What is the best way to paint an old table?

What is the table made out of?

If the table is wood, you need to sand it and remove any dust with a tack cloth. Any latex paint will be easy and inexpensive to use. You can also consider sanding and staining the table top and painting out the legs for a nice update.

I'm always an advocate of using chalkpaint, you'll still need to clean it but not really prime or prep, you can go straight to painting. Have fun with it

I use chalkpaint mostly. I find it a little thick and add about 1-2 tablespoons of water and mix. Then I wax the piece with the wax that line produces and rub it in. Lots of colors to choose!!!!!! Seems most professional furniture painters sell white or offwhite best.

Do you have a Michaels or Hobby Lobby near you? I have used anyone of their brands. And Walmart has Waverly which is a favorite. All are in the chalk paint areas. All have several good colors. I would buy at least 2 containers of your color choice and one container of clear wax. Annie Sloan Chalk Paint is my all time favorite but its too expensive for me to have a variety of shades but for my sign business painting the background in the Duck Egg Blue is a good seller and I always stock it. There are now several brands of "chalk paint brushes" that are well priced. When I started only Annie sloan brushes were available and very expensive. Good luck, have a great time!