How to Paint Furniture (Boutique Furniture Paint) 101 | The Basics Series Part 1

How to Paint Furniture (Boutique Furniture Paint) 101 | The Basics Series Part 1

Welcome to the first tutorial in our series: The Basics, where we will give you an in depth walk through for your most burning questions. We hope this serves as a great resource tool and if you have any recommendations, please let us know and we will feature your question in a future post. Right, let's jump into it!

Why Paint Furniture?

There are a lot of people out there that feel that painting furniture either "devalues the piece" or is just "slapping paint on curbside junk", which gives the furniture painting industry a bad wrap. Yes, some antique pieces may lose value if they are painted, but these cases are few and far between when compared with how many pieces get painted every year. 

Painting furniture does a few things; it's great therapy, it gives us a creative outlet, but most importantly it saves thousands of discarded and unwanted furniture from rotting in landfill. In a world that is obsessed with keeping up with the newest fad, changing colours every season and insane commercial materialism, we find ourselves coveting the images we see in home decorating magazines and feeling discontent with what we have. But if your existing furniture is in good shape, with a few changes such as a few coats of paint and new hardware, you can achieve new styles at a fraction of the price.

What Will I Need?

Now that we know why we do what we do, lets move on to how. There are a lot of different ideas that float around the internet of the "perfect" way to paint furniture, but really this is just up to you and your unique style. 

You will need:

  • Paint in a colour of your choice of the Boutique Furniture Paint
  • Top coat of your choice (Boutique Hemp Furniture Oil, Clear Wax, clear water-based polycrylic)
  • Medium Grit Sandpaper (100-180)
  • Fine Grit Sandpaper (200-400)
  • Tack Cloth 
  • Paint brush
  • Degreaser (such as eco-friendly dish soap, TSP Cleaner, Sugar Soap NOTE: Do not use sugar soap on surfaces you will paint with the Boutique Mud, if you do, ensure there is no residue left prior to application of the paint)
  • Lint free cloth
  • Primer (optional, depends on existing finish and/or final desired paint colour)

For a more in depth article on preparation, read our article here. 

Step One: Clean & Prepare Surface

First, you need to clean your piece of dirt, grease, grime, oil and dust. Paint will not adhere to an unclean surface, so this step is one that you don't want to skip. 

if previously waxed, remove with 

Step Two: Scuff Sand and/or Prime (if applicable)

Next, have a look at the surface of your piece, is it glossy? Does it have a shiny lacquer on it? Is it laminate or melamine? If so, you will need to scuff the surface to give the paint 'tooth', or something to grab to. Keep in mind you are not trying strip the finish, you are simply removing the glossy top. You could also use the Boutique Primer and Adhesive Bond to prime your piece and also give your paint something extra to stick to.

If your surface is dull or porous, you can skip this step. 

Step Three: Paint

Give your paint bottle or jar a shake to mix all pigments that may have settled to the top.

Pick a brush - We recommend Paint Pixie Brushes. We do sell these brushes on our website. These brushes hold your paint very well. Once your paint is put in the brush and then put onto your piece, the majority of the paint is transferred to your surface and not retained in the brush. This will save you on paint and therefore money. Your time will also be saved with less paint to wash out of your brush. 

To load up your brush, just dip approx. one third of your brush into the paint. You will want to use long, gliding strokes and be gentle on the brush. Pushing your brush down could end with uneven paint distribution and lots of brush strokes. 

  1. Shake the bottle for 15-30 seconds to redistribute any pigment that may have settled during storage, then pour into a cup or disposable plate. Carts & Millie Paint is thinner than some other chalk style paints, just the way we like it! We have formulated it to give better coverage with less drag.
  2. Apply one, two or three coats depending on the colour you have chosen. Lighter colours will require more coats (especially over dark pieces), darker colours will require less. Coverage is 14-18sqm/L.
  3. Recoat in 20-30 minutes, or until touch dry in warmer weather. You can also use a hair dryer or heat gun to help it dry faster, it will not crack the finish. Cured in up to 30 days. NOTE: If using a heat gun, your surface can still burn so be very careful not to put the heat too close to your surface. 
  4. Carts & Millie Boutique Furniture Paint is self-sealing, self-leveling and water resistant, but for high traffic surfaces you may choose to seal with Boutique Hemp Furniture Oil, Boutique Furniture Wax or the Boutique Top for extra protection.
  5. Clean your brushes with soapy water. Do not pour down drains or wash brushes in sinks that lead to waterways.

Step Four: Seal

With Boutique Hemp Furniture Oil

  1. Pour a small amount of the oil into a cup or bowl.
  2. Using a good quality brush, paint the oil into the surface like you would paint your paint onto your piece. Alternatively, you could use a lint free rag. Dipping the rag into the oil you can then wipe the oil into your surface. 
  3. Once the oil is applied, you will want to leave it to soak into your piece. It is recommended to leave for at least 12 hours but no less than 4. 
  4.  After you have left the oil for the desired time, you will need to take a fresh lint free rag and give the surface a wipe over to remove any excess oil. Then that's it, job done!

With Boutique Furniture Wax

  1. Using a good quality wax brush, again we recommend the Paint Pixie Cera Wax Brush or Lil C Wax Brush, dip the brush into the wax. You only want to cover the tip of your brush in the wax.
  2.  Then apply the wax to your surface in circular or back and forth motions.
  3.  Leave the wax on your surface for at least half an hour and then either using a wax buffing brush or a lint free rag, buff your surface. 
  4.  You will notice at first the surface will feel like you're dragging the rag or brush over it and will feel like it grabs. Once you no longer feel the grabbing or dragging, your surface is done. If you want more shine, you can just keep buffing. 

With Boutique Top

  1. Our Boutique Top can be shaken with no worry of bubbling. give it a shake, remove the lid, pour what you require into a cup or bowl. Dipping your brush directly into the Boutique Top jar may contaminate it.
  2.  To apply, you can use a brush, a foam brush or roller or even a damp sponge. 
  3. Using a brush, just paint it on like you would do if you were painting. Just keep your application gentle.
  4.  Using a foam roller, foam brush or damp sponge, do not push down hard, it can create bubbles in the surface.
  5. Ensure you are applying your Boutique Top with long gentle strokes going in one direction.
  6. Should your surface require additional coats, I recommend leaving at least 2 hours between coats. Then apply as before.  

 

Until next week, happy painting!

 

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