4 the love of wood: PAINTING FURNITURE BLACK

Anne-Marie sent me an email with the subject line ....

*HOW TO GET STARTED*

They had moved into a new house and had bought a beautiful french provincial bedroom set. She wanted to paint them black.

I've had this question asked of me many times so I thought I would share what I told her.

The only way you can use a stain would be to strip every last bit of original finish off all pieces.

So I suggest paint.

I use Cloverdale brand paints myself.

You will need grey primer for black paint, this article I wrote will help explain a bit about primer:

http://4theloveofwood.blogspot.com/2011/03/white-paint-finish-email-answers.html

I do not use an electric sander, I hand sand most everything excluding when I use a belt sander.

Orbital sanders create circles in the wood grain which I don’t care for in my finished piece. Many others do use them so this is up to you. The flatter finish you go with your paint the more control you will have. If you’re interested in renting a compressor and paint sprayer I would check at home depot’s rental dept. Start with a coarse sand paper between 50 – 80 to scuff the glossy finish that exists. Then smooth it out a bit with 240 grit. All you’re trying to do is rough the surface enough for the primer to adhere, this is the most important step. To get a very nice shine in the end you can use minwax furniture polish or minwax wipe on poly over your paint.

Wallpaper is great for drawer liners as it is heavier duty and you have the option to paste them in. Both Wal-Mart (cheaper) and Home depot have the black and white damask wall paper.

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Silver handles tend to lean more toward the Hollywood glam
or regency feel where white handles will look sharper with
more contrast. Both looks are amazing.

Scrub your handles in the sink with soap and water and let
dry. Once dry spray paint them with a can of enamel paint,
krylon or rustoleum will work fine. DO NOT MIX BRANDS
OF SPRAY PAINT. In others words if you run short before
finishing (which you shouldn’t) make sure to buy the same
brand again or else the paint will react badly to each other.

The real trick to your paint finish coming out nice and
smooth is your primer. Make sure to use several coats. You
can sand it much easier then paint. It will show you all you
imperfects before getting to the final layers of paint. Run your
hand over each layer of primer to feel the bumps and sand
them away with 240 grit or higher. Latex paint takes a min.
28 days to cure so be gentle with your surface once
complete. The darker the paint color the longer the cure time.

Avoid paper sitting on the surface such as magazines right
away. If you choose to finish with paste wax or rub on poly
(I love both) this will help protect the surface more during
the curing time.

Let me also suggest you finish one piece at a time to learn and
get the feel of things. You will also get to see the results
giving you more motivation to take on the next piece.

The headboard is a nice big flat surface for your to learn with
and if mistakes are made they will probably be hidden by
pillows or bedding most of the time.

Opposed to you lying in bed staring at a mistake on the
armoire door always staring right back at you. Make sure
to lay it down on its back when priming and painting.

You can always follow along on
INSTAGRAM @4_the_love_of_wood
where you get sneak peaks of what I am up to.

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Firstfinds Hardware Store