Comments on: My Journey In Painting

By: Marcia Bell

Marcia Bell — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 14:20:42 +0000

Hello-I have loved looking at all the beautiful furnitures pieces you have done. I have no experience at painting furniture but have a french provincial bedroom suite from the 1970′s that I want to apint for my daughter. Ivory w/the gold trim. I want to paint it an ivory color close to the original. Do you think I will need sand & use a primer? Considering the age of the furniture, it is in excellent condition, smooth surfaces with no deeps scrathces or knicks. Any advice is appreciated!

By: Admin

Admin — Sun, 19 Sep 2010 18:58:10 +0000

Hi Karen

My trick to painting black furniture is just to sand quite well before painting, this way it limits the use of primer. Do try Behr’s Paint and Primer, as you now can get unlimited colors in a primer, where as in the past you could only get white and gray. This then opens up the opportunity to distress your furniture. Meranda

By: Karen

Karen — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 08:26:56 +0000

Hello, I love what you are doing and what a great blog. Very inspirational! I am new to the furniture refinishing and I am very sensitive to odors and for that reason I would prefer to use latex paint, do you have any you would recommend? I have a few projects on the shelf and would like to have confidence doing them. Also, I am wondering if you ever use primer or if your suggestion is only about when using black paint? I have found the guys at the stores recommend primer highly. However, I would like to hear what you recommend since you are already doing this work and have the tried and true experience. thank you for sharing your knowledge with us!

By: Admin

Admin — Sun, 12 Sep 2010 17:50:35 +0000

Yes~ Oil paint or Lacquer paint are both excellent choices to apply over Formica. Lacquer paint is often used on cars so it is extremely durable. I tend to use oil paint on my pieces because it doesn’t chip and holds up much better compared to water based paints. I usually tend to sand the formica before I paint it so that the paint has something to grab on to.

By: mimi

mimi — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 01:45:35 +0000

I came across your blog and was drooling at all of the beautiful pieces of furniture that you’ve done…outstanding!!

I just purchased a french provincial bedroom set for my little girl off of craigslist with the intention of painting it an antique white for her bedroom. I had not ever seen the hardware painted the same color as the wood and it looks FANTASTIC!! Can you tell me how to paint the brass so that it will not come off? Also, would you suggest spray painting the furniture and if so, what brand/type would you recommend. Any help you can give me would be sooo appreciated as I’ve only painted a few pieces of furniture in my day.

By: Adriana

Adriana — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 19:49:25 +0000

Thanks! Would black lacquer paint work on the top to give it the same look and durability as the Formica?

By: Admin

Admin — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 03:46:05 +0000

My best suggestion is to sand your dresser quite well as the first step. In order for the paint to stick to the top of the dresser, it needs to be sanded well. I would suggest your first coat to be in flat, as it will stick better to the surface than any other sheen. You cannot find a primer in black, and I have tried priming the surface in a gray and it hasn't worked out well for me. What I would suggest using as your first coat is Rust-Oleum's Flat Black Rust Preventive Paint After it is dry, you can paint the entire dresser in Rust-Oleum Black Satin Finish. Many people do not like to work with oil paint, but I prefer it because it is very durable compared to water based paints. I know when I send people home with a painted piece of furniture, it will last longer than water based finishes. When you work with oil paint be sure to buy paint thinner, as oil is hard to clean from your brushes without using some type of solvent. Do wear gloves. If you find you get paint on your skin, try Goof Off to get it off. I tend to get a very nice finish by painting on the oil first with a chip brush that has natural fibers. You can buy chip brushes for $1.25 at any hardware store, and then my secret to nice even finishes are to use foam paint brushes which then even out your paint strokes. This technique has worked on many french provincial dressers quite nicely*

By: Adriana

Adriana — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 14:56:21 +0000

I have a night stand and triple dresser that I’ve had for 32 years in the off white color and want to paint them black. But, I don’t know what to do about the tops since they are formica. Can the formica be redone in black? Or if not, how do I handle it to paint it?

By: Maureen

Maureen — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 03:42:27 +0000

Hello-

Love your blog! Fun, informational, will look forward to more posts!