Painting Furniture Tips/Tools/Techniques

I have done a lot of posts about painting furniture using a lot of different products.  THIS post will summarize that information . . . giving you ONE place to go to find out what you need in a jiffy.  To simplify this as much as possible, I have divided this into two categories . . . . "No Shine" and "Shine".  Let's start, shall we?

"Shine"

The benefits of the "Shine" method:

1. Its the quickest and easiest method.
2. It is basically a 2-step process when it comes to painting.
3. It'll make your cabinets or furniture look like it came from the factory that way.

The process of the "Shine" method:

1. Clean.  Clean your surface well.  I use vinegar & water to scrub the surface clean and then rinse very well with clean fresh warm water and a clean fresh new cloth.
2. Prime.  No matter what the paint can says or the store who sold you the paint says, I will never recommend skipping the priming process (experience speaking here!).  And, the right primer is very key here as well.  You need a bonding primer that is guaranteed to stick to difficult surfaces.  Shy away from the multi-purpose primers (even if they claim to be bonding as one of their features) for this application.  I personally only recommend either Stix by Insl-x OR Bondz by Zinsser.  Only one coat is needed but I highly recommend leaving that one coat to cure for at least 12 hours.
3. Furniture/Cabinet Paint.  Paint designed specifically for furniture/cabinet painting tend to not only have self-leveling properties but will also be a much more durable product.  I have personally used Benjamin Moore Advance many times and plan to try Sico's Furniture & Cabinet paint here soon.  These both have self-leveling properties . . . which means that as the product dries, it levels itself out.  They both cure to a melamine-like very hard, durable finish.  Two coats is usually sufficient (depending on the colour) and I recommend waiting between 12-24 hours between coats.  Keep in mind, ALL paints take up to 30 days for full cure.  You can use your painted surface much sooner, just be uber careful.

What you will need:

1. Cleaner.  Whatever cleaner you choose, make sure to rinse VERY well afterwards.
2. Bonding Primer.  A quart is usually sufficient for most applications as you only need one coat.
3. Paint Tray & 3 liners.  You will need a liner for the primer, the first coat of paint, and the last coat of paint.
4. A brush and/or small roller for applying the primer.  Quality doesn't really matter when applying the primer.  If the products you DO use create ridges that can be felt/seen, just lightly sand those ridges away before painting.
5. Bennett Flock Foam roller for applying the furniture/cabinet paint.  These, from my experience, create the very best finish possible.  I also love the flat end as it gets those 90 degree angles so nicely.  There are a lot of options out there and I have tried a lot, but these ones are my favourite so far.
6. A quality foam brush comes in handy for small areas or to catch drips that may occur while painting.

OR

OR

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*  I would NOT recommend using these products in a sprayer.  I tried that.  The self-leveling properties are lost in the spraying as the sprayer (I used the Kritter spray gun) sprays out such a fine mist of paint.  If you plan to use a sprayer, I would just use a regular top quality pearl finish paint, NOT a furniture specific paint.  

Here are some projects that I have done with this 'shine' method.  Click on the pictures to be taken that particular blog post.

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"No Shine"

The benefits of the 'no shine' method:

1. You can use your leftover wall paint if you want or you can even buy sample jars at your local hardware store.  Or, you can use any brand chalk paint.
2. It is able to be distressed to create a variety of looks.  Can we say, "farmhouse"!   :)
3. Since it requires a third step, applying a top coat, you can use a matte finish (no shine)!

The process of the "no shine" method:

1. Clean.  Follow the same cleaning process as with the 'shine' method.
2. Prime.  Follow the same priming process as with the 'shine' method.  Again, although chalk paint is highly advertised as a no-primer-needed process, it is my experience to not skip this step.  I would also lightly sand (220 grit) after the primer has cured for at least 12 hours and then carefully wipe away all sanding dust. 
3. Paint.  You can use any brand of chalk paint, if you wish, for this method.  I prefer to make my own.  For this, you can use any quality flat/matte paint.  (You CAN use eggshell paint but it highly recommended to use flat/matte in a high quality product.)  You will need a chalk additive to mix with your paint.  I use either Chalk-tique or BB Frosch.  They are equally great but Chalk-tique is more readily available in my area.  Simply follow the directions on the jar for the mixing ratio.  I find this 'homemade' chalk paint to be very silky to the touch and levels out very nicely in the application.  You are able to apply your second coat of paint a mere hour after the first coat so the painting process is much faster.  
4. Distress, if you wish.  If you simply want the wood to show through on the edges, its a simply sanding on the edges until the wood shows through.  OR.  You can use one color as the first coat of paint and another colour as the second coat of paint so that when you distress, the first color shows through.  You can see an example of this​ here.  OR.  You can do a glazing technique.  There are actual glazes out there.  General Finishes carries glazes.  If glazes aren't readily available to you, you can make your own as I do.  You can see examples of that here.  For glazing, I recommend waiting the 72 hours.  For distressing, you can do that an hour or two after the last coat dries.
5. Top Coat.  I recommend waiting 72 hours before applying the top coat so as to eliminate the possibility of a reaction between the products.  You CAN use wax if you like using wax.  I am not a 'wax' person so I choose top coat.  I have used a variety of top coat companies but I do have to say, I'm leaning strongly towards Saman as my favourite.  I like to apply top coat with an applicator sponge.  I wrap a dinner plate with tinfoil, pour a little of the carefully well stirred top coat onto the plate, and then dip my applicator sponge into it.  It glides on so easily, smoothly, and quickly.  I wrap the plate and the sponge separately in plastic food wrap in between coats.  At least 2 coats is recommended.  3 or 4 is better for cabinetry.

What you will need:

1. Cleaner.  Whatever cleaner you choose, make sure to rinse VERY well afterwards.
2. Bonding Primer.  A quart is usually sufficient for most applications as you only need one coat.
3. Paint Tray & 2 liners.  You will need a liner for the primer and the paint.
4. A brush and/or small roller for applying the primer.  
5. Bennett Flock Foam roller for applying the paint.  These, from my experience, create the very best finish possible.  I also love the flat end as it gets those 90 degree angles so nicely.  OR, if you plan to use two colors for distressing, I would then recommend using the Cling On brush (or any good quality soft brush) for application.
6. A quality foam brush comes in handy for small areas or to catch drips that may occur while painting.
7. 220 sanding pad . . . if you want to distress.
8. Applicator Sponge for applying the top coat.  You can use the Flock Foam roller or even the Cling On brush, if you like.  I prefer an applicator sponge.  
9. Top Coat (or wax if you so choose).

Choose a quality flat paint to mix your additive into.
​
I prefer either Chalk-tique or BB Frosch as my additive.

For us Canadians, BB Frosch is available through www.amazon.ca and Chalk-tique is available through www.homehardware.ca

Saman product
​are available in hardware stores in Canada.

General Finishes
​is available throughout North America.

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Here are some projects I have done using chalk additive and flat topcoats:

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I hope you find this post helpful.  :)