Beginners Guide to Easily DIY Paint Furniture like a Pro

Learn How to Paint Furniture Like a Pro: A DIY Beginner’s Guide. Read this post for all the pro tips!

We like to go on walks as a family and during a walk this summer we came across this dresser on the side of the road with a “free” sign. After we checked it out we saw that even though it looked a bit rough it appeared to be solid wood and was even made in Canada! We hauled it home and decided it was worthy of a refresh and second chance. We decided to create a Beginners Guide to Easily DIY Paint Furniture like a Pro since we were so happy with how this makeover turned out and have gotten so many questions on how we finish out furniture pieces.

In this post we will give some simple steps and a bunch of tips and tricks to easily paint wood furniture
like a pro. We will show you want to look for when refinishing your next furniture restoration project!

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Choosing your Pieces of Furniture

The first thing you want to do when choosing a furniture piece is to look over the entire piece. You want to make sure the piece you are going to restore is worth your time. Look for pieces that are solid wood and stay away for pieces made from chip board or particle board. Solid wood pieces are best but you can also work with plywood veneer pieces. Restoring furniture takes a bit of hardwork and elbow grease, but is so rewarding when you can give new life to a old worn out piece. Follow this Beginners Guide to Easily DIY Paint Furniture like a Pro to get some great tips and hints for your next furniture makeover!

Finish Selection

When you go to select you finish you will have multiple options, starting with the kind of paint:

Type of paint:

oil-based paint / oil-based primer
water-based paint /water-based primer
latex paint

Finishes:

satin finish
eggshell paint
high gloss
matte

Other Coating:

different brands of chalk paint
milk paint
mineral paint
clear coat like Polycrylic

To get better results consider going with a higher quality paint brands. We find paint from Benjamin Moore and Sherwin Williams work better than the brands found at your typical hardware store. The speciality paint stores tend to have the best paint products and really good onsite production information. Their paint tends to level smoother, coat better, and have a higher durability than the generic hardware store brands. For primer we have had good luck with Zinsser Bulls Eye 1-2-3

Tools

Having the correct tools for your painting projects is really important. To get a nice smooth finish on those old furnitures projects a good quality paint sprayer is really the way to go. We used our Flexio 3500 from Wagner to spray our dresser and the paint job turned out really well. You can also use a few extra tools / supplies like a turntable or a paint leveling product to help really bring your painting diy projects to the next level and give your that professional-looking finish.

Prep Work

The first thing you will want to do is remove all the existing hardware. Next step is to check that all the old piece of furniture work properly. In our case we had to modify and clearance some of the drawers to slide in and out smoothly.

Check for any damage along the piece. If you are painting you can use wood filler to patch any blemishes. If you are wanting to stain the piece to persevere the wood finish you may need to repair any damaged veneer sections or carefully use wood putty to patch any damaged areas.

Figure out what hardware you are reusing or replacing and patch any old holes. You can use dowels and wood glue to fill any old holes and give it a light sand.

I would recommend removing any old finish to get the best end look. If the piece of furniture appears to be older I would suggest doing a test for lead paint. You can use a paint striper/liquid sandpaper and or palm sander to remove any old finish.

To get the best results and a smooth surface it is all about the prep work. Take your time and lightly sand from 120 grit – 180 grit – 220 grit, always finishing with a fine grit sandpaper. If you have a big repair or a rough area to deal with you can go with a lower grit (courser) but be careful as they can create scratch marks and remove a lot of material quickly.

Wood filler is superior to spackling for filling any blemishes. There are also some great epoxy wood fillers that are tinted to the tone of the piece you are working on. These can work great to help patch up damaged or nicked corners or areas.

Apply Paint

Protecting area that don’t need paint

Mask off any areas you don’t paint to get to. Its always a good idea to use a good quality painters tape and some plastic to cover any areas you don’t want paint to get into especially when applying the paint with a paint sprayer.

Painting

1st Coat – Sealing/Primer

Before you start make sure you have a nice clean surface and spray area to work in. You can use a tack cloth to remove any debris and dust from the piece you are planning to paint. Try and work in a shelter area or an area with minimal dust to prevent any debris from getting into your paint coat.

You are likely going to need to do multiple coats of paint to complete your project. Your first coat of paint
will likely be a primer product if you are painting the piece. The first coat of primer will help seal the surface to ensure no bled through into your top coat.

We have had good luck using a sprayer to paint all the flat surfaces. You can get a really nice smooth finish if you paint the surfaces horizontal rather than vertical. You can use a good brush (like a natural bristle brush) to get into any hard to get corners if needed.

2nd Coat – Paint

Once your first coat of paint dries give it a light sanding with a fine-grit sandpaper (like a 320 grit or higher). If you piece has any staining, knots or, blemishes that might have bled through, you may want to give it a second coat of primer to ensure the surfaces are fully sealed. Remember, thin coats are better to get you that professional finish look!

For the second coat of paint you are going to need to choose paint colours that you want to paint the piece with. Look for complementary hues within the space you are planning to place the piece. Different colours can totally transform the piece so don’t be afraid to test some paint colours with a quart of paint first rather than committing to a large amount of paint right away.

3rd Coat – Top coat / Protective Coat

Depending on the piece you may want a third coat or protective top coat. You can use a pigmented lacquer or polycrylic. Just consult with the paint manufacture to see what products work the best together. You can also use a enamel latex paint if you know the piece needs some extra durability.

Staining

If you decide to stain you can apply the stain directly to the bare wood.With more porous wood, the stain can end up coming out blotchy, and the final colour becomes more difficult to control and predict. In these cases a wood conditioner is always recommended when you’re working with softwoods and certain porous hardwoods.

Once the stain is cured and dry you will want to apply some sort of top coat like a polyurethane, polycrylic, lacquer, shellac, oils, or a penetrating finish.

Using a Paint Sprayer

First off when using a paint sprayer make sure your wear the proper safety gear. A good respirator that filters paint particles is a must. Depending on where and what you are painting with disposable gloves and safety glasses are a good idea as well.

When using a paint sprayer always test out your spray pattern before spraying the piece. When you start to apply paint to the furniture piece make full gentle passes with the sprayer, applying a thin coat with a partial over lap to the painted area above. You don’t want to start and stop on the piece it self, rather start and stop before and after the piece.

Paint sprayers are awesome for paint detail work and working around edges and corners without getting any runs. Take your time and do multiple coats, letting each coat dry and giving a light sand between layers.

If possible paint so the piece is sitting with the face to paint up, this allows the paint to cure smoothly and gives a really nice finish.

Using a product like Paint Easy is a great way to get a nice even finish along the piece and give it a really professional finished look and perfect finish. Paint Easy Latex paint thinner reduces the viscosity of the without effecting the durability and finish of the paint.

Once you are done make sure to give your paint sprayer a thorough clean. You want to get all the paint rinsed off before putting it away. Dis-assemble the paint canister and spray nozzle. And put back together and run some clean water through it. If you use a oil base product you may need to use mineral spirits or paint thinner to clean the sprayer.

Using Brushes and Rollers

If using a brush or roller make sure you use long and gentle brush strokes. I would recommend a higher quality brush and micro-fibre and lint free roller made for smooth surfaces.

The biggest thing is to take your time, if you rush and add to much paint to fast you will likely get runs and a uneven finish on your piece.

Hardware

We added some new hardware for drawer pulls and just left the original slide mechanism. I always test and fit the pieces before I paint to make sure everything fits and minimize any damage to the fresh paint coat once the piece is all painted.

End Results

We couldn’t be happier with how the piece turned out. The paint turned out smooth and even and the piece functions great! Now to find the next piece to revive!