How to Paint Laminate Furniture

Posted by My Dallas Mommy on Thursday, September 10th, 2015 at 11:30 AM
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We all have some of that inexpensive laminate furniture in our house that we are tired of looking at! But did you know that with a little effort, you can transform those cheap book shelves or dressers into something stylish and functional by just adding some color.

When you begin to paint laminate furniture, there are a few things to know that are different than painting real wood furniture. You are basically dealing with a surface that is more like plastic instead of a surface that is wood. So here are the steps you need to follow get give your piece a new life:

Do you need to sand the project? With plastic, you can’t really sand the surface, but the best you can do is use a 320-400 grit sandpaper to scuff up the surface a little.

A clean surface is a MUST! With laminate, you will depend more on the paint or primer adhering to a clean surface than you will a surface that is been scuffed with sandpaper. Clean very thoroughly with Windex or TSP- this is a crucial step because primer and paint won’t adhere to a dirty or greasy surface.

Use an Oil-based Primer. Choose an oil based primer like Kilz or Cover Stain. Or another option, depending on the type of laminate you have, would be a plastic primer. You can always do a sample test by painting an inconspicuous spot of the furniture piece with primer, let it set for 7 days and see how well it adheres to the surface.

Paint. Once you have a primer on the piece that will adhere well to the surface, you can use almost any type of paint over the surface of the primer. Anything from spray paint to latex will work.

Clear Coat.  Whether or not you decide to clear coat the piece will depend on how much durability you require.  If you are doing cabinets or a table, then I would definitely recommend a clear coat. If you are doing a dresser or side tables, a clear coat is probably not necessary.

Thanks, Painted Furniture Ideas!

 

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