Tips to Help You Paint Your Wood Furniture
The internet and social media are full of ideas and information to help you paint your worn wood furniture and cupboards. Painting over your existing wood surfaces can restore the finish and also give them a new aesthetic look that is popular in many magazines. But there are some considerations you need to remember if you choose to paint onto a finished wood. Here are some recommendations to paint over your worn out wood furniture and give them a new and improved look.
1. Select the Right Type of Paint
A coat of paint will give the wood a new color and surface, but will also cover any blemishes, scratches, and stains to soften its appearance. However, wood furniture already has a sheen and finish to the piece that can make it difficult for a layer of paint to adhere to the paint. You will usually find your new layer of paint peels and scratches easily off your furniture to leave it looking worse than it did before you painted it.
But sanding an entire piece of furniture, such as a kitchen table or desk, can take a great deal of time that is not necessary when you use the right type of paint. Therefore, look for the right type of paint mixture to apply to the paint and help it stay.
You can visit a local paint store and look for chalk paint or mineral paint in a color you prefer. Both paints have similar qualities that they adhere well to a wood finish without having to remove the finish first. Otherwise, you can use any paint of your choice, but apply a bonding primer to the furniture first or add a bonding agent right into your paint and apply it that way.
2. Buy the Right Tools and Equipment
Before you begin slapping paint onto your favorite piece of worn-out wood furniture, take a few minutes to prepare your work area and get the right tools for the job. First, you will need to get a drop cloth to protect your work area, such as interior rooms or the garage floor, from paint splatters and spills. If you think you can be careful and not get any paint on surrounding surfaces, don't take the risk because the spills and drips will likely occur despite your best efforts.
Be sure you place a canvas drop cloth onto the area. Canvas makes a better fabric to collect paint spills because it absorbs the paint better and helps it dry faster to prevent contact stains onto other surfaces. A plastic drop cloth, for example, will keep the paint splatters wet for longer to increase the chance of the paint smearing onto the wall, floor, your shoes, or the furniture you are working on.
Also, invest in a good paintbrush that will hold the paint as you apply it onto your furniture. A cheap paintbrush, for example, will shed its hairs into your work and make your finished job look bad.