Has anyone painted their pine bedroom furniture successfully?

[peggotty]

I'm planning on an attempt to paint some elderly pine bedroom furniture (chest of drawers, wardrobe and 2 bedside cabinets) a cream/off white colour. Has anyone else done this? I'm assuming it's best to use a special paint for this? Will it turn out ok or just look shit?

Haven't done it myself but should imagine it would be fine.

Make sure you prepare properly first and buy the right paint. I'm sure Dulux or whoever could advise you.

Thanks both. Do I have to take the varnish off first, is there not some kind of primer I can use instead?

Off the top of my head I would say you need to sand it first. You don't need to remove the varnish you just need to scuff the surface so that the paint has something to adhere to. Clean off all the dusty stuff then paint a layer of primer then a couple of layers of paint.

Take your time and do the prep properly. It will help to make the finished job last. Using the right tools and paint helps too!

Agree with what Speckledeggy said - the sanding is particularly important. After that hoover up all the dust you can, and then wipe with a special cloth that will lift off all the remaining dust.

I have! But I have an electric sander and it made all the difference.

Sand the hell out of it. Do it in the garden if you can. Wipe with an old, dry towel.

Then paint with a paint made for wood.

I use a radiator roller for most of it.

I hate using gloss paint. It's awful! EVERY ONE of them drips.

So I used a satinwood wipe clean one. Or you can use an emulsion made for wood and then apply a couple of layers of clear varnish.

I've done a wardrobe, a smallish wardrobe, 3 chests of drawers, a table and 4 chairs.

Gloss is a bit dated these days, isn't it?

Eggshell or satinwood would give you a nice finish.

I fancy doing this to my chest of drawers
It was painted white years ago

I guessed I would need to sand it down - Im pants with a sander though

I have a sentimental attachment to my chest of drawers even though it only cost £10!
Im worried about regretting starting in case I make a mess of it!

Good luck with yours peggotty

Eggshell or satinwood - good reccomendations

I was thinking about stencilling - is that a terrible thought or a good one?
Will I need to wash my mouth out for even suggesting stencilling???

I wouldn't stencil. I'd put a cut-to-fit piece of wallpaper or fabric over the drawer fronts rather than stencil.

Thats a good idea expat - or decoupage.....

This is sounding complicated

i've seen lots of people do it badly. someone i know went on the annie sloan course and all their stuff looks amazing.

It's easy, I've done loads of stuff. You can paint it with ordinairy emulsion too. I painted an old chest of drawers and DS cot bed frame with dulux kitchen and bathroom paint (a slight sheen to it and you can scrub it) and it still looks perfect after 2 years of heavy use. As long as you get the sanding done really well you can't go wrong. And don;t slap the paint on, better to spend more time doing thin layers than just one or two thick ones, as then it will chip[ easily and llok crap

Ooh no stencilling. That's a bit 80s!

Expat's idea of the wallpaper is good though.

Maybe get it painted first though. Great plans and all that...

if you mess it up, just re-sand and do again

I'm half way through doing this with our bedroom furniture. I sanded lightly first and then used some Dulux trade primer, can't remember the exact name but it's something like Super Grip and then F&B Oil Eggshell. Was going to use F&B primer but the Brewers paint specialist man said needed this Dulux stuff, it grips much better apparently. Looks great so far

I messed up a little side table the other day. Just sanded it, thinned down some white emulsion and distressed it, a great look in this seaside village.

Just come back to this thread - lots of good advice on here, thanks everyone. So it sounds like it's not full-on sanding every nook and cranny, just roughing up the surface of the wood. Eggshell paint sounds like it will create the finish I would like. Right, got to find some time to actually do this without inadvertantly sanding and painting dd and ds (4 and 18mnths) . DIY with kids around is nigh on impossible isn't it?

I did it with three children aged 5 and under at the time, peg!

The power sander and having a garden made all the difference, IMO.

Think we may have a power sander somewhere actually, expat. Would make it a much easier job wouldn't it? Could do chest of drawers and bedside cabinets in garden but I don't think I could lug the wardrobe down there! QUite excited at the prospect of tarting up the furniture now, it will make a big difference to the bedroom!

My landlord has a really nice handtrolley thingy.

So I dragged the wardrobe onto that, then wrapped bungee cords round it and that's how I got it out.

The other stuff was fairly simple of course, because you just take the drawers out of the chest of drawers.

I replaced the knobs, too, to update the look.

Knobs cheap as chips in IKEA.

Did you find that anything warped after painting? I painted our pine kitchen cabinet doors in a previous house as described (sanding, undercoating etc) but they did warp slightly! Did I do something wrong?

I've not had anything warp.

And this house had damp big time. I never do it in the rain or damp weather, I wait for a dry spell.

Make sure it's dry where the furniture is drying too.

Also, after sanding, don't wipe it down with anything wet, just a clean, dry, old terry towel.

Strip the varnish with paint stripper, prime it and then paint. If you are distressing, paint the colour you want to emerge after the primer, then pain the topcoat, distress, then use transparent matt varnish on top to preserve.

Thinking of giving this a go but my wardrobe is too big to get downstairs without dismantling- would sanding it in the bedroom make a dreadful mess- or jsut the kind of mess I can clear up without having a breakdown??