a few people have asked some questions about how to paint furniture since my last post, so i decided to share what i learned about doing the “impossible,” aka painting laminate.
there really are just a few simple steps that we were taught in the furniture class that work for painting any type of wood furniture…real or fake!
1. sand the piece of furniture. i used 100 grit sandpaper, you can really use anything. you don’t have to sand it too much, just enough to give the paint something to adhere to.
2. using krud kutter, wipe down the sanded furniture with some paper towels. this helps prepare the surface for painting.
3. prime the furniture with kilz. (mine got really grainy-the primer made it kinda bumpy, so i sanded it after priming, then wiped it down just with damp paper towels. i don’t know if i got a bad bunch of primer or what, but i got it at lowes, which is where our instructer suggested to get it. she said sometimes you get bad cases of it at wal-mart…or maybe i didn’t shake it enough before using, she said to shake it until the can gets cold!) i used the kilz spray paint & i used a spray paint gun, which are awesome!
4. paint the furniture. by hand. with a paint brush. i am usually too impatient to paint things by hand, but they strongly recommended doing this in the class, so i obeyed. it wasn’t too bad. it was actually kind of therapeutic and i enjoyed it, surprisingly. they recommend using purdy paint brushes. the color i went with was valspar queen anne’s lace, it is a beautiful off-white, not too pinky, nor too yellowy.
5. {optional} distress the furniture around the edges and detailing. i used 100 grit sandpaper and distressed it a little, you can do as much or as little as you like. i love it because it gives it that old, rustic, antique look. but some things look good sleek & freshly painted.
that’s all folks! let me know if you have any questions! happy painting! :)
Thanks for posting your instructions! I will be referring back to this as I get around to future projects!
Also – you should send some of your before and after shots to Design Sponge! I always love looking at the submissions there. :)