Choose what to paint the old furniture

Gusevsky Andrey Anatolyevich

Antique Printed Chest

The restoration of old, sometimes shabby and cracked furniture will help to refresh or renew the old interior. Almost everyone has such furniture, inherited from his grandmother, which is a pity to throw out.

And she stands, gathering dust in the country or in the garage. In this article we will look at how to paint old furniture correctly and how.

Preparation of furniture for painting

Old chest of drawers is cleaned for painting

Before painting old furniture, it must be carefully prepared. So that in the future she would please her for a long time with her updated appearance.

There are two ways to clean the surface:

• Chemical - This is the use of special chemicals. They are selected depending on the type of previous coating. Do not forget about precautions, be sure to wear gloves before work.
• Thermal - This is the use of hot air or steam. We soften the old paint on the furniture with a building hairdryer and remove it with a scraper and clean it with emery.

What will be needed for work

Some tools that you will need when painting furniture

Before starting work on painting old furniture, you should immediately prepare the tools and other improvised tools that will be needed in the process:

• Paint in cans or spray cans.
• Varnish, matte or glossy.
• Putty and primer.
• Newspapers or film.
• Gloves and safety glasses.
• Respirator or gauze bandage.
• Emery paper of different grit.
• Masking tape.
• Rubber spatula.
• Tray for paint, one or more.
• Water and detergent.
• Paint roller and brushes.
• Rags.

Having prepared everything in advance, you can not break away from the workflow.

Advice! It’s better to buy a new paintbrush and when choosing carefully check the fibers so that they do not pop out. In the worst case, the surface of the furniture will not be uniform and smooth.

The choice of finishing materials

Different types of finishing materials

So:

• For painting old furniture, we need not only paint.
• You also need to purchase a primer, preferably the same shade as the paint. This way we apply fewer coats of paint to the product.
• Putty may be necessary if there are deep cracks, scratches and chips on the surface.
• And it would be nice to cover the updated furniture with varnish, for its longer use and a spectacular appearance.

Choose paint

Colors for furniture

From a variety of furniture paints, water-based paints are best suited.

These include thixotropic and acrylic paints:

• Acrylic paint - easy to use, dries quickly and does not have a strong pungent odor.
• Thixotropic paint - a dense consistency that does not leave streaks and after drying is similar to plastic.

Important! When buying paint, you need to pay attention to what it is intended for. Some of its types are used for garden furniture, this is not suitable for home.

Choose a varnish

Application of varnish on a wooden surface

Varnishes are diverse in their properties and chemical composition.

For home furniture, the following types are suitable:

• Water based varnish - Suitable for all surfaces, does not smell and is not toxic, but dries for a long time.
• Nitrolac - used for small parts and wears out quickly.
• Lac shellac - the most popular, creates the perfect gloss, durable, but it has a rather high price.
• Polyurethane varnish - wear-resistant, well in contact with wood. It is diluted with solvent before use.

Painting process

In the photo, the process of painting old furniture

Painting old furniture with your own hands at home is not very difficult. The main thing is to know exactly what you want and prepare in advance.

Step-by-step coloring instructions:

1. First, we will analyze the piece of furniture that we will update. We remove the doors, pull out the drawers and unscrew the handles and locks. We glue surfaces that cannot be removed, glass and mirrors.
2. Then, as it follows, we will wash it; for this, we will dissolve a little detergent in a basin with warm water. After washing, let it dry.
3. We put on a gauze bandage and safety glasses so that the dust does not clog and settles on mucous surfaces.
4. We clean the surface with fine-grained sandpaper and primed. If there are deep cracks or scratches, they must be puttied using a rubber spatula.
5. Primed again, it is worth choosing an acrylic primer for the future color of the furniture. This will make it possible to apply fewer coats of paint. After drying, again sandpaper over the surface.
6. We remove dust and dirt residues with a vacuum cleaner or a dry brush. From wet rags, dust and small particles will clog back into cracks and crevices.
7. Do not forget to cover the floor and nearby objects, so as not to stain them with paint, especially if we are working with a spray can.
8. Do not forget to open the windows, as you need to work with the paint in a well-ventilated area. Make sure that small insects do not fly nearby, they can get into a fresh layer of paint and you will have to redo everything.
9. We put on gloves to protect hands from pollution by paint. Do not forget that you need to paint in old home clothes, which is not a pity to spoil.
10. If we paint with a spray can, it must be shaken before use. We apply paint from a distance of about 30 centimeters, with smooth movements and as thick as possible, in order to avoid smudges.
11. If the paint is in cans, use a paint tray. Using a paint roller, paint wide surfaces, corners and small details with a brush.
12. We wait for the paint to dry completely and apply a new layer. For an even and saturated color, usually two to three layers are applied.
13. After all the paint has dried, apply acrylic glossy or matte varnish. This will make the product durable and give the paint a beautiful and deep color.
14. Now we can remove masking tape and protective film from protected surfaces. Before using new furniture, at least eight hours must pass.

In the video in this article you can see the process of preparation and coloring of old furniture.

Coloring furniture from different materials

The process of painting a wooden cabinet

Whatever material the furniture is made of, the process of preparing it for painting and the painting itself is practically the same. There is also no difference in the finishing materials used for this.

Of course, there are distinctive trifles of each material, considering which, we get high-quality painted, updated furniture.

Painting furniture from MDF

MDF spray painting

To begin with, the surface needs to be cleaned and degreased, then rubbed with a coarse-grained sandpaper and apply an acrylic primer. It will fill all the pores of the panel, and the paint will lie evenly. Paint can be applied by spray or spray gun, brush or roller. If you need a second coat of paint, you need to wait for the complete drying of the first coat and only then apply the next.

If the coloring of the old furniture was successful and the coating is perfectly even, it can be additionally varnished. This will not only give an elegant shine to the product, but also increase the durability and wear resistance of the coating. For a more even and shiny surface, the varnish should be applied in several layers, waiting for each of them to dry.

Important! It is only necessary to coat with varnish a perfectly smooth surface, since varnishing will highlight all the roughness and smudges.

If suddenly the product could not be painted without flaws, it does not matter, you can combine several different colors, they will hide the bumps. Also well disguise defects, drawings or paintings. Sticky pictures will also look good.

Chipboard furniture painting

Chipboard painting with a brush

Having cleaned and degreased all the planes, putty them and wipe them properly with sandpaper until the hand feels a smooth surface. Paint for old furniture made of chipboard uses acrylic, oil or alkyd.

If roughness is found after the first coat of paint has dried, they can be cleaned with fine-grained emery paper. After allowing the paint to dry, you can apply the next coat.

Advice! Painting old furniture can be not only paint, now there is a large selection of varnishes. This is not only a good surface protection from dirt, fungus and moisture, but also a spectacular appearance.

Types of varnishes that are used when painting:

• Alkyd.
• Oil.
• Alcohol
• Epoxy
• Nitrocellulose.
• Polyurethane

Varnishes are good because they make the surface more durable and hard. If you choose paint, then acrylic is perfect. It is easy to use, simply diluted with water, it is stable and dries quickly, it has a less strong smell.

Painting of natural wood furniture

Painted chest of drawers made of wood

Natural wood is often simply varnished, but if old furniture has already been painted, it is better to paint it again.

The principles of preparing old furniture for painting are almost the same as for products from other materials. A distinctive feature of a tree is a phenomenon called "raising a pile." This is when wet formulations are applied to it, for example, stain, enamel or varnish. It is not difficult to eliminate this effect, it is only necessary to polish the surface with very fine sandpaper after the first primer.

Types of painting furniture made of natural wood:

• Tinting - painting preserving the visible structure of the tree.
• Continuous painting - This is the usual staining.
• Varnishing - coating the surface with varnish.

If we want to get a clear picture of wood, it is best to take a stain for coloring. Her large assortment includes a rich shade of natural wood.