What type of paint do you use on furniture? Whether it is homemade shelves, tables, beds, or wooden garden furniture – lacquers and glazes can serve you well.
You can create your own designs with a brush and a roller. Moreover, there are countless possibilities when choosing the color and type of paint. This guide will help you with your ideas and planning.
What Type of Paint Do You Use On Furniture
How to Paint Furniture Properly
Depending on the nature of the piece of furniture and the desired appearance, natural resin, acrylic, and synthetic resin varnishes or glazes are suitable. In order to achieve a high covering power, two coats of paint are usually optimal.
In any case, the surface should be free of dust and grease. You should strip and sand already painted furniture before applying paint. Moreover, you can also apply chalk paints alone on existing surfaces such as old layers of lacquer, and wood veneers.
Painting Wooden Furniture in Color
You can varnish and glaze wooden shelf in various ways just like other pieces of furniture. Furthermore, you can paint everything colorful, or paint only certain parts in a different shade, and thus set new accents.
Above all, your own color design rounds off the individual character of a piece of furniture you have built yourself. If you use several colors at once, you can emphasize the modular design of the shelf.
Furthermore, you can give a simple wooden bench a particularly individual character by painting only the bottom part in a color of your choice. The same applies to a wooden shelf unit, the inside of which you paint in a different color.
Lacquer or Glaze – Which Color Is the Right One?
For wood and wood-based materials such as MDF boards as surfaces, there is a wide range of natural varnishes. They include resin, acrylic, and synthetic resin varnishes.
Natural resin varnishes are the first choice for environmentally conscious do-it-yourselfers, although they may also contain solvents. The disadvantage of natural resin varnishes is their longer drying time.
Acrylic lacquers convince with high covering power and long life as well as a durable protective layer. They can be diluted with water and are comparatively low-odor.
The water-dilutable, low-pollutant acrylic paints are suitable for most surfaces indoors and outdoors. You can use them even for furniture and children’s toys.
If you need a particularly resistant top coat, choose a solvent-based synthetic resin paint. Synthetic resin varnishes are easy to apply.
In addition, they provide very good coverage and are also extremely resistant. That is why they are particularly suitable if the work piece is subject to particular wear and tear later on.
For environmental and health reasons, make sure to buy aromatic-free synthetic resin varnishes.
With glazes, on the other hand, you can protect and care for your wooden surfaces, while preserving the natural appearance of the wood with its grain.
Health-friendly glazes for interior use protect the wood from dirt and water. On the other hand, glazes for exterior use additionally protect it from weathering, UV rays, and fungal attack.
Paint and Glaze Furniture Properly
You should prime the wood with a layer of primer paint before you apply the the actual varnish. Then, apply each varnish is in several thin layers, between which the paint must dry.
When varnishing, start with the edges and paint with the grain of the wood. For a particularly fine result, you can make a fine intermediate sanding between the layers of varnish.
A distinction is made between thick layer glaze and thin layer glaze. The latter penetrates deep into the wood and is therefore the first choice for garden fences and similar.
In contrast, thick-film stain – similar to varnish – remains on the surface of the wood and seals in a decorative way.
The “thick” consistency is used as a good protection against penetrating moisture for wooden parts such as window frames and doors. You should use it more in the interior of the house – especially if it is water-based.
Also when glazing, apply the material in a thin layer and long brush strokes to the sanded work-piece and then allow it to dry completely. Sand the surface once more with a fine sandpaper and then apply another layer of glaze with the grain.
Brushes And Clothing – Tips For Working
For larger surfaces, use paint rollers or surface coaters. When it comes to the edges and small surfaces, a brush is the right choice.
On the other hand, for the application of glazes, there are special glaze brushes. It is usually worthwhile investing in a brush set.
Stamp Prints, Triangles, and Circles – Embellishing Wooden Furniture
To set color accents, you do not have to paint your entire piece of furniture. Triangles, stripes, and dots in the right place also make your interior design individual objects look good.
Lacquers and chalk paints are particularly suitable for this purpose, as they create strong colors. Before you start, choose the right colors for your home.
Let yourself be guided by the colors that are frequently used in your home. To bring your own designs on wood, you can work with stamps and stencils that you make yourself.
Shabby Chic – Beautiful Old Furniture
By choosing the right color, you can give old furniture a new look or, conversely; give new pieces an antique touch. The so-called Shabby Chic has been popular for some years now, and spreads a playful-romantic flea market character.
Before working on old furniture, you should ideally do some preliminary work to sand down the old color.
What Type of Paint Do You Use On Furniture – Chalk Paint
Chalk paint is a water-based paint with natural pigments. The paint has a strong opacity and gives furniture a powdery look as it dries to a velvety matt finish.
The paint is porous and does not penetrate into the pores of the wood. There are three different ways to use the paint: If applied over the entire surface, as with a conventional varnish, it forms a closed layer of paint.
