Painting IKEA Billy bookcases - is it possible?

[Ruby23]

Is it possible to paint ikea billy bookcases? Also ikea wardrobe doors (the shiny white Fardal ones? I’ve researched this lots but can’t get a definitive answer. I’m hoping to use farrow and ball paint. What primer should I use and should I put a varnish (which one?) over the f&b paint?? Any enlightenment much appreciated!

Chalk paint might be better I would think...goes on anything, no primer needed.

I've got Billies at home and I'm not convinced that it can be done successfully. I think it's a foil finish on them so probably difficult to get right. Do you not like any of the existing colours? Or could you get someone to make units out of MDF or wood? You'd be able to paint those.

Thanks JoJo I suspect you are right. I don’t want to spend a fortune on paint (I’ve got 4 tall ones) and days doing them and it looks a mess. I’ve never heard anyone say they’ve done it.

And chalk paint.. I might try it on the wardrobe doors but too expensive for the billies I reckon...

I've wallpapered the back of mine before fixing it to the shelves to add a little colour. It's in the kitchen though, with jars etc on so you see the back.

I’ve spray painted a white Ikea chair that has the same finish

Annie Sloan chalk paint. It’s not that expensive and covers a decent area. Instead of waxing you can put a coat or two of clear/Matt/gloss lacquer over it and it’s really durable.

I would go to the bargain section of ikea, or on eBay, and buy one little shelf and a tester pot of the paint.

I think you’d probably want a primer for laminate. If possible; I’d lightly sand it before applying the primer and then paint.

I sanded mind fine first then used a shellac based primer followed by a paint usually used fit out doors stuff, took a bit of effort but worth it in the end!

What @AC14MUZ said. It's loads of work to get a durable finish.

It isn't impossible but it is a MASSIVE faff. You will need to sand lightly to get a key, prime, and then use something like chalk paint. Be warned that it will not be resilient and you will only need to sneeze nearby to chip the paint.

I've had great success revamping Billies with wallpaper on the backboards.

Shellac primer and Annie Sloane chalk paint on shelves (probably with some stick on protective cover for shelf bases as these will have books etc on them) and the backs wallpapered sounds good. As for the fardal wardrobe doors (7 of them all shiny white) I’m now thinking not to paint but to cover with wallpaper or fabric. Anyone tried this?

Lidl or Aldi can't remember which now sell chalk paint for a fiver a tin and it's apparently quite decent.

Oh I’ve done it. I painted a dark brown Billy bookcase white about 5 years ago. No chipping. I’ll check the condition properly later as it’s upstairs in the hallway so I don’t pay much close attention to it.

I used Annie Sloan chalk paint in Old White. I washed it down first. Then I thinned the paint a little with water and did 3 coats in total. I used a mini roller and only used a brush where the roller wouldn’t go.

I melted down some clear Briwax to seal the paint but if I was doing it again I would use a Matt finish polyurethane type varnish or maybe a spray version just to reduce the labour involved.

I didn’t prime or sand.

I did it a few years ago and it worked perfectly. The bookcases were already 10+ years old, so perhaps were a slightly different kind of finish, but I didn't use primer, I just used ordinary paint and they looked great. We changed the doors on the front, because I couldn't be arsed painting them. They were only finally retired from 15 years of constant, heavy use last year and still looked good.

I painted a Kallax unit in Annie Sloan chalk paint. Didn’t prime it or sand it, just painted it. I did thin the paint down slightly. Did two coats and then sealed it with their wax. It’s looking fine still.

You could always cover in fablon (sticky back plastic) They sell large amounts in b&q specifically for covering kitchen cupboard doors. I've done a coffee table in dds room with a marble sticky back plastic on the top and it looks fab.