My daughter has recently purchased a home where the previous owners left a couple of cheap bookcases. These would be handy for storage in any one of a number of areas, but probably mostly in her daughters' play room.
She was asking what she might be able to do to give them a better look. I don't think that they are wood, but some kind of laminate over pressed wood. Can she paint them? Or are there decals or something that would stick to them to dress them up a bit? Please give me your ideas.
You can lightly sand with a fine grit sandpaper. The higher the number the finer the grit. For example 220 grit will leave a finer scratch than 180 grit. I am not a fan of Kliz. I used it once on a table. The top coat would not cover the white Kliz. Had to strip every bit of paint doen to the bare wood. There are better primers you can use than Kliz. After sanding wipe off all the dust,apply a primer then paint with the top coat
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Request: Painting Laminate Furniture (11/10/2009)
How do I get paint to stick to the shiny laminate finish (only on the top) of my dresser? The rest is wood and I know I can refinish it, but what about the top?
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Request: Painting Laminate Furniture
Archived on 11/10/2009
How do I get paint to stick to the shiny laminate finish (only on the top) of my dresser? The rest is wood and I know I can refinish it, but what about the top? Help!
Jeanne from Austin, TX
Feedback:
RE: Painting Laminate Furniture
I agree with the Kilz option, it is by far one of the best primers on the market. Gives you a surface for your paint to adhere to. Kilz has come through when other primers haven't. I had a rental property that I used it to "seal" in the odor from animal pee, by painting the floor with it before having carpet installed. It was advice from my carpet installer, and it worked! They also now have a line of paint of their own. Not just primers. (11/02/2008)
My son wanted to paint an ugly laminate chest for his room. They now make spray paint that coats anything from slick plastic to laminate. The 3-drawer dresser took only 2 cans and it's beautiful! We bought the paint at Walmart. (11/06/2008)
My 16 year old daughter just "inherited" her grandparents old bedroom furniture. It is brown Laminate. It doesn't match her room. I was thinking of painting it white. Any suggestions on how and what I should use?
Shirley from IL
Answers:
RE: Painting Laminate Furniture
Prime it with a coat of Kilz so the chosen color will stick. (01/11/2006)
RE: Painting Laminate Furniture
It may also help to rub a scotchbright pad over the whole area. This will help the primer stick to it, so it won't scratch as easily. Just rub it over the area enough to scuff it lightly. (01/11/2006)
By Felicia
RE: Painting Laminate Furniture
Are you talking melamine type furniture? There are paints made specifically for this type of painting. I did my counter tops and they did rather well until I could afford to replace them. As Felicia and the guest mentioned, scuff them up, use a good primer sealer, the color and then I used marine poly to seal the counter tops, as they had a lot of wear and tear. There are a number of websites which give you good ideas of how to do this. Unfortunately I did not save any of them, as that was a number of years ago. Good luck! (01/11/2006)
I am just in the process of doing what you are talking about. First scuff the surface with fine sandpaper. Then use a bonding primer - it is an oil based primer but you can put latex paint over top. You may need several coats of the white paint. But so far so good. Good Luck (02/01/2006)
By KT
RE: Painting Laminate Furniture
Are you talking laminate or veneer? There is a real market for old veneer furniture. There is also a new spray paint that even works on plastic furniture. Check with a hardware store. I think it is made by Krylon. Good luck.
(02/01/2006)
If the top of the dresser is plastic, as often was the case, you could make a faux marble top with marbled contact paper. I have done that several times quite successfully. Then with sanding, the rest shouldn't be too hard to paint white - have you thought of antiquing it off-white? That way, any imperfections would be masked. (08/29/2007)
I'm currently undergoing this same project with a bunch of mismatched laminate furniture. I bought spray paint specifically designed for plastics or any other nonporous surface (in this case laminate). When you use this kind of paint you don't even have to prime or sand, just spray it on and let it dry. It looks very nice, not professional quality of course, but it does the job very well. Hope this helps. (03/04/2008)
