What can I do about chipping paint on Ikea furniture?

he should not have mixed oil primer and latex paint. this will not work. you may have to strip it off and start over. sorry.

Ugh, that's so annoying! I suspect that if the billy was covered in laminate or any other industrial coating (which won't let any paint adhere) then a light sanding would just not be enough to get the paint/primer to really stick. Was the Billy unprimed natural wood before the carpenter worked on it? That would have been the best case scenario. In any case, now that it's too late, the only thing I can think of would be to embrace a distressed look, by sanding all the edges of the piece, to make chips less noticeable.

Was a sealer applied after the paint was dried?

No; what kind of sealer should be used? Thanks.

jeez, some carpenter! i guess he's not a "painter"!

MinWax non yellowing polycrylic. Research Min Wax .com for there advice on sealing latex paint .

I agree with Janet! Touch up the paint chips. Seal with at least three coats on a water based polyurethane. Use a foam roller and foam brush for a smooth finish.

Thanks very much, William! He used a foam roller on it and it's painted beautifully. Or was!!

So sorry to hear about your paint troubles. I just wanted to chime in and say that actually, the method used by your carpenter is in fact a common go to method for painting melamine products. However, if I had to bet on why they are chipping, I would say that it is the prep work. Probably needed a bit more sanding between coats, and I am guessing that the paint was completed within just a few days and then installed (?). If so, this is where it all went wrong. The proper technique really requires a "cure period." I like to use BIN primer followed by Sherwin Williams Pro latex enamel. I would have suggested waiting at least 48 hrs after priming (depending on humidity) and a full two weeks after paint before installing. A good seal coat would also have helped. Of course, none of that helps you out now. :-/

You could still try sealing them as others have suggested, but I believe that at this point, the only way that you will get a professional look and quality is to redo the paint job. You shouldn't have to completely strip them down. Just smooth out the chipped areas real well, and lightly sand the rest before going over.

Not what you wanted to hear, I know. I feel your pain. But in the long run, you will probably never be satisfied with seeing those chips in an otherwise beautiful finish.

The primer is on and the latex paint won't stick to that. I think if you try to put anything on it that will come off also. Talk to your carpenter and maybe he will give you a refund or help you with the cost to have the paint job corrected. (Maybe he will replace the cabinet) Do you have a sherwin williams paint store near you? Ask someone there or at a painting company. Not lowes or home depot no offense. Maybe a citrus stripper if it comes to that? Good luck, hopefully you only have 1 cabinet to worry about. Keep us posted!

me again, sorry about my previous posting. I thought the cabinet was bare wood. also I am just repeating what my father taught us about painting (from the old days) he was a painter since he was 14 from Scotland. he used to mix his own colors, did graining and staining and wallpapering. again if I gave wrong information I apologize. I just don't mix products.

there is an old saying: oil and water don't mix. this is the case with your Ikea furniture. the original finish and the new finish repel each other. there is no adhesion - they will always chip no matter what you put over the top.

They sell woodworker pencils in all colors.When I have this issue I personally use markers in the matching color!

I haven't heard of woodworker pencils and didn't think of using markers--what a good idea. It's getting worse, however, and I don't think that coloring will fix it. Thanks.

I just painted two Ikea Billy Bookcases almost the same color you used and I followed the method your carpenter/painter used. I thought we were in for trouble when I could scratch the paint off. But since they were painted, the paint has cured and is stuck like glue. It takes weeks for the primer to cure and time for the paint to cure. Touch up and patiently wait!

Chris, your china cabinets look beautiful!! This is the first light at the end of the tunnel!! Thanks for sharing!!!

Best reply! Good news for you and all future cabinet painters.

I am interested in what others think. -- Yes, I would go with the suggestion here, of paying by the job, not the hour. If you paid by the hour & the painter was not giving you a....'slam, bam, thank you mam', job. He could have done this in two steps. Do the first, then come back after a cure time for the second phase.

Of course only charging you for actual time on the job. Do you have a contract that he will guarantee his work, lets say for the first year or at least 6 months?

If the painter bought the paint I would go back to him and give him a chance to explain a bad job. He should make the corrections no matter how long it takes.

He should be held responsible in some way for producing a 'hit and run' project.

If at best he should give you a refund. I know it is not easy to threaten court, but

he in fact did ruin things by shortcutting the job.

Delores - I would certainly like to know how it all works out for you.

I Wish You The Best.

But don't stop till you have some compensation. Your cabinets are

important to you and the results could have been as professional a job as your

painter marketed himself when you appointed him. If I came over to your house and started chipping away at your furniture, you'd abruptly stop me.

His shoddy workmanship should be replaced by him, to your satisfaction.

Some handypersons what job assignments but not the responsibility.

Pride of workmanship goes with the territory. This applies to all who touch other peoples homes in any way. For any maintenance reduce things in writing to

'Hard Copy'. Ask how long is the anticipation that any job will take. What do they guarantee and how long do they honor their work. Measure time is measuring money. Ask first then you place the price on the job. You are the employer.

Example here: I had all supplies to replace & tile my kitchen floor.

All I needed was the labor. Every handy person quoted about the same

5 to 6 thousand dollars. I stashed the materials on my back porch for 3 seasons,

living with adequate flooring. Come January, I looked up top notch professional tile installers who were looking for work. They wanted the job - I asked questions; How long will it take? The owner bragged 3 days. How many men?

He answered 2 plus himself. What was he going to do? Supervise & have the

equipment delivered then check the final work. Did he have the right equipment? Yes, wet saws etc.

Now what did he want to charge for, Off Season?

Only $3,000.00! Great? Not so! I told him 2 men for 3 days, he would not be paying them $400.00 each per day. I made mention that it wasn't my business what he actually would pay his men but that was a H_LL of an over-ride. I firmly but gently said I would pay him $1,600.00 for the entire 3 day job. As long as his standards were the same as we discussed. At about $150.00 per day for each man, that would come to $900.00 leaving him with $600.00 for using his equipment and supervising one hour at the start and a half hour upon completion. I explained this is what my budget would allow (or the materials would sit till spring when other workers could bid.) HE TOOK THE JOB.

My floor is beautiful white porcelain tile, I am looking at it as I type this, and that was 14 years ago. So the figures herein are more valuable than they look.

I surprised him with all details in writing when he showed up with his crew, that Monday morning, and gave him a $200.00 deposit, he did not ask for. When the job was over, I gave the two each $50.00 a bottle of fine wine and the owner a case of wine, besides buying lunch for two hungry workers for 3 days.

The bottom line - I spent about $1,875.00 for a $6,000.00 quote on labor alone.

$1,875.00 was still nearly half of the off season price quote of $3,000.00!

Plus later I was able to arrange 3 other smaller jobs in my neighborhood, by showing off their work to others. Arithmetic is wonderful, and the pen mighty.

Haste makes waste. Don't rush. The time to be excited is, when your project is complete. BTW, -- The total cost for renovating two houses came to $74K my out of pocket dollars was just under $21K.

I do not brag here and I certainly am not a showoff. I merely hope my arithmetic

story opens your mind for any project at your home. My definition of a fair trade is not 50/50, but both parties are happy equally - 60%.

Then you can afford to leave a little extra on the table.

Post Script: Repair persons that may read the above, don't hate me too much.

You know pricing is whatever the market can bear. Not all of us

are independently wealthy. Like you, we can try.

First determine if it chipping to the Ikea furniture or the primer. I suspect it is chipping to the furniture as it was not prepped properly. I am assuming the original finish was also white. It may be hard to tell. The info shared about oil and water not mixing has not been true in my experience. I frequently prime stained walls with an oil based primer whether Zinzer or a competitor and then roll with latex with no chipping or pealing. I have washed the walls first. Also 30 years ago I scraped to the bare wood and painted the 1895 shutters of my house . I repainted using MAB exterior oil primer, tinted grey, and latex exterior trim paint per their recommendation. . Except for a few joint areas I have not had to re-paint the shutters. Where there is pealing it is to the wood.

I painted a 1920's built in corner cupboard a couple of years back using oil primer , white, and grey latex semi gloss finish. The paint chipped to the earlier pale yellow finish on the cabinet in a few places. I clearly did not prep enough in the corner areas.

As to what can be done. I don't know. My guess is the furniture was not prepped enough. Lightly sanding is not enough for glossly finishes and a de-glosser would be the next step. Medium sanding for sure. Here is the thing about latex. It can take up to a month to completely cure and be hard and tough. Lets hope the finish is tougher in the next couple of weeks. Touch the chipped spots up with an artist brush and light hand, perhaps applying a bit of de-glosser to the white areas first for better adhesion.

If the paint was your choice. Touch it up. If the Painter was responsible. Call him or her back in to see what has happened and solve the problem.

Glad you are now sorted. If you haven't already, then close down the question, then you won't get anymore replies.