Painting furniture

Kenneth A Trank
by Kenneth A Trank
The coffee table has a factory mahogany finish. What process should be done prior to painting it. I do know that it has to be sanded, but what is the process?

  8 answers
  • Erma Erma on Feb 19, 2018

    If your chalk painting, just a goood cleaning with degreaser such as Krud Kutter and the clean with mineral spirits! Works for me

  • Dianacirce70 Dianacirce70 on Feb 19, 2018

    If you use a lower grit, but not too low, sandpaper to start, then move to a 200 or a 400 grit it will give it a nice clean finish to paint. You can strip it, but that takes a while, and if you are going to paint, not really necessary. If you want to just do the light sanding, then prime, it will take some of the time away from the sanding process too. I usually don't know what process I am going to use until I get started.

  • Joy30150932 Joy30150932 on Feb 19, 2018

    A sanding with a light sandpaper. Clean well of any dust accumulation. Prime with a good primer and then put on your finish coat.

  • Deb K Deb K on Feb 19, 2018

    Sand it, then you can clean it with TSP (or soapy water), RINSE it with clear water, let dry and paint away!

  • Mogie Mogie on Feb 19, 2018

    Sand, wipe down with a damp rag, let it dry, prime and paint.

  • Melanie Melanie on Feb 19, 2018

    if its venier don't sand use a primer and filler.then paint

  • Jlnatty Jlnatty on Feb 19, 2018

    What you want to do is remove the surface finish put on by the manufacturer. Wash down piece and let thoroughly dry before sanding. Sand with medium grit sandpaper first, going in the direction of the grain (don't do circles), then switch to a once-over with fine grit paper in direction of the grain. Wipe down with a couple of tack cloths to remove all residue. One coat of primer, it doesn't have to look pretty (it won't!); then, add your paint finish. I prefer spray paint finish because it's smooth, don't want to see brush strokes, but it will take several THIN coats to get a good finish. Some folks prefer to use a foam roller and a fine brush to get into crevices and fine details if your piece has them. Depends how much patience you have :)

  • Jlnatty Jlnatty on Feb 19, 2018

    P.S. The goal isn't to totally remove all finish from the piece, but to break the surface of the factory finish so the primer and final paint coats will adhere to the piece.