How to Refinish Furniture
In the last seven years, I've painted literally hundreds of pieces of furniture. That's how I made my living for most of those years. Now, I don't have time to do much refinishing, so I'm sharing my step by step instructions with you! For a video tutorial, please check out my IGTV @renovationqueenlife.
@renovationqueenlife
https://www.therenovationqueen.com/
SUPPLIES:
Sandpaper- I like to use a 60 grit sand paper for this type of project. It does a good job getting the old finish off. https://amzn.to/2Mg854U
Primer- Zinsser 123 spray primer is my favorite primer of all time. I use this on ALL projects. It gives the best grip and is so easy to apply! https://amzn.to/2MfOke4
Brush- You can use any high quality brush, but I really like this one because it has a short handle that works great for getting into tight spaces. https://amzn.to/2wt9Elm
Paint- My favorite paint to use can be purchased at Home Depot. You can choose any color, but the type of paint I use is Glidden Diamond (or Premium) in a semi gloss.
Glaze- Rust-oleum Espresso Decorative Glaze (purchase at Home Depot)
Cleaning Wax- Howard Feed-N-Wax https://amzn.to/2Wcs359
Sanding is a very important step that many people try to skip over. My theory: The sanding is no fun, but often it's the not-so-fun parts of a project that make it worth it in the long run! If you want your piece to stand the test of time, then sand it!
Note: If you plan on doing a large project (or several small ones), then I would recommend getting an electric sander. Here is a link to the one I use:
After sanding, make sure you remove all dust from the piece. If the piece has a lot of details, I sometimes use a rag with a bit of water on it to clean off all dust.
Now you are ready for primer! I always do a very thin coat of primer! VERY thin! Below is a picture to demonstrate.
See how thin the primer is? You can still see the wood through the primer in some areas. This is good! From past experiences, I've learned that the thin coat of primer helps the paint to adhere better than a thick coat.
Time to paint! I usually do two coats of paint. On a small project, I will usually use a good quality brush. When I was painting furniture as part of my job, I used an electric paint sprayer. It gets the job done quickly, but takes some serious practice to get used to the flow of the paint. I'll put a link to my sprayer below:
After both coats of paint have dried, you have some decisions to make! Will you distress the piece so that the wood shows through? Will you glaze it? Let's start with the wood distressing. If you decide to do that, then start by rubbing your sandpaper along all of the edges.
You will also want to rub the sandpaper across any areas where the piece could have been worn in "real life." By this I mean, try to distress it in areas where it would naturally be scratched after years of use.
After distressing, sometimes I don't follow through with glazing. Distressing is often all a piece needs to look complete. In some cases, I choose to follow up distressing with a glaze to add more of an aged vintage look to the piece.
With a small paint brush, brush a small amount of the glaze into all of the cracks and corners of the piece.
Using a rag, wipe off all excess glaze from the piece. Once finished, the glaze should only be left in the corners and cracks.
This step is completely optional. I like to brush on a bit of wax on the top of my pieces because it makes them easier to clean. Not to mention, this stuff smells amazing!! For this step, you brush a bit of wax on the top of the piece and then simply rub it in with a clean rag. Now you are finished and ready to enjoy your piece!
She's all finished!
Please follow me on IG for more projects @renovationqueenlife.
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Patricia Pittman on Jun 08, 2019
Sorry, my parents grew up during the Depression, so distressed furniture has no appeal for me. I have family furniture that is naturally distressed from being used by several generations.
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