How to Paint Furniture – a Complete Guide

Although most of my time as a professional decorator has been spent decorating rooms, I have painted a fair few items of furniture over the years. It’s fun, it’s rewarding, it’s really popular, and it leaves you with something truly unique. It’s also very cost-effective, especially if you can pick up a piece of unloved furniture second-hand and transform it into something special with just a few hours of work.

It’s also not as difficult as many people might think, but there is a step-by-step process that I always follow when painting furniture, to try to get the best possible finish that will last.

In this blog we’ll look at the tools and materials, the step-by-step process, and everything else you need to know about how to paint furniture, and one or two slightly more creative ideas that you can have fun with. The one thing I won’t go into detail on here is the best paint to use on furniture, as that is covered in a separate blog already.

Shopping List – Tools & Materials You Will Need

• Dust sheets or plastic sheeting to protect the floor and any nearby furniture
• Cleaning materials: several cleaning cloths, bucket, mild detergent, methylated spirits, latex or rubber gloves
• Sandpaper of various grades
• Wood filler, decorators’ caulk
• Primer
• Your choice of paint
• Paint brushes, rollers
• Possibly (but not in every case): masking tape, top coat of clear varnish, spray machine

Don’t worry, I’ll go into more detail about these items as we go through the step-by-step process.

How to Paint Furniture

Prepare your work area

Clear as large an area as you can to work in. Cover the floor, and any nearby furniture, with dust sheets or plastic sheeting.

Remove any hardware

Take off door handles, drawer knobs, etc. Whether you are planning to keep them or replace them, just take them off so that they don’t get paint on. If your piece of furniture has doors, I would take the doors off, remove the hinges, and then paint the doors separately.

Clean the furniture thoroughly

If it’s second-hand, you don’t know what has been applied to it in the past. It may have been varnished, stained, waxed… it may have had furniture polish sprayed on it for years. None of these are going to help your paint stick to the furniture, so we need to get rid of them. I was always taught to clean before sanding; if you sand first, you run the risk of forcing oils and waxes into the wood grain rather than removing them. Click here for a full guide on painting over varnish.

Unless your furniture has been painted previously with water-based paints, pour a little methylated spirit (meths) onto a clean cloth (I always wear gloves for this stage), and rub the surface of the furniture thoroughly. Test a small inconspicuous area first if you are concerned about using meths, but I have never had a problem with it. Leave to dry, then mix up a little mild detergent with lukewarm water in a bucket. You can use washing-up liquid, but I like to use Pretty Boy Brush Cleaner (I always have it with me anyway). Take a second cloth and use it to clean the item of furniture with your detergent solution. Leave to dry.

First fill

If there are any large imperfections (holes, dents etc.), fill these now. I like to use Toupret Wood Repair Filler; it comes in powder form, so mix up just as much as you need using clean cold water. It dries in 2–3 hours and can then be sanded smooth.

Sand thoroughly

The aim here is not to remove all existing paint or varnish, although if it is loose or flaking it’s best to get all the loose stuff off. The objective is to provide a “key” for the paint or primer to adhere to. Shiny gloss paint and varnish are too smooth for paint to adhere well to, but sanding first both removes any lumps and bumps, and also roughs up those super-smooth surfaces at a microscopic level, making them easier to paint. I would typically give a piece of furniture a quick once-over with 120 grit sandpaper, then a more thorough sanding with 180, and finish with 240.

Repeat!

I then wipe down with meths again, and then mild detergent solution again, to get rid of all the sanding dust and any dirt or grime that still remains.

Tape if required

If there are parts of the furniture that you do not want to get paint on (e.g. glass panels or hardware that, for some reason, could not be removed but you want to keep), tape it up using masking tape like Masq – they have a range of tapes in varying widths and tack levels, so it’s easy to find something suitable in their range.

Prime

Exactly what is needed, if anything, will depend on what the furniture is made of or currently coated with.

• Knots – if your furniture is made of natural wood, apply knotting solution or a shellac-based primer like HB42 PS1 or Smith and Rodger Bloackade.
• Natural, untreated wood – a regular water-based acrylic wood primer is fine for this situation.
• Stained or varnished wood – it’s not always easy to tell exactly what has been used previously, so in this situation I like to use a solvent-based primer that both sticks like glue and has the capacity to stop stains from coming back through. Zinsser Cover Stain is perfect for this challenge.
• MDF – rather than go into too much detail here, please read our separate blog on “How to paint MDF”.
• Melamine – this is one of those surfaces that paint doesn’t like sticking to, but a good adhesion primer like Crown PX4 or Dulux Trade Uni-Primer will really help.
• Previously painted surfaces – if the paint is in sound condition and not glossy, you probably don’t need a primer. If it’s gloss, I’d use an adhesion primer (see above). If the paint is flaking or peeling, try to get as much of it off as possible before priming.ood for longer.

Second fill

It’s often the case that once the primer is on, you will notice small pinholes or gaps between sections that need filling or caulking. Do these once the primer has dried, and then once the filler has cured, sand it smooth, wipe down with a tack cloth and spot-prime with your primer.

Painting

The fun part! You’ve done the hard prep work; now the transformation really begins. I prefer to apply thin, even coats – I’d rather apply three thin coats than two that are too thick and end up with drips and sagging.

Work in the direction of the wood grain if there is any, one section at a time. If there are large, flat surfaces, I like to apply the paint with a mini roller (ProDec Ice Fusion are fantastic for this type of project); this gets the paint on quickly and evenly, and then you can lay it off with a brush if necessary.

If you work too slowly on large, flat areas you may have problems keeping a wet edge, depending on the paint you are using.

Leave the paint to dry thoroughly before applying a second coat

Check the manufacturer’s advice, all paints are different. Once you have left it to dry for the required amount of time, apply a second coat (repeat if a third coat is needed).

Apply a clear coat if needed

If you’ve used a paint that isn’t very hard-wearing, and you want to protect your handiwork, apply a couple of coats of clear varnish like Smith and Rodger Rocktop, which is water-based and available in various finishes.

Do any finishing touches

Once everything is completely dry, reattach the hardware, stand back, and admire your handiwork!

Top Tips for a Professional Finish

• Don’t rush the drying time – stick to the manufacturer’s instructions.
• Give the furniture a light sand with 240 grit (or finer) sandpaper after priming and between coats for an extra smooth finish.
• Don’t be embarrassed to use masking tape, especially if you have very fine mouldings to paint in a different colour – as long as you pick a tape with the right tack level, it will save you time and give you really sharp lines.

Getting Creative When Painting Furniture

Furniture painting can be a lot of fun, and you can experiment with different techniques and products which you might not often use elsewhere, and which will help make your piece of furniture truly unique and personal. There are far too many options to go into detail in this blog, but here are a few suggestions:

Use a crackle glaze or craquelure to create an aged, cracked look, or have fun with metallic paints – Polyvine have a range of fun products to help create these effects simply.

Don’t limit it to paint – use wallpaper too! I’ve wallpapered the back of a glass-fronted cabinet to match the wall behind, so it looks like the cabinet has a glass back. I’ve also wallpapered the top of a dressing table to match the feature wall in the bedroom (there was a sheet of glass which sat on top and protected the wallpaper).

Try stencilling to add a personal touch to drawer fronts, for example.

Change the hardware for something more unique and personal – there is an almost limitless choice of handles and doorknobs online.

Deliberately distress your item for a vintage look – this works well with chalk paints.

Final Thoughts

The options available to you for painting furniture are almost limitless, and it can be really fun to create something truly unique and personal. That’s the fun part of the job – the more practical side is to make sure you’re thorough with all the prep stages, and protect your finished item with a clear varnish to keep it looking good.