Refinishing tired furniture

**monkeywrangler71** · 09-01-2010, 07:58 AM

I know a lot of people here have experience with this but I've never done it.

I want to paint my dining table and chairs. It is solid wood with a dark finish. I don't like dark wood at all, and the top is a mess anyway. I guess I start with sanding, do I need to sand the finish off or just rough it enough to take paint? What type of paint do I use? Should I spray paint, I can't think how I get nooks and crannies and spindles with a brush.

I also have an old school desk to paint for my daughter's room, but that is mostly straight lines.

**jas** · 09-01-2010, 08:14 AM

You definitly want to get all the old varnish off of it. For the hard to get into places you can use a varnish remover from Formbys or whoever.

**Josephhgoins** · 09-01-2010, 08:39 AM

when you are sanding, be careful not to use to rough of a grit. you don't want to destroy any of the detail, just get rid of the varnish.

Walmart used to sell a finish remover that was orange oil based that smelled nice and was non-toxic that I liked to use.

Also, you can use wire brushes sometimes in the hard-to-get-to areas.

**Pemberleyan** · 09-01-2010, 01:08 PM

After you finish sanding, vacuum every surface and then wipe with a damp cloth to get rid of every particle of dust. It's a good idea to use an appropriate primer after you finish sanding. Personally I prefer oil-based paints that I brush on because it gives such a durable surface, but I have seen some nice furniture that was painted with a satin spray paint and I was surprised at how good it looked.