PAINTING TIPS

I get a lot of questions from people asking me about how to paint furniture. I am no expert, but I have made so many mistakes, and had some small successes. So to the best of my experience here are my tips for an even profession look to DIY painted furniture.

Sometimes I use spray paint for projects and other times I use canned paints. Most furniture pieces that have a veneer, are metal, or plastic I use spray paint, because you can get a uniform finish that will stick. For wood that is unfinished or sanded down I like to use a brush and canned paint, because the wood is going to "absorb" the paint and if you do it right you can get a pretty smooth finish. My favorite spray paint brands are Krylon and Rustoleum. And my go to interior latex is Benjamin Moore's Natura line because it has no VOCs. I use Kilz primer because that's what my mom taught me and you don't mess with that advice.

METAL:
For metal I only prime if I have rusty, exposed spots. I use Rustoleum's 2x primer because its good for metal wood and plastic, if priming is necessary. Once I have a good base of primer I usually use Krylon if I want bright colors, they have lots of great colors. If I'm going more subdued I stick with Rustoleum that have good cream, white, and grey tones that I like. Sometimes it all depends on whateve brand the hardware store carries, you can;t go wrong with either of those options.

The key to painting metal is scuffing up the surface with steel wool or sand paper to remove debris and rust. And allowing adequate drying time. I can't tell you how many botched paint jobs I've seen because someone didn't read the back of the can. Spray paint will look awful if you: hold the can too close to the object, paint in extreme temperatures, and don't allow for proper drying time. I maybe know this from experience, maybe...
 
VENEER:
Veneers are tricky and you have to feel them out in their own situations. In most cases I skip sanding all together with this type of furniture. I HATE sanding. So I avoid it when/if possible. I try to give it a few light coats of primer before my final coat and I rarely have problems. The biggest issue I have run into is with flat and satin spray paint. If your final coat isn't even, you can get a streaky-stripey looking finish, not in color but in the sheen of the paint. I have found that this is best avoided when the can of paint is full. When it starts to run out you can't get even coverage, even though it appears to be coming out even- its not. Do your final coats with a full/almost full can of paint. And make sure you aren't painting in direct sunlight, or on a hot day- it can make the paint sticky and you won't get an even coat.

I am sitting in the direct sunlight, don't paint my top or my finish will be uneven...

NATURAL WOOD:
 You should sand down all natural wood, and prime it first. I like to lightly brush on my primer and lightly sand in between coats, being sure I follow the grain of the wood. I prefer synthetic bristle brushes and foam brushes, because you get less brush marks in the final coat. Sometimes I'll even use a foam roller, just steer clear of  the natural bristle brushes, they loose bristles so easily, they do not last as long, and they leave streaks and bristles behind, you are basically throwing money away on these. I used this technique on my dining table and it came out looking amazing. I get compliments on it all the time, its hard to believe it was a $10 thrift find.

Even sheen from painting with a synthetic brush.

PERFECT PAINT LINE:
My secret to the perfect paint line with no bleeding or drips is to tape off the area you want to paint and then paint a base coat of the background color. On this nightstand I painted my first layer of stripe in blue, then 2 coats of white. if the paint is going to bleed the only color that will bleed is the blue. It acts like sealed barrier, now only the un-taped parts with be white, and you end up with a crisp, clean paint line.