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!

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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"

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!