Painting wood furniture

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Toby

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Just halfway through a job of painting mexican pine furniture which the shop said had a wax finish on it.

The DIY shop told me to do the following.

- clean with steel wool and white spriits
- paint with primer
- paint with eventual colour in a water based satin finish
(I've done one coat and it'll need at least one more)
- varnish with clear water based varnish

This all took ages and theres another day or so in it for me. Are all these steps necessary? Would it better to just use a gloss paint or do you get a better finish this way?

Also, I've been using a brush and the brush strokes are really noticeable - will these lessen when the 2nd coat and varnish goes on or should I be using rollers? Theres lots of fiddly bits around drawers so I'd need a brush for that anyway.

Thanks.
 
All the preparatory stuff does result in a better finish & water-based stuff is often a better option for furniture with drawers etc. Using gloss paint can in result in drawers remaining permanently closed!!

One point to be careful about having gone to all the trouble of preparing etc; be really careful about which varnish you use, especially if you are painting the furniture a light colour. Many so-called 'clear' varnishes can in fact add a brownish tinge which, depending on the base paint colour, can ruin the entire job or certianly make it look less attractive. I'm speaking from a recent bitter experience!!
 
Hmn, good warning re the varnish. I'm painting the furniture cream. What do you suggest to check colour of varnish, trying it on a hidden part of the furniture first? Thanks.
 
I have been using mini rollers for gloss paint and have found them togive an excellent finish.
 
Given that you're painting the furniture cream, I suggest you skip the varnish idea and go with a gloss paint in the colour you know you're going to like, using a mini roller as Bill suggested. It does give a great finish and you need only use a small brush for the really fiddly bits. I spent ages sanding down, priming etc old furniture - was also painting it cream - and the varnish ruined the job on one piece of furniture. It's not such a problem if you're painting the furniture in a dark colour, but the brownish tinge totally changed the appearance of the cream colour, and not in a nice way! Unless the furniture is going to be subjected to major wear & tear, the gloss paint finish should be more than adequate. I know I kind of warned against gloss paint in my earlier post on the basis that drawers can stick etc, but if you don't pile on the paint too thickly (easy enough to control with the mini roller) and don't rush into shoving drawers back in before the paint is really dry, you shouldn't have a problem with it.
 
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I don't know why the shop suggested varnish... I can't think of a single situation where paint is covered with varnish, nobody does that for doors or walls for example.

I make painted furniture and I'd say you should use Zinsser Shellac Base BIN primer for one or two coats, then two coats of an eggshell paint... you could use gloss if you prefer.

I wouldn't worry about the brush marks, they should settle down when drying. Is your brush clean or are the bristles all stuck together? Always paint with the grain direction, never against the grain.

Cheers
Joe
 
I second Joe's recommendation for eggshell; I've used this finish very successfuly on MDF cabinets etc. For my job I used a thinned down oil based undercoat to "seal" the MDF followed by two full coats of eggshell; I've found eggshell very good in terms of application, appearance and durability.
 
Hi

Thanks for the advice. Sounds like I'll be returning the varnish to the shop. Can one of you experts confirm for me what I should do now then given the following:

The furniture for a kids bedroom and is solid Mexican Pine and I'm painting it cream.

I've already applied one coat of white
"Zinsser Bulls Eye 1-2-3, Interier and exterior Primer-Sealer, Stain Killer"

I've applied one coat of
"Dulux Easycare, Interior wood and metal, Tough Satin" paint.

Whats the best thing to do. Is the primer I've used okay and should I now apply two coats of eggshell paint over the satin coat or is gloss more appropriate. Is eggshell water based? I'd prefer that to oil based if possible because I'm painting in a bedroom and want to avoid too much mess and strong paint fumes near the kids if possible.

Many thanks for all the advice
 
What's wrong with the satin finish you've already applied? I prefer eggshell myself (for furniture anyway), the stuff I used (some time ago now) was oil based but not too smelly if I remember. In my experience it can be hard to get a good finish with some of the low VOC, water based finishes. The primer is fine I'm sure.
 
Hi, well it needs at least one more coat and I'm out of paint so should I get more of the satin or go for eggshell? Thanks.
 
I found that coverage with the eggshell was better than a satinwood product; the eggshell finish is subtle but very different to satin wood. Try the eggshell, I'll bet you'll prefer it.
 
thanks so much for your help carpenter, you've saved me the varnish coat anyway! I'll report back on how it goes.

By the way, painting furniture yourself saves so much money - I saw pieces very like mine that were already painted that cost about 3 times what I paid so its worth alll the effort.
 
Toby said:
By the way, painting furniture yourself saves so much money - I saw pieces very like mine that were already painted that cost about 3 times what I paid so its worth alll the effort.
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It saves a few bob alright but I still found it hard work, to get a good level of finish. Please let me know what you thought of the eggshell.
 
Yeah, painting the furniture yourself will definitely save money... the reason for this is that it is so time consuming. A wax finish can be applied with a rag in a few minutes, obviously painting takes much much longer.

For example, I can make a dresser or a wardrobe or whatever and it would take as long to hand paint it as it took to make the item itself...

I don't hand paint anymore, just spray paint... best of both worlds.

And Toby, you should be able to get most paints in an oil base OR a water base... for kitchens it would have to be oil really but for a bedroom you'd get away with water based. Apparently all paints will be water based in 10 years time...

As a bit of trivia the most durable finish would be milk paint, yes, it is made using milk! It is casien based and is very very durable, also eco friendly.
 
JoeBallantin said:
As a bit of trivia the most durable finish would be milk paint, yes, it is made using milk! It is casien based and is very very durable, also eco friendly.
Click to expand...

Joe, when you say 'would be', does this mean that it's just being tested or whatever (i.e. a hypothetical product), or is it actually available? I'm particularly interested in a very eco-friendly paint product for a project that I have coming up shortly so would be interested in a bit more info on this. What surfaces etc is it designed for/interior vs exterior etc.
 
Flymask

After making my post I looked for 'casien paint' and found the following site which has recipes for home made paint, using milk or flour as a raw ingredient. ('Casien' actually spelt 'Casein'). The site also has good info on the ingredients in commercial paints.

igps.org/purplegoddessinfrogpyjamas/2006/11/11/make-your-own-paint/

Milk paint is generally home made and wouldn't be available in shops or very rare, it doesn't keep well. You may be able to get casein powder from specilist suppliers but apparently the paint is easy enough to make. You will need natural pigments from flowers or whatever.

Shaker furniture was often finished using milk paint, that's how I came across it. Also people like Michaelangelo and famous painters used a milk (casein) based primer for their masterpieces. The paint has a chalky / grainy finish to it.

It is durable in the sense it is very resistant to solvents, only very powerful solvents designed for removing high quality (enamel?) car paints would do the trick apparently. Leftover paint can be composted.

Let us know how you get on if you make some. I can give you a link to a cabinetmaking forum where some of the lads use it if you want.

Cheers
Joe
 
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Eggshell paint marking easily

Just an update on my furniture painting experience. I completed the job using water based eggshell finish paint. I'm just a bit unhappy cos it seems to mark SOOO easily. I'm wondering if a gloss finish wouldn't have been a better idea. Seems like everything we lay on top of the chest of drawers marks it immediately. What do you think - is it worth throwing on a coat of a gloss paint?
 
Toby,
That's disappointing, what brand of paint did you use? I'd have to check, but the eggshell I used was oil based (either Dulux or Crown) and I've found it quite durable (painted furniture in chilren's bedrooms). I'll check the tin and revert.
 
thanks, it was Dulux water based - got it mixed up in the shop. It does look nice, just seems difficult to wipe marks off after just a few weeks. Thanks for your help!
 
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