Furniture Painting 101

Painting furniture is something I get asked about quite a bit. I began painting cabinets in college and just kept going from there. Now, painting is part of my daily practice, refinishing pieces for customers and occasionally for myself.

There are just a few steps you need to follow in order to create a successful finish. I follow these steps each time I paint. Any time I’ve tried to rush the process and skip a step, it has always come back to bite me. There are MANY techniques when it comes to painting furniture, but these are the steps I take when painting a piece. Below, I will cover the steps for hand-painting. We can talk about painting with a spray gun another day.

I’ll update this post with photos a little later, but wanted to get the process I use out to you. I always forget to take photos while painting and just seem to get wrapped up in the process.

Please note: this is not the “wipe it down and paint it” blog post. This is how I paint pieces for customers. There are faster ways (i.e. wipe down the piece, spray with a spray can of Shellac, paint one light coat of paint, paint another coat of paint, seal it, done), but I have outlined my full painting process below.

Disclaimer: This post contains links to products in order to make them easier for you to find. While I may receive a small commission (enough for a cup of coffee) from certain links, it’s at no additional cost to you and keeps the free tutorials coming.

1. PLAN

First, you will plan out your piece.

What colors are you interested in? What colors go with your home decor? What color will the hardware be (if there is any)? If you’re like me, and will be upholstering the piece you’re painting, what colors are in the fabric you will be using? Planning can be a process on its own. If you missed the steps I go through when designing an upholstered chair, check out that blog post HERE.

Next, you’ll gather your painting supplies. This will include the items below used to prep your piece, as well as primer, a paint brush, paint and a topcoat/sealer.

For a chalk style paint, I use Wise Owl Chalk Synthesis Paint, which can be found in my Shop and for latex paint, I use Sherwin Williams Emerald or Sherwin Williams Pro Classic. These are purely personal preference as there are so many good paint lines out there. You just have to try some different ones and find what you like.

If I’m hand-painting, I prefer Cling On Brushes (they minimize brush stokes and live in water, virtually cleaning themselves), but any synthetic bristle brush will do. If you are using just one brush, the 2 inch trim brushes from the hardware store work great. I don’t recommend using the $1 chip brushes for painting projects due to the brush strokes and massive amount of bristles they tend to leave behind which you will be picking out of your paint.

2. PREP

After gathering your supplies, you’re going to prep your piece to paint. This step is so, so important. Prep really doesn’t take that long, but it is will worth the time it takes for the end result. I don’t recommend going with the “no prep paint” claims. Many times the piece will need to be repainted later on due to lack of prep resulting in poor adhesion, grease spots, etc. Whether I use a chalk style paint, latex paint, or milk paint, and whether I’m hand-painting or using my spray gun, my prep steps are always the same. Yes, there are painting tutorials out there which will tell you to wipe the piece down with a rag and paint it, but you won’t find that here. Prepping (and priming) your piece is what is going to ensure the longevity of your paint finish.

The steps I take to prep my pieces to paint:

1. Remove all hardware
2. Sweep out/vacuum inside
3. Wipe the entire piece down with an All Purpose Cleaner. I use Simple Green.
4. Clean with TSP/Deglosser (or a TSP substitute).
5. Wipe down with a 50:50 ratio of Denatured Alcohol/Water (to remove the TPS residue).
   If I strip a piece, I’ll just strip then prep with water and Mineral Spirits.
6. Sand/scuff with 120 grit sanding sponge or sand paper after it dries. I use the 3M Sanding Sponges.
7. Remove any dust from sanding

After prepping is when you will fill any holes with wood filler, fix broken moldings, etc if needed. Check out the blog post on how I repair broken furniture moldings HERE.

That’s it for prepping! Let your piece sit overnight to dry and get ready to paint!

3. PRIME

Next, I prime. Whether I prime with a clear primer like Shellac or a white primer, I always prime. Priming does a few things. It assists with adhesion of your paint (which extends the longevity of your finish), protects the wood you’re painting should the piece ever be stripped and refinished, blocks tannins from seeping through your paint (because no on wants to paint with expensive paint and have bleed-through), and assists in achieving a smooth finish.

If you’re planning on distressing your piece, I recommend going with Shellac or a clear primer so the white primer doesn’t show through when you distress it. Wise Owl offers a white and clear stain-blocking primer, B-I-N by Zinsser is another good primer. I also regularly use Sherwin Williams Multi-Purpose Primer which is great for standard jobs and blocking stains, and Extreme Bond Primer for slick surfaces that don’t sand very well.

With a brush, brush on a thin coat of the primer in the direction of the wood grain. I apply 2 coats of primer, 6 hours apart, sanding lightly with 300 and 500+ grit sand paper in between coats.

I like to let my primer sit overnight and paint the next day.

4. PAINT

Now on to painting! This is the fun part! For the first coat, I apply a light coat to the entire piece, going with the grain of the wood. Full coverage isn’t necessary at this point. Multiple, thin coats is how a nice paint finish is achieved. I let this coat dry about 6 hours then apply the second coat. If you’re using a chalk style paint, you can absolutely speed up this process and paint the second coat right after the first coat is dry. In between the two coats, I lightly sand again with 300/500+ grit sandpaper.

Apply the second coat in the same manner as you did the first. For this coat, you really want full coverage and a nice finish as this is your final coat of paint.

To minimize brush strokes with a chalk style paint, you can mist the piece of furniture you’re painting with a spray bottle of water or add a touch of water to your paint (and mix well). This extends the dry time on the paint and allows you to smooth it out and keep working it until you achieve your desired results. Sanding in between coats and using a quality brush also keeps brush strokes to a minimum.

If you’re adding multiple colors together to blend your paint, now is when you would do it as well. Check out my video on blending paints HERE.

5. TOPCOAT/SEAL

When you’re painting a piece, you essentially have 2 options to seal it. One option is to seal with a topcoat (polyurethane), and another option is to seal with wax. This topic deserves a whole blog post dedicated to it, but if you’re having trouble deciding between the two, here are a couple of differences.

Wax is a “soft” protective finish. It’s used a lot with chalk style paints for a matte finish. A wax finish feels super soft, and is also best for pieces which don’t endure heavy use. It’s not a good finish for high traffic areas such as table tops, chairs, etc. Wax is water resistant, and generally needs to be reapplied every 6 months to maintain its effectiveness. If you’re refinishing your kitchen table, just say no to wax. The use, heat from dishes, and the moisture a dinner table surface endures are not ideal for a wax finish, but other pieces such as dressers, side tables, etc do well with a wax finish.

To apply wax, you’ll put some on a rag or wax brush, wipe or brush it on the entire piece, working in a circular motion. You’ll then go back and buff it off with a lint free cloth (preferably waiting a couple of hours or overnight before buffing). Most of the pieces I work on require a stronger top coat than Wax, but Minwax has a great furniture wax, as does Annie Sloan. Wise Owl has a Furniture Salve which is similar to wax but is an even softer finish which doesn’t need to be buffed. There are countless brands of wax out there if you’re wanting to go that route. Wax also takes about 4-6 weeks to fully harden and cure.

Topcoat (polyurethane) is a stronger, more durable finish. With multiple coats, it provides a hard, protective finish and comes in different sheen options (matte, satin, gloss, etc). It’s is a good option for pieces that will get used regularly, those in a high traffic areas, if you don’t want the maintenance of re-waxing, or if you may, one day, want to repaint (since wax has to be stripped before repainting).

Topcoat options can be confusing as there are SO many out there and so many for different applications. What you’ll be sealing a painted piece with is a water-based polyurethane or poly, but you’ll hear it called “topcoat” a lot, as well as “varnish” or even Polycrylic. Polycrylic is actually a specific topcoat made by Minwax which is extremely popular, but is never my first choice. It tends to yellow light-colored paint finishes, and takes many more coats to be as effective as other options. Polycrylic tends to yellow on its own, but yellowing can also occur on any piece due to lack of prep/prime and tannin bleed through. I love the Wise Owl Varnish with the crystal clear resin and General Finishes Flat Out Flat and High Performance Top Coat are others I use regularly.

To apply Topcoat, I apply 2 (no more than 3) coats. Once you start to brush on the topcoat, start in one area and keep going. Don’t go back to where you previously applied top coat or back-brush, as to not over-work the topcoat. If you miss a spot, just keep going and cover it in the next coat. Overworking the topcoat will cause the finish to not be as smooth. If you’re doing a large area (like a table top), rolling on the topcoat with a 4″ roller creates a very smooth finish. Most topcoats need 2 or more hours to dry between coats. While a poly topcoat is more durable than wax, it still needs about 21 days to cure and be fully effective.

DONE!

For most, this is where you can take a step back and admire your creation! But if you are wanting to apply a decorative glaze, read on.

Glazing is one of my favorite techniques when adding depth and detail to a piece. If you’re piece has any sort of molding or decorations in the frame, glazing is a great option to make them pop!

When glazing, you’ll want you’re piece will be fully painted and have at least one coat of topcoat. Pick a glaze color that is a good contrast to the color you painted. There are unlimited glaze color options from metallics to white wash, black, and so on. For glazes, I generally use Wise Owl Glaze or Modern Masters Metallics. If you’re using latex paint, you can generally glaze right over the paint without topcoating first, but I find it’s easier to wipe the glaze back if the piece is topcoated in any case. I generally wait 24 hours after a coat of topcoat before glazing to give the topcoat a chance to set.

To apply glaze, work in sections. Glaze dries quickly and the longer it sits, the harder it is to get off. Dip your brush in the glaze color and brush it on the area you want glazed. My favorite brush for glazing are the Cling On Round Brushes (they also work great for stenciling). I do this liberally, all over the area, not just in the details of the piece. Next, take a dry rag or paper towel (shop towels work great for this) and wipe away the excess glaze. Then, take a damp rag and do the same until you get the effect you’re after. After you glaze you’re entire piece, you will want to topcoat it at least one more time.

You can also find a video on how I glaze HERE.

Now you’re piece is really finished (unless you’re upholstering it haha).

I hope this post helps you in you’re painting journey and answers some questions you may have.

Happy Decorating!

~Sierra