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Refinishing a piece of furniture, what paint to use?

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    Refinishing a piece of furniture, what paint to use?

    Being occupationally challenged since 9/30/08 (looking for a job), we've decided to do "Christmas Lite" this year. I wanted to get my wife something special for a present.

    I've restored a baby's spindle chair for my wife as a Christmas present. It was her fathers (my FIL's) as a child 75+ years ago, and she remembers the chair sitting in the corner of the living room when she was a kid, and the project has sat on a shelf in my garage for years. I had to fabricate some new spindles and repair a break in the rear curved piece, and have it primed and ready to put the final coating on it this week when she's at work.

    What's the best paint to use? Spray enamel, lacquer or something else? It's primed with Rustoleum automotive primer since I had an almost full can sitting on the shelf from a prior car project. I tried to do the work to make it last a long time: gorilla glued the joints, used plumbers epoxy and brass wire to make the repairs- it's as solid as I can make it.

    What's "freaking me out" is as I work on it it thinking that the next child who uses it will be a grandchild, since I have 2 kids in college- and I still think I'm 25 and going gray early

    Note my meat cooler used as lower work area, and the cover from my duck hunting gear container I throw in the bed of my pickup used as a spray painting base!




    #2
    It depends on how you want the finished project to look.

    Milk paint

    will give you a very durable, attractive, slightly rustic look. It would be style appropriate for that chair.

    It's easy to work with, but I don't know how well it will adhere to your primer, it's intended for use on bare wood.

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      #3
      I just painted a dresser white and used Rustoleum Semi-Gloss spray paint called Painter's Touch. Says it's designed for furniture. Turned out really well and dries fast.

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        #4
        good work bill, shes gonna be one happy lady!

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          #5
          When I started the project, I stripped and sanded the spindles to make them a wood stain color, and was going to do the base and rail in black- and she said she wanted it all black like it was when she was a kid. So it will be black.

          Looking at it after 3 coats of primer, even when I let it dry a day to 2 and sand it with very fine paper, I don't think the finish will be perfect, so a high gloss will only show off the imperfections, so a black semi gloss.

          I guess a spray semi gloss from Rustoleum or Krylon would work. Definitely not a my usual Krylon camo pattern on all my hunting gear.
          Last edited by Bill; 12-07-2008, 02:32 PM.

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            #6
            Sorry I can't help you Bill. As a weldor and ornamental iron work guy I could really give you some options if it were metal. I do know there is a paint that uses a base layer of white and a top layer of balck and as the black layer dries it cracks and makes it look antique. It really looks good.

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              #7
              I picked up the black Rustoleum Semi-Gloss spray Painter's Touch at Home Depot, if it's not shiny enough I can always top coat it with gloss. Funny thing, while there I looked at the battery powered Sawzalls, my son gave me a HD gift card and I could not figure out what to get myself- and it dawned on me I've used the battery powered Sawzalls when butchering pigs in the past and they make fast work out of taking off legs, splitting the pelvis, and cutting off the ribs. Got to talking with the guy, and his family has hogs destroying their property.... 10 minutes from my house. Might be another place to let the air out of 'em in Cali- and not spend more than a buck on gas to get there

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                #8
                You need to think about the kids chewing on it when you pick the type of paint.

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                  #9
                  Kilz primer in a rattle can.
                  Lightly sand with 220 grit paper to take off any major imperfections.
                  Enamel paint in your choice of color.

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                    #10
                    Use the cheapest flat black spray paint you can find, then top coat it with satin spray laquer. You can sand it between coats to make it smooth or you can sand down to the wood in places to make it " aged ". The laquer dries in 20 minutes & is super easy to work with. It is also very easy to touch up in the future if it gets beat up.

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                      #11
                      I finished the 1st can of semi-gloss, multiple light coats and it looked good. I bought 2 cans, so I figured 'why not' put some more coats on it, more is better, right? The 1st coat must have been a little heavy, the paint started crackling in several places- I almost ****. After letting it dry, I sanded with the finest wet/dry paper I have, and recoated it lightly, and so far, so good. I'll post a picture.

                      I also called and told my son I didn't want any little Willies in it. He laughed and said something about playing "Twister" in his apartment after they came back from the bars and Monday night football........

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                        #12
                        Finished, my sanding and repainting worked. Here's the finished project, in a Christmas picture. Thanks for the help.



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                          #13
                          beautiful job bill!

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                            #14
                            Thanks. One more pic. When I bought a 4" chop saw 4+ years ago to cut the top off my son's pickup after he rolled it, I had not idea how many projects I'd use it on. Cutting metal, cutting masonry, cutting bathroom tile, sharpening axes. I got a rubber piece that holds sanding disks for my disc cooker, and used that to shaped the 3 small spindles that were missing on the chair. I shaped them by eye, then used sandpaper to smooth them out, and they almost look like I turned them on a lathe. What a great toy, 'er tool to have for the $40 or so I spent on the Makita at Home Depot.

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                              #15
                              Bill, here in Texas we call that a tool a grinder!

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