Furniture refinishing - need hints please! (bureau, paint, sand, kitchen cabinets)

[southward bound]

Refinishing a bureau for a granddaughter -

I've sanded it down to bare wood, and started painting it with satin off-white, using the first coat as a primer. Not sure I'm doing it correctly.

I paint and decorate furniture with victorian roses (or whatever, roses are my favorites) but it's always been on a finished piece. I've never had to strip it down and start from scratch.

Is the satin-offwhite latex ok as a primer coat, and can I just continue by putting on the second coat of the same paint? I plan to fine sand inbetween coats.

How do companies get that nice, glossy painted finish on furniture pieces?
Should I be using a glossy paint? If so, how do I prevent the brush strokes from showing?

Would spray painting be a good option?

Thanks for your suggestions...it's an old bureau; there's no antique value to this, but a lot of sentiment -- this is a piece our son had when he was small and now it's going to go to his little girl, decorated with flowers and butterflies and fairies.

[sunsprit]

Best to not use the latex paint as a primer coat, as the water may raise the grain.

Instead, use a coat of clear "sanding sealer" to seal the surface and allow you to lightly sand all the surfaces smooth in preparation for the latex top coats.

Commercially applied finishes use materials other than your hardware store latex paint. Many are lacquer or solvent type paints, which are a whole different ball of wax to work with ... some cannot be easily applied except by spraying.

You may find that it will work best to apply a few coats of latex paint, sanding it smooth, and then use a spray can of a clear urethane to give the surface that final "glossy" look with a very light coat of urethane.

[ontheroad]

I don't generally use nor would I suggest latex paint for furniture. Several thin coats of sealant would be advisable before applying paint any paint.

Spray paint is also not easy to manage and can often leave spots and bubbles.

I'd recommend preparing the wood with a sealant after sanding, and then using a low gloss paint evenly once, and repeating one or two more times for full coverage.

[surfingatwork]

a true primer paint probably would have been better, also oil based is more durable than latex but more difficult to paint with. To get that high gloss look I would use high gloss paint (personally I've never worked with high gloss before only satin, semi and now oil)

You could try using a roller on the flat surfaces that will eliminate the brush strokes. I'm working on my kitchen cabinets right now and noticed the brush strokes vanished when the paint dried (no crazy directions though).

I've never worked with spray paint on inside furniture and according to my hubby my spray painting techniques are not that great (i tend to use way too much). good luck with the bureau.

[Cosmic]

Don't use latex on furniture, more trouble than it is worth in any of the coats.

Use a good sealer to start. Never use any water or water based materials. Sand between coats of everything with a fine drywall screen instead of sandpaper or steel wool. Leave each coat dry and cure completely, sand very lightly. The drywall screen will not clog, turn it on the edge and rap it to clear the sanding dust.

I prefer a 2 inch roller, sometimes use a worn one inch brush to touch up areas. Enamal type paints work best on furniture, you can thin a tad to get better workably and just add more coats.

The real trick is to wait long enough between coats that the paint is quite hard to the touch and has zero tacky feel. Without that it will not sand out properly. You just want to knock off the top stuff, not cut into the overall paint surface. Use a tack cloth (rag with paint thinner) to clean the surface and pick up any stray dust after sanding.

If the old finish is not paint, usually you can just sand it off with the drywall screen, it will not cut into the wood. If old paint, strip, clean with a rag and thinner, let set until dry, sand with drywall screen and then sandpaper, grit 220 is nice.

Spraying is nice but you need the proper equipment. I do not like those paints in spray cans. Something small like a jam gun used in the auto body trades with an air compressor is usually required to get a nice job. Even an air brush with a big nozzle works in some places.

You can even try using a wipe on poly over the paint as the very last coat. That can be waxed after everything cures. Question is what to use for a primer. A good oil based primer is nice, I even tend to thin that a bit or can just use a good quality oil paint, again thinned a bit. You want the first prime coat to be thin. More thin coats is better than a few thick coats on the final job.

[crashcop]

Wagner makes a low volume airless spray painter that works great. It sprays enamel and latex...

[dennis s]

If you use a B I N primer it is an alcohol base product and when it dries it sands really nice. I would use 250 grit sandpaper for that. The great thing about alcohol based products is that they dry fast, they are safer for the environment and you can use latex or oil over it.
There is a roller out now that is basically a foam material that will leave minimal stroke marks on the surface.

DON"T use oil base polyurethane product over latex paint. This will produce "alligatoring" and ruin your project. If you can find a water base polyurethane in gloss finish this will be o.k.

One more thing...... do the work outside or in a WELL VENTILATED area. AND wear a respirator. Oil or latex.

[southward bound]

These are all very good suggestions. Thank you so much, everyone! I'll print them all and keep them handy, especially when I'm shopping for supplies.
I'll let you know how the project turns out (or if I run into trouble!)

[southward bound]

Originally Posted by southward bound

These are all very good suggestions. Thank you so much, everyone! I'll print them all and keep them handy, especially when I'm shopping for supplies.
I'll let you know how the project turns out (or if I run into trouble!)

Hi all - your suggestions and guidance was very helpful! Here's the finished product - our son's old bureau from 35 years ago is now his little girl's bureau. I added some photos so you can see how it came out. It originally was painted brown, with sports stickers and school logo pasted on it (typical boy stuff).

Thanks again for your help! It was a fun project. Like I said, I've always done this on finished furniture, never had to strip it down and start from scratch.

[surfingatwork]

great job! It's beautiful.