REFURBISHED FURNITURE
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I recently refinished a small end table. I am very dissappointed how the top turned out. I was looking for a smooth finish and couldn't seem to get it accomplished. I used a spray acrylic finish. What is the best way to get a smooth finish? If you use chalk paint, what would give it a smooth finish?
6 answers
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A little more information about all you used, and photos, would greatly help. Are you saying you didn't use chalk paint and wonder if that would have been smoother? If so, what did you use?
Z
on Apr 21, 2014
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@Renee Sanofsky try using a very tight foam roller, it should roll the paint on nice and smooth.
Helen Miller
on Apr 21, 2014
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Chalk paint will be pretty smooth with a chalky texture but will show all your brush strokes unless you sand with a very fine grit sandpaper once dry.
Andrea Brown
on Apr 21, 2014
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Sanding it will smooth it out. If you use chalkpaint, lightly sand unless you want to distress it a bit.
Mary
on Apr 21, 2014
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I'm not surprised you had problems with a spray-on product. Aerosol products have their place but I have never had any luck getting a good, smooth, consistent finish on furniture with anything that comes out of an aerosol can. NEVER. The finished result ALWAYS comes out splotchy and the only thing I can figure out is that if you hold the can far enough away from the piece so you don't get drips and puddles, the spray is so fine that it is practically dry before it even hits the furniture. I think the aerosol paint products are better suited for projects with smaller surface areas, or items where the final results are not as important or won't be noticed as much. For example, I have used spray paint to change the color of some plastic planters for my porch. Since they are subjected to the sun and weather, and filled with dirt, I wasn't concerned about achieving a perfect finish. I also used spray primer and paint on my ironing board frame so the frame would color coordinate with a new ironing board cover. Again, I didn't care if the legs were a bit splotchy. No one will be looking that close at my ironing board and I can certainly guarantee no one will be using it except me! ;) The majority of furniture I have painted, I have used latex primer and paint which I usually apply with a Wagner airless sprayer. If you can borrow a sprayer from a friend or relative, that will give a really nice, smooth, consistent finish. If you are going to be doing more furniture painting in the future, you might want to just invest in one. I bought a basic model for around $100 and it was the best $100 I ever spent. If you are patient and careful, you can also get a nice finish using a small foam roller and/or a good quality paint brush. Another little tip is apply 1 or 2 thin coats of primer first and use the best quality paint you can afford. It definitely makes a difference. (Personally, I do not like the all-in-one primer/paint for furniture.) Regarding protective finishes, typically I don't top coat my latex painted furniture. On the few pieces of furniture I have stripped and refinished with stain, I have used a brush-on polycrylic which I applied with a foam brush. My first experience with homemade chalk paint didn't impress me at all and I'm really not a big fan of the chippy, distressed look or furniture that looks like the paint was slopped on by a kindergartener anyway so I resisted buying commercially made chalk paint for the longest time. However, I recently decided to give it a go and see if I could coax a finer finish out of it than most of the projects I was seeing. A few days ago, I started painting a desk with Annie Sloan chalk paint and found if I dipped my paint brush into a glass of water and then into the chalk paint, the chalk paint went on with fewer brush strokes and leveled out better than just dipping from the paint can alone. In other words, the thinner the paint, the smoother it went on and very little sanding was necessary. (Applying it thinned down did require extra coats though--maybe a total of 5 for full, even coverage.) For a protective finish over the chalk paint I will be using either Miss Mustard Seed's hemp oil or her clear wax--I haven't decided yet. So, in summary, you have lots of other paint and application options for getting a fine finish on furniture but, in my opinion, aerosol paints and top coats are not it. Save the aerosols for stuff that no one will be looking at all that closely.
Shari
on Apr 21, 2014
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I have built a lot of furniture andcabinets as well as other things. I have uses all kinds of paints spray,aerosol, brush, and rollers. The key to the smooth finish is in the preparationof the surface. It needs to be sanded smooth with a fine grade of sandpaper 220or 300 is the best. Once you have allthe surface marks removed and you have a smooth surface then you can paint itand make a smooth finish. If using a spray paint or aerosol you need to workfrom a wet surface into a dry surface. This means that you start at one side ofthe object and spray a light coat of paint until the surface just looks wet.Then continue to spray overlapping passes until the object is covered workinginto the dry from the wet side. This will prevent the overspray from falling onthe wet smooth surface as you paint. Once covered let it dry completely andthen sand lightly with 300 grit sandpaper between coats. If you find any runsor spots make sure you sand them out completely. Any imperfection you leavewill be carried forward into the finish coat and will show when completed. You canget a smooth finish with any kind of painting method as long as you sandbetween coats. Yes this is a lot of work and it usually takes me at least 5 to6 coats when spray painting a project because you have to use light coats ofpaint. Hope this helps on your nextproject.
Roger S
on Apr 22, 2014
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