DIY Furniture Painting Tips & Tricks
We are at the start of the new year and you know what that means – time to embrace new projects, new hobbies and to start ticking off some items from your new year bucket list.
Painting or refurbishing furniture is a fun and relaxing project and gives you the opportunity to let your creativity run wild. But painting is only one half of the battle and there is much to do before you grab the paintbrush.
Furniture painting requires planning and preparation to ensure a smooth and satisfactory finish without worrying about having to redo the project in a few months’ time.
Below are some furniture painting tips and tricks to help you out:
1. Start with a Clean Canvas
Many tutorials or guides will tell you that you do not need to stand down any furniture before starting to paint. This, however, is very rarely the case. If the item you want to refurbish is already painted then be sure to sand it off to prevent any of the previous colours from patching through.
A cleanly sanded surface also helps the paint to better adhere to the wood preventing any premature chipping or unevenly painted spots.
If the item that you are painting is smooth and paint- or varnish-free, you need not sand it again unless there are some rough spots you would like to smooth down.
2. Get Priming
Before you can get to paint you need to prepare the surface with primer. Primer acts as the bottom coat for your project and will help to protect the wood and ensure that you start out with a clean surface to paint on.
After the primer has been applied allow it to dry completely. Leave it to stand overnight if you want to be certain that it is dry. Once dry, check to make sure that there are no droplet lines on the wood surface.
If there are some stray drips or drops, sand them off carefully.
3. Let’s Paint
It’s finally time to start painting!
The painting will require up to three coats of paint leaving at least six to eight hours between coats to make sure that it has dried completely before applying the next layer. When painting is sure to use a foam roller or foam brush to get into all the nooks and crannies to avoid any unpainted surfaces.
If you notice drips or residue between coats simply sand the surface lightly to ensure that you are starting the next coat with a smooth surface.
4. Keep it Looking Good
It’s not enough to simply paint and leave your refurbished project to fend for itself. It is your responsibility to protect it by applying a thin layer of topcoat like a protective gloss layer. This prevents any scratching or damage to the paint.
After applying this protective layer, allow your project to stand and dry completely for up to 72 hours before using it. This is to prevent any damage from going onto the top layer which will spoil the overall finish of your project.
5. Nifty Painting Tricks
Now that you’ve secured a good painting technique, it’s time to learn some nifty painting tricks to make your painting projects easier.
The Rubber Band Trick: Stretch a rubber band over the top of your paint can and secure it underneath. This will create a rubber band bridge over the top of the can which you can use to scrape excess paint off the top of your brush.
This prevents any messy paint from dripping down the edges of your paint can and also helps you to remove excess paint from your brush – win-win!
The Tin Foil Trick: If you are using a paint tray, line the inside of the tray with tin foil before pouring the paint into the tray. This means, when you are done painting, you can pull the tin foil off and throw it away.
No-fuss, no mess and a lot of time saved on cleaning!
The Fabric Softener Trick: When you are done painting for the day put your brushes in a jar with some fabric softener. This will help remove any excess paint that has been left behind and keep your bristles from going hard.
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We hope that you will be starting some cool refurbishing projects soon with these furniture painting tricks and tips. If you are not sure where to start be sure to check out our DIY shoe rack – we have left it plain so that you can order it and paint it yourself.
Have any tips or tricks that you would like to share? Be sure to do so on our Facebook, Twitter or Instagram pages.