Upcycling Furniture - Paint?

[tadpole73]

Hi
Wishing to upcycle pine drawers and small mahogany table. Which Primer is best please? Which Brand of Paint? Is Farrow & Ball worth the cost?
What do I use to seal the paint - if anything? Any advice would be really appreciated. Thanks

It depends what finish you want.

I’ve just repainted cheapo IKEA chairs with Ronseal chalky furniture paint in dove grey. No primer or finish needed, but it took three coats to get an even flat cover. I’m pleased with the result and if the reviews are anything to go by it’ll last. You need to paint it on very sparingly or it runs.

I’ve also used Rustoleum paint but didn’t like it - too thick and cloggy. Cover was pretty good though.

Rustoleum was good for my project but yes it is thick. Bit like the Annie Sloan paint. Finished with wax. Didn't need undercoat.

I hated Annie Sloan paint, lumpy and chipped off over time. The best undercoat is zinsser but it is £££ and probably not necessary if you are going to rub the furniture down. Good preparation of the surface - sanding - is the best thing you can do then a good brand undercoat and top coat will do. I tend to use dulux, their heritage range has some lovely colours.

I like frenchic paint. No prep needed technically, but you’ll always get a better finish if you sand first.

I have painted quite a few things with different chalk paints and recommend Autentico. Much nicer than Annie Sloan and many more colours. No rubbing down or undercoat needed, you will need 2 coats, and finish with a wax.

Just get yourself a bag of Calcium Carbonate (basically powdered chalk) off Amazon or Ebay and you can mix it with any old emulsion you've got lying around to make chalk paint.

I have a hobby/sideline buying old bits of wooden furniture from junk shops and doing them up (and selling them) and this works great. Much, much cheaper than buying chalk paint and you can use up all your old paint dregs, mix colours etc.

Always finish with wax - Briwax is what I use but other brands are available. Just wipe on, let dry and buff off.

I have made my own chalk paint and agree very cost effective. I’ve finished in Polyvine dead flat wax and varnish.

Am painting a kitchen at the moment so want a different look. For the wooden doors I’m sanding with Mirka Abranet as less dust than usual sandpaper and can plug into hoover then paint straight over. For the melamine doors it’s sanding, 2 coats of Zinsser Bullseye 123 and then painting. Paint is Farrow and ball matched in Johnstone’s oil eggshell and applied with Two Fussy Blokes roller sleeve in smooth.

And Tourette’s fine surface filler for any holes.

Ooh great tips for making your own, I almost bought some Annie Sloan the other day (first project so clueless) but thought I ought to do some more research 👍🏻

That went wrong, Toupret filler. If you don’t want to make your own Aldi has chalk paint at the moment in white, clotted Cream, dive grey, charcoal,and duck egg for a fiver. Used the duckegg in something and seems decent.

@Jitters22 , thanks for advice on homemade chalk paint and wax.
One problem I've had with painting drawers is that if you paint the drawers or even just the sides which show when you pull them out they are then a tighter fit and don't slide the same. Which is a real nuisance. I've tried sanding them along the tops first but doesn't always work. Does anyone have ideas for this.
I painted a cupboard black, stencilled in gold so it looks like Chinese black lacquer.

Not only is the calcium carbonate cheap but you can experiment with mixing your own colours. I've got loads of old bits and bobs of emulsion kicking around and I got some cheap tube poster paints too which I add in for colouring Mix it all up with the CC and it works a treat.

Just remember to always do the wax finish. That's almost more important than the painting. Not only does it give it a lovely finish it protects and enhances the finished article. If you want to go for an antiquey finish - don't waste money on fancy waxes - just add a bit of black or brown boot polish to your ordinary Briwax or whatever brand you use.

There's no need to buy all these fancy Annie Sloan and Farrow and Ball and all these other bespoke products. If I'm painting over really dark furniture then I'll sand it right back and just use ordinary white emulsion as a base coat.

Silkie - I've never had the problem with the drawers you've described I put thin coats of paint on and key down in between each one. Then the wax. If you use wax the drawers should slide in and out fine.

Thanks Jitters, you have educated me as I had no idea you could get/do this.

@Jitters22 So if I buy a bag of calcium carbonate, what would the mixing rations be please when adding it to eggshell? Thanks in advance.

@Jitters22 Do you have an Instagram account I could follow please?