How to I make a wooden desk top not look like painted wood?
by
Richard Cano
+4
I bought a corner desk and the top was already painted blue. I don't mind the color so much but the top looks like a piece of wood that was just painted. Does it require more coats to look smoother? What should I be doing to make it look less like a piece of panted wood? Hope the pictures help
Hi Richard. I would sand the top down to make it smooth then repaint it. It looks like the top is plywood which could be the reason it isnt’ smooth.
you can also use a paint stripper to remove the paint. when you go to repaint there is a paint additive called flo trol- it extends the paint and less likely to leave brush marks.
No i think he meant to sand it smooth not down to bare wood. Try like you would sand between varnish coats. Otherwise u can always do a 2 part epoxy that will be smooth & highly durable. I know i seen some really awesom things u can do with it on stonecoat countertops I'm itching to try out or can give u ideas on painting. The epoxy is poured on and depending on the effect your looking for depend on what tool to spread it. (Beware if your like me, and seeing something new opens a whole new can of worms! I have more todo ideas than i have items to do it too! Lol)
Sandpaper comes in various levels of roughness called "grit". They are numbered, indicating the fineness of the grit (or really, the number of holes per square inch in the screen used to get the right sized particles). The lower the number the rougher the grit. It goes from about 80 up to above 1000 (for getting a super shine). There are types for wood and metal, dry and wet sanding, and some specialty types for specific jobs.
You will of course use the basic dry wood type. For this project, since you are smoothing paint you will start with a not-very-rough grit, 280 or 300, sanding in a circular motion until the surface feels smooth. You don't need to apply much pressure when sanding paint for refinishing - you're not trying to get rid of the paint, you are smoothing it. Don't be worried if some wood shows through, there are probably bumps if it is plywood.
Once the surface feels smooth, change to 400 - 440 range to gt the surface extra smooth, this will help the final paint job to be glossy.
If you want to topcoat the paint with clear, give it a final light sanding with 440, this will get rid of any remaining brush lines and help the clear coat to be smooth and glossy.
I have done a tabletop made to look like leather. Really easy. Brown paper bags. TEAR into peices. SCRUNCH into a ball and dip into white glue. Smooth out and ģlue on top of dresser. You could use a peice of plywood for this project and fasten that to top of your dresser. When the top is covered trimmed and dry finish with a stain or paint using a rag dipped into the paint or stain. Use minwax to seal... or polyurathane.
Its a bit messy but the finish is stunning