Monday, July 9, 2012

Painting Furniture Without Sanding!

   So lately, I've been kind of a Pinterest freak. There are just so many neat ideas and things to create! Though I do pin things more often than I actually make them, occasionally, I find something I just can't wait to try. See, I've been thinking about redoing my room lately, and a big part of that would be repainting the ugly off-white furniture I hurriedly picked out when I was 11. I mean seriously, who takes an 11 year old furniture shopping all day long? But I REALLY didn't fell like taking weeks to sand everything down. Ugh. But when I saw this post, I saw a glimmer of hope. Now I wasn't about to jump in head first and accidentally ruin what once was probably really nice bedroom furniture. So I thought I'd practice first. I picked out a planter that I found at Savers for $4.99. It was small, mostly smooth, and looked relatively easy to paint. I unfortunately forgot to take any before pictures, (I just get so excited!) but it was a medium brown, average wood. I put LOTS of newspaper down, opened a window, and then, I covered it in this:
Best. Primer. Ever.

I used two coats, painting with a cheapy paintbrush, about 4 hours apart, to make it look like this:


I left it overnight to dry, and then painted it with this, using a small roller that was advertised to be used on cabinets:
This color is Country Blue Pond from Walmart.
 I painted two coats, about 12 hours apart. It ended up looking like this:

The next day I touched up the inside and the edges a bit. And although it does not currently match ANYTHING in my home, I'm very excited about this little guy. I've already picked out a few prospective house plants from Ikea.
So there you have it! Absolutely zero sanding, and still beautiful, thanks to that primer. It really creates a surface similar to a sanded surface, helping the paint hold on for dear life.

Any tips on painting furniture or stories of your own? Let me know below! I'm always open for suggestions :)

7 comments:

  1. I'm glad you enjoyed the tip! I use it all the time.

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  2. I painted the black walnut paneling in my basement with this (at the insistence of the Lowe's guy) and then painted it a soft butter yellow. That was it. 2 coats of Zinsser, 2 coats good paint. Lovely and lasts! Love this product.

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    1. Isn't it amazing? I'm going to start painting my bedroom furniture over my holiday break. I can't wait! :)

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  3. I used a paint sprayer to paint furniture! The sprayer was less than $20. Have to dilute paint to right consistency which is explained in instructions. Came out really smooth. I did sand and prime first but will be trying the primer mentioned above on next piece!

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  4. I use liquid sandpaper. Just paint on ONE coat, then paint whatever color. Paint sticks great.

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  5. this Zinsser primer was recommended and I cannot wait to use it!

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  6. Great! Thanks for the demonstration. I have a hutch I bought on Craigslist and want to paint it for my GEEK style cabin. I didn't want to spend time sanding it and wondered if this product was really worth it. I am heading out to the store to get some of it & get started this weekend on my hutch project. Thanks! (I'll post my before & after pictures of my GEEK hutch complete with Darth Vader custom knobs that I made (super easy!) on my blog within a week or two! THANKS for posting your project! :)

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