Has anyone painted ikea furniture?

[Gozogozo]

But not with Annie Sloan chalk paint?

I want to paint some Billy bookcases that are white to brighten them up. I guess that I will need a primer?

Any help much appreciated!

[greenbanana]

I haven't, but I'm considering painting our Expedit and found this blog post thecraftqueen.wordpress.com/2013/11/24/42-before-and-after-ikea-expedit-hack/. Hope that helps a bit - products seem to be american, but it has the various stages including 2 coats of primer.

[Fluffycloudland77]

Primer plus a light sanding to give the primer something to stick to.

[ageingdisgracefully]

Pinterest has loads of ideas too, with an Ikea-specific section.

[RumAppleGinger]

I had five black Billy bookcases which are now white. I went to homebase and bought paint for kitchen cupboards. I needed to do four coats on each case but that's because I was going from black to white. I would image you could possibly get away with just one or maybe two coats if you're painting it the same colour.

[ThinkAboutItTomorrow]

B&Q type places sell a primer to paint on plastic. I used that to then paint pale grey on a bright yellow billy. Made it much easier.

[forago]

I often paint IKEA shelves, primer (the one in the red tin, can't remember name) and then dulux satin woodpaint. works really well and makes them look more "solid"

[Gozogozo]

Thank you all, very helpful.

I am trying to stick to waterbased paints although I know that they won't be so hardwearing, and will finish with a satin varnish. So thanks for all the encouragement!