Upcyling wardrobe paint

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I'm looking to paint a varnished wood wardrobe. Am going to clean with sugar soap, lightly sand, prime and then paint.

The paint seems to be exploitatively expensive with a litre at around £30. I don't want a chalky finish, am looking for something nice and clean. Eggshell/Satin look.

Any recommendations?

I’ve just had melamine wardrobes repainted and it mainly comes down to the preparation. My decorator used a good primer and then regular Johnstone’s eggshell paint. Unfortunately he’s had to stop work before they’ve had enough coats but I’m really happy with the finish.

Tattie is that a cast iron fireplace that has been painted or it is new please? I ask as I have an original black cast iron fireplace which I am considering painting and I wondered what paint and prep had been used to get the finish you have.

@welltidy it’s not, it’s a wooden surround with a tiled insert and the inner arch is stone so all just painted with regular paint. My old house had cast iron fireplaces in the bedrooms that were painted white when we moved in. Each time we decorated we just sanded them back and repainted with gloss or eggshell.

Thank you. I really do prefer fireplaces painted white despite it being seen as near sacrilege. I got excited when I saw what a lovely finish you had on yours!

Thank you and the wardrobes look really lovely. I've decided to paint with Satin wood paint that I'm doing the rest of the surfaces with as I really like the finish.

You could use a dulux satinwood. I’ve used their eggshell which works well on cupboards.

If you’re going to sand etc don’t forget to seal any knots in the wood before painting.

Alternatively the lazy way to do it is to use zinsser B-I-N Primer/Sealer & Stain Killer (which avoids the need to sand although obviously you’d need to remove any dirt or flaking varnish first) and then just paint it.

Word of warning if you use the zinsser, the fumes are something else. Gave me migraine, and I hadn't had one for years.

I am planning on using the zinsser B-I-N Primer and Johnstones satinwood which I've used on the other wooden surfaces. I've just cleaned it down with sugar soap and will have a go tomorrow. Thanks

@pickingdaisies I actually like the smell of the Zinsser spray!

OP will you update the thread with before and after photos when you’re done? I’d love to see the results.

It's not looking good so far. I put on a coat of primer this morning and didn't do a very good job.

Don't panic, it might help to put a coat of undercoat on before using the satinwood.

It takes all sorts @Nestofvipers

I agree with @pickingdaisies, don’t panic. It might help to put a second coat of primer on.

Thank you for the reassurance. I'm going to sand the bits that are a bit uneven and then put on another coat of Primer, then two coats of Satin wood and hopefully that will sort it out.

It's easy to panic when you're decorating. I wasn't sure about the wall colour either but am feeling better about it now.