can I paint laminate furniture?

Kathy M
by Kathy M
  22 answers
  • Sure, I don't see why not. You will want to sand it a bit just to rough up the surface a little to help with paint adhesion. Then use a good quality bonding primer. Personally I like the Bullseye 1-2-3 product. When that is dry, finish with a quality top coat.
  • Kathy M Kathy M on Feb 02, 2012
    Thank you! Do you have a suggestion for a brand of top coat? It is a dining room table and chairs, and I want to make sure it holds up. Actually the chairs are solid, but the table is veneer. The table has little blocks of inlaid wood on the top, if I paint over them, will they show through the paint?
  • I have done this with great success. I sanded lightly, used the primer, used house paint ant my artist acrylics. I finished it off with a water based Satin polyurathene.
  • Flowerscapes has it for the types of paint. As for the little blocks, yes they may show through (their shape at least). You will want to use a paintable wood filler to try and get rid of any little gaps between them. Take a look after you prime it, if you can still see the separate blocks, chances are high you will see them after the finish paint. Fill them again and prime again.
  • Kathy M Kathy M on Feb 04, 2012
    Thank you! I'm off to the hardware store :)
  • Posh Patios Posh Patios on Feb 04, 2012
    light sand, TSP, Shellac Non-Wax (sealcoat from zinnser) any top coats
  • Good luck with it Kathy. Post a pic and let us know how it turns out for you.
  • Kathy M Kathy M on Feb 06, 2012
    I will, thanks. Got the supplies yesterday and am starting today :)
  • Kathy M Kathy M on Feb 06, 2012
    Okay, just sanded, applied wood filler to the little inlaid blocks, let it dry and sanded again. So far so good, except one of the drawers has little tiny cracks in it! Will they cover with paint? Did I sand that one too much?
  • Kathy, are the cracks in the laminate itself or in the paint/primer you applied to it? Do you feel you sanded there more than any other spot?
  • Kathy M Kathy M on Feb 06, 2012
    They are in the laminate, definitely. It is wood laminate, very thin piece of wood on top of solid piece. I don't feel like I sanded it more than the other pieces, but it's entirely possible that I didn't sand them all exactly the same. Also, that's the only thing I could think of that would make only one drawer out of three do that.
  • Kathy M Kathy M on Feb 06, 2012
    Also, for the "house paint" top coat, do you mean wall paint or outdoor paint, and would you recommend latex or oil? Thanks again!
  • Kathy, would it be possible to fill in those little cracks with the same wood filler you used on the blocks? As to paint, I would go with oil myself, it is more durable than latex is.
  • Kathy M Kathy M on Feb 07, 2012
    I'm not even sure they need filling, they're so tiny. Also, I noticed tiny cracks today while sanding the chairs! I think it's just the bad quality furniture that has not aged well! Thank you for the suggestion of oil paint, I was thinking that would be best, too. I'm thinking good quality brush instead of foam roller, too. Do you think it matters?
  • A good quality brush will be better if you have some good experience using oil paint, otherwise it may leave brush lines. In that case go with the roller. I suggest you start with the oil on an unseen spot (such as the underside of the table and chairs) just to get a feel for it and make sure you are happy with the results.
  • Kathy M Kathy M on Feb 16, 2012
    Just have to tell you, my furniture looks FABULOUS!!! I've put two coats of oil paint on it, and the little squares are not even visible at all. I think the small cracks were just from the veneer aging, and I sanded them and they are gone, too. After putting the first coat of oil paint, I saw more brush strokes than I had hoped for, so I thinned the second coat a little bit with paint thinner and it went on like a dream! Looks so much better. I'll post pictures as soon as I get it all put back together. Thanks so much for all your help :)
  • Awesome! No problem with the advice, that's why I stop on by here. :) I would love to see those photos. Congratulations on a job well done!
  • Kathy M Kathy M on Feb 23, 2012
    I am trying to load before and after pics to show you, and it keeps flashing an error... I hate to ask for help AGAIN, but really want to show you my finished product :)
  • Hmmm, I haven't personally had that problem myself. I'll send a message to Miriam to stop on by here, she is the Hometalk community rep. Hopefully she can help you out with that one. :)
  • Miriam Illions Miriam Illions on Feb 23, 2012
    Kathy, do you have flash installed on your computer? That may be the issue. What does the error say? I'd love to see the pictures too!
  • Kathy M Kathy M on Feb 24, 2012
    Thanks Miriam... yes, Flash is installed. The error doesn't happen every time... I just click the picture to add, and it gives me the timeline like it's going to work, then it just stops!
  • Miriam Illions Miriam Illions on Feb 24, 2012
    OK, let me report this to the tech department. The other thing I can recommend in the meantime is that you try another browser if you have one. I'm going to send you an email now with a few more questions for troubleshooting.