Painting unfinished wood furniture

Buying bare wood furniture can save you a lot of money. Here are five tips to help you achieve the best result from painting unfinished wood furniture:

1) If there are any dents, scratches or other holes in the wood you will need to repair these with filler. If you there are any knots in the wood even on those sections not visible to the eye, you should seal these with a shellac based sealer. Don’t be tempted to skip this part as a knot can “run” ruining the finish you tried hard to achieve.

2) You should sand down any unit you purchase in order to get the best finish. You should not need power sanders unless the piece is very badly damaged. If this is the case, you may want to get an experienced craftsman to repair it for you. If the surface looks fine, you can sand it using a range of abrasive papers. You start with the roughest and finish with the smoothest. Curve the paper over a putty knife to get into all the tight corners, otherwise your paint will clog here.

3) Once the sanding has been completed, vacuum the unit thoroughly to get rid of all the dust and apply a sealer to protect the wood. This is required regardless of what paint you wish to use as otherwise the wood remains porous and will absorb the paint resulting in a patchy finish.

4) You should paint the edges first, working your way into the center of the piece. Cover the entire surface and only then brush lengthways using a light overlapping paint stroke. It is always best to apply too little paint than too much.

5) Allow each coat of paint adequate time to dry before applying the next coat.

To learn more about this and related topics, see unfinished furniture, or visit us on the web at: http://bare-wood-furniture.com/

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