint the back and sides a soft blue. The pieces are not attached. Should I paint the top of the bottom piece too? Or distress it? What do you think?
Decision made for me. The side of the bottom piece are not real wood. I think it’s particle board – so I’ll paint the sides and top.
Cool. I love freebies!! I think I’d paint it and then distress it a little bit too. Good luck on your project!
I’m painting a dining room hutch from wood to black and plan on distressing it. Do I need to use primer or can sanding be enough? I dont want anything other than wood coming through when I distress it.
A lot of times when I paint black I skip the primer. Unfortunately it only comes in gray and white and, I’m like you, I only like the wood to show through. Sand and clean it really well and you should be fine.
Hi Deana, when you paint the hardware do you simply use the same paint? Won’t it chip off?
I do use the same paint. I prep the hardware a little different though. Rubbing alcohol works good to clean metal and help the paint adhere.
Hi Deana, can you distress furniture that’s already painted black/white? Do you have to sand off the paint and re-paint? Also, does it make a differnce if it’s real or fake wood? Sorry, for all the questions. Thanks
If it’s wood underneath your already existing paint job go ahead and distress, no need to paint.
Hey Deana, love your website and painting tutorials. You do such a great job. I am in the process of painting a wall and want it to look distressed (old). The wood is bead board and natural finish put up vertical. Can you tell me what steps to take to distress this wall. Obviously, its just one wall thats beadboard. The rest of my walls are sheetrock. Do I prime first, stain, sand, then paint? Help!!!
Hi Deana, I love love each of your tutorials. I have painted a few pieces and I love your work. I have a question. I received an old desk that is shiny on the outside and almost like a veneer I am not sure I even no the difference. Although is is extremely heavy. I can I tell if something is real wood and if not, can you still paint it. It is really UGLY gold hardware and all.
Sure, you can paint it! If it’s veneer, laminate, or some other high gloss surface you might want to start with an adhesive primmer. Also sometimes called bonding primmer, it sticks to just about anything.
Do you use latex or oil based paint? Also, do you use a clear coat on al furniture or wax and if so what kind? Thanks!
I use latex. I don’t use a clear coat because it usually yellows the paint. Sometimes I use wax, but I don’t think it is necessary. When I do use wax I use Howards bees wax.
Deana, we have purchsed a paint strayer, but before we get startered we are wondering what is the best way to contain overspray in our garage. I see in some of your videos that you have some tarps on the floor and against the wall. How do you contain your overspray, do you have a large paint booth or just cover the walls with plastic? Thanks for the help!
Hi! I have created a paint booth in my garage. I hung plastic and drop clothes from the ceiling that hang all the way down to the floor. I use clothes pins to keep them together at the “door” where I go in and out.
I was curious about the final coat of paint. I see that you sand in between each coat but do you sand the final coat? Also I am painting my antique furniture with Benjamin Moore Aura (Ivory Tower / semi-gloss / latex)is this good paint to use and would you apply any type of protective final coat such as beeswax?
Fianl Question if using a sprayer do I need to thin the paint and if so what is the ratio?
Thanks Deana….love the videos as guidance on my first ever restoration.
Benjamin Moore is great paint. You don’t always have to add a protective finish, but if it is a piece of furniture that gets a lot of use, such as a dining table, I would recommend it. Bees wax is one of my favorites because it’s easy to use. It should be reapplied every once in a while (it’s kinda like oiling natural wood furiture, it dries out and wears off eventually). My gun doesn’t require any thinning of paint, but some do. The ratio for thinning should be listed in the guns manual and will also be found on the paint label, it really varries depending on the type of paint. Your gun might even come with a tool for testing the viscosity.
Good luck on your project!!
Hi. I’m aging a small bench, I have already sanded it and I wonder if I should skip the primer and apply directly a thin coat of paint or if I should mix my paint w/ a little of primer and then sanded again and finally wax it. What would you recommend?
Thanks for the advice,
Aggie
If you want it heavily distressed I’d skip the primmer altogether.
Do you always use primer? – I am distressing an old desk which is still in pretty good condition with no stains and will be painting it a darker green. Wouldn’t the white of the primer show through when I distress it? Thanks for the info.
Also, I am staining the desk top (not painting). What do you use as a finishing coat after the stain?
I love your work! and your videos! you really gave me the confidence in myself to say…”Hey I can do this to!!” THANK YOU!!
Sometimes I prime, but sometimes I don’t. In a case like yours I would skip it. You are right that the white would show through when distressing. I use Watco Danish Oil which is a stain that penetrates and seals. It dries hard and provides a protective coat, so no need for anything else after that.
Love your web site. I purchased an old table, chairs and buffet. I painted the chairs and buffet black and still need to paint the legs of the table. The buffet has most of its drawer pulls but is missing 4 small drawer knobs (there are a LOT of drawers). I’m not sure how to mix door/drawer knobs with vintage hardware (similar to the hardware in your demo above). Should I discard the existing hardware and start over with all new hardware or try and mix old and new hardware?
I often mix old with new. What about glass knobs? Or you could try to find something made of the same material as the ones you have, if they have a similar patina go for it. You could even find new knobs and paint them, along with the existing pulls, so they are all the same color.