Painting Furniture

Start out with a piece of furniture covered in years of build-up. I bought this TSP degreaser, and it worked like. a. charm. It was $6.00 at my grocery store.

I walked into the paint store and told my paint guy, “I don’t want to do anything to this piece of furniture. I don’t want to sand it at ALL.” He told me to buy this stuff. It’s got a pretty rough surface to it so that it can grip the paint.

Then, I turned to my handy dandy Ben Moore Low Lustre Metal and Wood paint.

I have two secret weapons. The first is my paint (swear by it). The second is a foam roller. I buy the foam rollers at Wal-Mart for a couple of bucks. I cut in the trim and curves with cheapo foam brushes from Hobby Lobby, then I roll on all the flat surfaces with the foam roller. Between the paint (which smooths out better) and the roller, there are no streaks, brush strokes, etc. It looks like it’s been sprayed on.

I’m quite careful about checking for coverage and lines as I go, but I don’t do anything special outside of that. I just keep rolling lighter and lighter until it’s completely smooth.

Just in case you’re doubting the smoothness this provides.

So…just to be clear. I did NOT sand this thing. I wiped it down really well with TSP cleaner, used the special primer (also with a foam roller), and painted a couple of coats of black paint on it. That’s it. No special finish over it.

#1. Clean it!

I make sure that I use a cleaner to get all the grit and grime off any piece of furniture that I paint. TSP works best for me, and it can be found at Lowes, Home Depot, etc. You’ll be amazed at how much sickness you’ll get off the furniture by using this.

#2. Prime it!

A lot of people ask me about primer, but I don’t have a set kind that I use. AND I don’t necessarily use a primer on everything (see below). The primer below is what I use if I don’t want to do a lot of sanding.

#3. Choose great paint!

Benjamin Moore Metal and Wood paint. Beautiful coverage, smooth finish, and gorgeous look.

#4. TOOLS!

A lot of people wonder about the paint brush. I ONLY use a roller on furniture. I use little foam brushes to get into crevices and trim work, but I NEVER use a brush on the flat pieces. I truly believe this is the difference between a piece looking nice or spectacular

And finally, I don’t seal my pieces with anything. I pay a little more for my paint than other brands, and that’s one of the many reasons why. It doesn’t need to be sealed after painting it.