The Easy Way To Repaint Painted Furniture

Repainting a piece of painted furniture can be more difficult than painting wood furniture for the first time. But, I have some helpful tips!

MATERIALS

MATERIALS

Mineral Spirits Lead paint test  Nail polish remover with acetone  Zinsser Oil based primer  Sandpaper Orbital sander  Small foam paint roller + paint tray  High quality paint brush Furniture paint of your choice Sealer 

EVALUATE YOUR FURNITURE

Before you can start repainting your furniture, you need to figure out exactly what you are working with.

CHECK FOR A WAX FINISH

If your painted furniture was waxed, you need to remove it with mineral spirits before repainting. Use a clean cloth to apply mineral spirits. After a few minutes, you should see the wax become cloudy. Wait about 10 minutes then wipe it off.

CHECK OLD PAINT FOR LEAD

If you are repainting a decades-old piece of furniture it’s a good idea to complete a lead test. You can buy lead paint tests at most home improvement stores.  If it does contain lead you can still repaint it but need to follow specific instructions for removing lead paint.

CHECK FOR OIL-BASED PAINT

Test your furniture to see if it was painted with an oil-based paint. Just pour a bit of nail polish remover (with acetone) or rubbing alcohol onto a rag. Rub it onto the painted surface. If some of the paint rubs off, it is latex. If no paint rubs off, it is oil-based. No worries if it is. Just use a good oil-based primer first.

CHECK FOR A SHINY, SLICK FINISH

If your furniture has a very shiny, slick paint finish like laminate furniture, it will be tough for your paint to stick. You want to lightly sand the entire surface with 100-150 grit sandpaper. Then apply a coat of a good primer.

CHECK THE CONDITION OF THE OLD PAINT FINISH

Check for chips, any peeling paint or drip marks. Also check for rough areas or sloppy paint.  If you see this, you’ll need to remove all of the loose paint before repainting. A small orbital sander makes the job faster, but if you don’t have one, you can use 100 grit sandpaper.

REPAINTING FURNITURE

Once you’ve dealt with all of these potential issues, you can repaint just like painting any other furniture. Use primer if you had to remove a lot of the old paint finish, or you are painting over very old paint or oil-based paint.

PAINT

I prefer a small foam roller to apply primer and paint to large, flat surfaces like table tops and the sides of dressers. Then a high-quality paintbrush for smaller or more detailed sections.

SEALER

Once your paint has dried, you may want to protect your new paint finish with a topcoat or sealer. Not all paints require a topcoat, but if you are painting furniture will get a lot of use, a topcoat is always a good idea.

Those are my  best tips for repainting furniture. Get even more details below!

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