Today on House of Monarch, we take an old, discarded piece of furniture and give it a new lease-on-life with a fresh coat of paint.
Before doing any work, lay a canvas drop sheet below your furniture piece to protect your floors.
The most important step with a furniture restoration is to sand the surface to remove the old shiny coating as well as any scratches or dents. Use a hand sander with a medium grit sandpaper over the whole piece until you have a smooth, even surface. Fill any larger scratches or dents with a suitable wood filler, let the filler dry, then continue sanding. For any tight or detailed areas, you may need to sand them by hand.
Once you’re happy with the surface finish make sure you clean up any dust with a brush or microfibre cloth.
TIP: Sanding the old coating will make your new paint layers stick better, last longer and not scratch off with normal use.
Using an undercoat on your project has many benefits. Good quality undercoats provide a consistent base to help the colour of your top coat really pop, as well as adhesives to help the paint stick. Second, many undercoats have stain block additives to stop any stain that didn’t get sanded away from bleeding through and ruining your paint job over time.
Apply your undercoat with a Monarch Expertech X-Tech sash brush in long smooth strokes in the direction of the grain. Refer to your paint can for ideal recoat times.
Use a water-based enamel top coat on your furniture in your colour of choice for maximum durability and protection. Two top coats are recommended but do as many as needed to get the coverage you’re looking for.
Apply your top coat the same as the undercoat, allowing adequate drying time between coats.
Tip: Keep your paint fresh between coats; load your brush with paint then wrap in aluminium foil or plastic wrap. Simply remove the wrap when you’re ready to start painting again.
Now that the painting is done, pour any left-over paint back into the tin, wash out your brushes, trays and buckets and store for next time.
Once the paint is dry, style your newly upcycled furniture with some books, plants or knick-knacks.
TIP: Worried about dried paint or pet hair contaminating your paint? Strain your paint through a cheesecloth or panty hose when you pour the leftovers back into the tin.
