How to Paint Furniture

Prep, Prep and Prep Some More.

Lay your drop cloth underneath the area you’ll be working on to ensure any spillages or rogue paint brushes don’t spoil your floor. Take off any removable parts (in this case the wardrobe doors, drawers and rail), this will make painting a lot easier however if you can’t then don’t worry, you’ll still achieve the same goal.

Clean all surfaces with warm water and a small amount of your mild detergent then allow the furniture to dry completely.

Sanding is a crucial part of this process and unfortunately isn’t a one-time thing within the project! By sanding, you’re creating millions of tiny little scratches which increase the surface area that your paint can stick to – basically it helps with adhesion.

Fortunately, you don’t need to completely strip the piece you’re painting you simply need to rough it up a little. If it’s varnished, use the medium-grit sandpaper and ensure you’ve dulled down all areas (TIP: if you want to ensure a really smooth finish, go in with the fine-grit paper after this step). If you’re painting over old paint, the fine-grit sandpaper is all that is necessary.

Finish this step by wiping away any dust with a damp microfiber cloth.

Apply a thin layer of our Primer & Undercoat to all surfaces that you’ll be painting. Don’t forget to stir your paint to ensure an even distribution of pigment.

If you have the option of mixing your primer to the same color as your topcoat, do it! This will help with your color transition. Luckily, we can mix into over 250 colors to help ensure you purchase the best shade for your project. If your specific topcoat shade isn’t available on our website, drop us a message and we can advise which shade to go for!

We’ve used a dark grey primer here, our topcoat color isn’t available as an option in the Primer. Grey primer gives premium color hiding and promotes a more uniform color finish on deeper topcoat colors.

If you have the option of mixing your primer to the same color as your topcoat, do it! This will help with your color transition. Luckily, we can mix into over 250 colors to help ensure you purchase the best shade for your project. If your specific topcoat shade isn’t available on our website, drop us a message and we can advise which shade to go for!

IMPORTANT STEP: Once the primer is fully dry, it’s time to sand again (we did warn you). Using your fine-grit sandpaper, give your piece of furniture another light going over remembering to wipe away all dust afterwards.

It’s finally time to paint that topcoat on. Stir your eggshell or gloss paint well and then apply 2 coats over all your furniture surfaces – remember to sand in between the layers after leaving to dry for the full drying time!

TOP TIP: Paint detailed or smaller areas with your thinner brush and larger areas with your bigger brush.

Allow all components of your project to fully dry and then reassemble them if needed. After this, simply move into the position you had in mind and step back to enjoy your hard work.

We decided to keep her doors off for this project to show case our great outfit choices!

Remember, there are no rules when it comes to your own projects. Why not play around with different colors or sheen levels? After the above steps you could mask off different areas and repeat the last steps with another color or a glossier varnish. Or you could think about adding wallpaper into projects as well. The possibilities are endless so get your creativity hat on and go upcycling crazy!