Easy Way to Repaint Furniture and Doors

Often, to change the interior, renovation is not necessary. It's enough to refresh textiles, decorate one accent wall with wallpaper, change the carpet and do something with furniture. But what? Do you really need to buy new furniture? Expert in DIY renovation, Kristina Nikiforova, shared tips that will help you save time and nerves if you've decided to repaint your IKEA table or your grandfather's old armchair by yourself.

Kristina Nikiforova — a master and blogger. She did a budget renovation in a Khrushchyovka and runs a blog about DIY renovation called remont_devochki

I won't tell you about a completely easy way to repaint — effort is needed everywhere. But if you have the will and mood, everything will work out. My sequence of actions: wash, lightly sand, deodorize, degrease, coat with primer in 1–2 layers, paint with paint in 2–3 layers, then wax. I'll explain more in detail!

What you can repaint:
— furniture made of particle board with a film;
— MDF with a film, for example, the kitchen;
— lacquered furniture;
— doors, whether made of wood or film;
— tables, sideboards, beds, wardrobes.

Where to start?
First of all, clean it! Thoroughly remove stains, grease, dirt and odors — all that makes old furniture look old. For this, push the furniture away from the wall, cover the walls and floor with protective film, prepare a soapy solution and wipe your item with a sponge soaked in it. Hard-to-remove stains can be removed with vinegar, alcohol, white spirit or acetone. Don't forget to wear gloves and a protective mask!

If you want to get rid of the film, warm it up with a construction hair dryer: it will come off easily. If the film is stuck too firmly and doesn't come off, it's better to paint over it after lightly sanding.

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Sand the surface

Your item should be completely covered with tiny scratches. To do this, use fine sandpaper, but if someone among your friends has a surface grinder — it's time to remind those friends of yourself.

Prepare for painting

To do this, you need to deodorize and degrease the surface: wipe it with a damp cloth, then with a cloth soaked in degreaser or alcohol. You also need to sand off any remaining glue from the film and degrease it. After that, you must spackle the items: remove all holes from old handles, shelves and fittings, cracks and unevennesses. Then sand and degrease the surface again.

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Apply primer

To make the paint adhere to the surface, coat the surface with primer. Choose a scentless primer, for example, Otex Akva from Tikkurila, it doesn't smell! Liquid, water-based, dries quickly. Prime in two layers, each layer must dry completely.

You can paint!

Latex matte paint in various colors is suitable for painting furniture and doors, for example, Luxens. You can conveniently buy paint at Leroy Merlin and color it there right away. A good color palette of ready-made paints is also available there.

For painting, you'll need brushes, foam and velour rollers. Wax or oil for protecting the painted furniture is applied with foam or a cloth.

Paint in 2–3 layers, each layer must dry completely.

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Coat with wax or varnish

This increases the service life of the coating, prevents wear and mechanical damage. You can wash/wipe it without worrying that the paint will be worn away.

It is better to use the painted item about a month later, when all layers have dried completely.