How to paint wood furniture

Painting old wood furniture can give it the lift it needs to live another couple of decades. Old vintage furniture that has a new lick of paint can look strikingly modern with an old-school twist. This blog guides you through each stage you need to follow to successfully paint your furniture. Sanding The first stage, and one very important stage, is sanding. Do not skip this part because if you don’t sand, your finished product won’t have a smooth finish. You will want to get an electric sander for a furniture job to help speed up the process. Hand sanding can take a really long time and is only for the patient, strong types. A good grit to start with is 100 grit sandpaper and then when the initial paint and stains are gone, change to 150 grit to smooth the surface. Once you are happy with your sanding, make sure you remove all the dust with either a damp or dry cloth. Prime Time The next stage is priming and using a spray primer is best as it gives an immaculate, thin coat, something that with a brush is harder to achieve. You need to spray 3 or 4 very thin coats of primer on your wooden piece, making sure to let the primer dry between layers.  Top Tip: You may want to run your sander over the primer before you do the final coat because it will raise the grain of the wood. Run your hand over it to see how even it is. Painting The first thing you need to do is make sure the paint is mixed really well. Use a paint stick to do this. Take a clean bristled brush and apply a thin first coat. You will be applying several thin coats to your furniture, up to five; so don’t apply too much on the first go. If you are painting a larger surface, use long strokes to go with the grain of the wood. Wait until each coat is dry before you apply the next. Once you have finished painting, you can apply a final gloss if you like. What are some of your tips for painting old wooden furniture? Share with us over on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.