Tips on painting a pine table

[HollyBollyBooBoo]

Have a pair of pine bedside tables. Bought them unfinished and stained them, then put danish oil on them. Years on I don't like the colour anymore and would like to paint them an off-white/cream colour.

Do I need to do anything special to prime the tables or will a quick rub down with sandpaper be ok?

Any tips on getting a more distressed/older look rather than the pristine, freshly painted look?

I'd probably give them a good wash with sugar soap to get off the oil - and give them a sand too. Its worth spending a bit more time preparing them as you get a better finish.

If you want a distressed finish you could paint them a dark colour then cover them with a couple of coats of white and use some sand paper to rough up the edges so that the darker color shows through.