Repainting Dining Chairs....

[harryandmarv]

DH has repainted 2 of our wooden dining chairs, they were an off white colour, painted in eggshell paint. He lightly, very lightly sanded them, then ‘primed’ them & painted them with a chalky furniture paint, a dark grey colour - they’ve had two coats & look crap.

What should we have done, can we do & should we do to the other two? I suggested they needed sanding down a bit more. I don’t think it was a proper primer he got either it was called ‘peel stop’ or something about when paint peels or cracks!

He thinks they look ok, they don’t. It’s bugging me. How can I do a proper job?!

Sand between every coat and yes the primer he used probably didn't help.

Should I sand down the chairs that DH has painted as well as the other two he has ‘primed’ and then give them a ‘wash’ or wipe over with sugar soap? Then try & paint one, if the paint goes on ok, do one coat, let it dry, sand it lightly then another coat, repeat until it looks ok?

You need to lightly sand between coats. Is it that there are a lot of paint brush marks in the paint or they're not covered properly? Could you add a picture?

Probably both!

I suggested to him to sand it between ‘priming’ and painting & he just barked at me saying what would be the point in that as it would remove the ‘primer’ & paint. It was that peel stop primer stuff , for paint that cracks & peels, think it’s for walls not furniture but what do I know, he knows best.

You don’t need to prime or sand with chalk paint. I suspect that’s the issue.

Bluntness, yes, it says on tin no need to prime or sand but the chairs are/were painted with Laura Ashley eggshell paint, we did try a little area first without sanding & the paint was not adhering. Even after a light sanding, and it was just a light sanding the paint wasn’t going on properly, that’s why DH got the primer.

Did he clean them first with sugar soap and remove all grease?

There is no reason for it not to stick to eggshell. Generally the first coat looks shit, then the second coat it magically dries smooth and flawless.

No, he didn’t! What shall I do?! The two other chairs I wouldn’t let him paint after seeing these! But they do have that primer on. Do I just wash down or sand slightly to remove the primer?

Something is leaking through, I think it’s either grease or the primer. Possibly it was not cured enough, full cure is ten days for that primer. Did he wait the ten days from applying the primer before applying the chalk paint?

When I did ours with chalk paint I washed them down well with sugar soap and gave them a light sand. Then two layers of chalk paint sealed with wax when all dry.

He really hasn't put the paint on well - those brush strokes are bad.

I think the issue is the primer as you really don't need it with chalk paint.

No didn’t wait 10 days, just until it was dry so overnight!

So I’ve sanded down one of the two chairs he’s done, excepts the legs. I haven’t much sandpaper, sanded the seat, & back, then washed/wiped it down & let it completely dry & went over it, careful not to overload my brush, it has come out better, well a lot better than it was but not brilliant. I think i’ll Just leave the other two & not bother painting them as they have that primer on & I don’t think I can be bothered to sand them down, put it down to never let DH do any painting again experience.

I suspect it’s the primer too, and not cleaning them properly. There’s a difference between cured and dried, dry is jus when the solvents evaporate, cured is when it reaches max hardness.

The thing is he should just have followed the instructions on the tin, made sure they were clean and painted them, they would have been fine

Wait till the primer cures then clean and just paint them, they will be fine. Also do the same with the others but chalk paint takes thirty days to cure.

Looks like the second coat has gone on too thickly. I thin down the second coat with a bit of water when using chalk paint.

Have a look at Frenchic paint and maybe start again.

@Finfintytint

Looks like the second coat has gone on too thickly. I thin down the second coat with a bit of water when using chalk paint.

Don’t do this,,,it will be streaky,

Bluntness, it works fine.

So, last night I was just ideally thinking, what would happen if I tried kitchen wall paint on one of the white chairs. At the worst I could just wipe it off. So I sanded down a part on one of the legs, remember this has got that primer on it. I tried it & And was had second thoughts, but then felt brave. So I sanded down a small patch on the seat & wiped it down, surprisingly it went on rather well. So I tried a bit on other side without sanding it. It went on really really well. After two coats it less gone on and looks better 100% than the chalk furniture paint & this is just kitchen emulsion paint for walls. It’s dried overnight & there are no brush marks, it’s smooth & no scratches or anything. Even to the touch no marks. It’s pretty amazing.

Okay so the real test will be when they it’s actually being used, so sat on & probably the odd drink being spilt, but tbh that hardly happens. I don’t think they it’ll need waxing, as it’s emulsion & it’s got a hard exterior to it anyway.

The other two chairs look abysmal next to it! And DH put a load of wax on them, yeah he was trying to cover up his mess probably, so they’ve dried to this white streaky horrible mess! I’ll have to sanded them down, but that will be a right job and a half.

What brand of chalk paint is it?