Antique White Painted Furniture
It’s done! It’s finally done! I now own the kitchen hutch of my dreams. I’ve been wanting, craving, a hutch for years, and now I own it. I’m beyond pleased with how it turned out.
I bought this beauty at a garage sale last Saturday for $50. It’s large. Very, very large. It’s just shy of five feet wide and almost seven feet tall. The whole thing is wood except for the back panel which is a laminate panel.
One of the big reasons for the research was because I was not going to sand the entire thing down to the wood. I read lots and lots and went with a method that involved very little sanding. Painting furniture without sanding is the way to go!
Most of the big-time furniture painters are very specific on brands and types of primer/paint conditioner/polyurethane that they use.
Lots of the women paint and then sell furniture in shops, so they do it for a living. I went with what the experts said.
What you will need:
Zinsser Cover Stain oil-based primer
Floetrol paint conditioner
paint thinner
Elmer’s wood filler
good quality two-inch angled brush (mine is a Purdy brush)
fine-grit sanding block, medium-grit sanding block, coarse-grit sanding block
paint of your choice
Minwax water-based Polycrylic (Varathane water-based polyurethane was also an acceptable choice)
screw driver
tack cloth or lint free rag for wiping and dusting
Prep the furniture
Remove all of the doors and hardware using a screwdriver. I decided that I didn’t want the doors on top at all, so I removed them and then used a Sawzall to cut the two vertical boards that the doors were attached to. I pulled out the boards but was left with holes where the boards were and where the hinges were screwed in. I followed the directions on the Elmer’s wood-filler to patch the holes and then sanded them smooth. If you are planning on changing the hardware you may need to patch the old hardware holes too. The wood filler is also great to fix large scratches and dings.
Light sanding
Use the medium-grit sanding block to rough up all surfaces you are going to paint. I didn’t paint the inside of the cabinet bottoms; it’s a personal preference. You aren’t really sanding, you are just lightly scratching the surface to give the primer a better finish to adhere to. I just quickly went over the entire piece, which only took me 15 minutes. Remove all of the dust completely before moving on.
Prime
Using Zinsser Cover Stain oil-based primer is the key here. It’s the only primer any of the big-timers use and I have to agree that it worked great. It’s the key for painting without sanding and for painting laminate furniture. At around $20 for the gallon, it’s well worth the time you save on sanding. It is oil-based, so you will need paint thinner or mineral spirits to clean your brush. And be warned – this stuff is not low-VOC. Holy stink; I had all of the windows and door open as well as a fan blowing air out the window. I opted for two coats of primer because two is better than one in this case.
