Painting pine furniture...

[PollyTechnique]

I'm painting a pine cupboard and need some advice please on paint finishes.

I've applied knotting solution and a coat of white primer.

I was thinking that my next step would be to apply a couple of coats of satin finish emulsion, but wonder if there's a more professional paint finish I can use, perhaps one that is more durable?

Not really into the shabby chic look/distressing etc. Looking for something a bit more polished.

Any suggestions, please?

Ta muchly

Emulsion is for walls really, isn't it? Think you'd need a matt/eggshell finish gloss paint for wood.

Yes, I was thinking gloss would be too shiny but a matt finish one might be good - thanks.

It's all down to your preparation. Take off the handles. Unscrew the hinges if you can and take the door/s off as it will be much easier to paint. Sand the whole piece with a light sandpaper to get a key for the primer. Fill any holes or splits with filler. Sand down when dry using fine sandpaper. Wipe off dust with a brush (or use a vacuum cleaner) and then wipe with a rag dipped in a small amount of white spirit (water makes the grain swell up). A couple of coats of acrylic primer should do the trick and I find Rustin's primer is the best. I use a small sponge roller and a paint tray as the roller gives a more even finish than a brush (although a small brush is useful for mouldings). For the final coats, Dulux and Fired Earth make water soluble eggshell that gives a nice semi-gloss finish - just choose one suitable for woodwork. If the cupboard has legs or shelves, turn it on its side if you are able and start on the underneath parts. Finally, wait for the paint to dry and then reassemble. Once the paint is hard, you can give it a coat of acrylic matt varnish or wax polish if you want but I don't bother anymore.

Can you tell I like getting my hands dirty? Good luck and tell us how you get on.

Wow, thanks for that, Mumsie .

I'll take a look at the water soluble eggshell paints tomorrow. The varnish or wax on top of paint I hadn't heard of before but will Google it and find out more.

Thanks again for the info. Sounds like you've done a project or three!