Paint Unfinished Furniture?

Question

my grandparents just recently gave me the furniture they were given when they got married so its pretty old. Its unfinished but its been stained. Well the furniture that I have in my room now is black so the dressers dont match...so I wanna paint them black to match. I kinda want it to have the distressed look like the rest of my furniture does so like is it best to sand it first and what type of paint should I use in order to get that distressed shiny satin type finish to it....what would be best to use and how should I do it?

Answer 1

Sand the furniture so that when you prime, the new paint will stick.  If you are looking at distressing, take candle wax or a crayon and wipe it on the edges that you want to distress. It will make the paint not stick as well, if at all.

Use a latex satin or gloss paint for easier clean up.  Behr has a kitchen and bath paint that leaves a nice finish for furniture.

Answer 2

I would use spray paint and a high gloss or gloss black paint for wood. If you tape the front and side edge of the tops and tape newspaper down the sides for over spray, Use some stone paint and let it dry, do not touch it until it does, It will have a rough finish and you can paint over it what ever color you want and still have that stone top feel. Remove the tape before the paint dries. also wipe it down with some sort of cleaner and sand the shiny spots before you paint.

Answer 3

To be honest, I would first make sure that the furniture isn't a valuable antique that's been passed down through the years. There was an episode of 'Antiques Roadshow' where a woman bought a wooden table for $25 and sold it, at auction, for $490,000.

If it's not a valuable antique, then I would use about a 150 or 180 grit sandpaper and give it a quick sanding over the entire piece. This will knock down any gloss on the piece so the paint will stick. I would then make sure the piece is good and clean.

If you are looking for the 'distressed' look, there a number of different things you could do, depending on the desired look: randomly strike the piece with a hammer or a piece of swingset chain (or similar); use paint stripper and apply to finished paint and remove after a few minutes (will give the appearance of old and peeling paint). Randomly striking the piece should be done prior to painting. This will give the piece the appearance of having dings and dents.

As for the paint, use a quality oil based primer and paint. There are different types of finishes as well but for furniture, I would go with nothing less than a semi-gloss finish. The paint store should have samples of the different finishes.

Answer 4

Definitely you have to start off with sanding, use like 180 grit to start out. Depending where ur located get like a shellac primer which is good for a stained wood. stains won't bleed through, and it will adhere the best on the stained wood especially if it is natural stain like linseed oil. Sand outside also because it might have asbestos in the old stain. When done with the primer apply the black finish, I'd prefer a lacquer finish of satin or semi. You can find a spray can lacquer at home depot or lowes, and make sure you get some respirator mask cause the smell is very strong. When done depending on the type of the distress look, you can use like 280 grit and lightly sand the edges off. The more you want the more you sand off on the edges. You would also need to buy a clear satin or semi finish of either lacquer or a varnish or polyurethane. Apply couple of coats, for durability. You will get a finer and a smooth finish, and also dries really quick with a lacquer finish. With lacquer finish apply about 4coats, but it can be done within like 2hrs, as where varnish or urethane you have to wait min 4 to like 8hrs before you can put on the next coat.