Painting old wood f...
 

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Painting old wood furniture

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I've got an old bed that I'm looking to spruce up, I think it oak with a thin varnish coat. It was given to me and I don't mind the form of it, thing is person who had it last did some kind of damage to the leg fixing and used no end of filler to put right, it's been sanded back but it'll always just look like a massive blob of filler.

Paint wise was thinking of getting a tin of Zinsser All cost mixed and rolling it direct on, or us a better option a Shellac primer with emulsion top coat?

I've paired plenty of walls but first time direct into wood and I want it not chip and survive the odd knock

Tips?


 
Posted : 03/11/2023 7:49 pm
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Are we talking white filler, or is it a semi close colour to the wood?

If the filler spots are big, it will look like filler unless you are crafty...

I'd suggest mixing a small bit of hobby/accrylic paint getting 'Arty' and getting the colour closer to the rest of it before varnishing etc.

You could even be really crafty and paint over the filler with an average colour of the rest of the wood, then add a bit of black to darken it, and paint some fake wood grain onto it, to kind of line up with the rest of the grain.

Pictures would help, depends how big of an area we are talking about.


 
Posted : 03/11/2023 8:03 pm
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Ah sorry! I'm literally going to paint over it to make it an off white colour all over, I'll maybe leave the top of the head/foot board oak finish, the filler is similar in colour but there's loads of it, no idea what they've done but theres a few blobs a few square inches wide on two of the legs

So just looking to paint with colour but wanted something pretty unchipable


 
Posted : 03/11/2023 8:17 pm
 jca
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If you want to spruce it up, shouldn't you add a pine veneer?


 
Posted : 03/11/2023 8:18 pm
kayak23 and kayak23 reacted
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Spend time on the prep, good rubbing down will give a better key and reduce the likelihood of chipping, especially on varnish

zinser bin is what i use to prime/undercoat. I get the paint shop to wack a tint in it (if its white) so it is nearer to dark top coats.

Sand between coats

Leave proper drying times/warm the room

Minimum two top coats, sanded between coats.

Don't use farrow and ball wood paint, it's made from toffee and cream cheese. Id ask in a paint shop what they would recommend for a tough finish and then get it mixed up in your chosen colour.

Buy a good quality brush or roller, clean it well and look after it


 
Posted : 03/11/2023 8:21 pm
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Pic


 
Posted : 03/11/2023 8:23 pm
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Not sure if that links worked, it's not as bad as I remember but it's not going to look tidy again and I quite like the idea of just painting it off white - both legs are the same


 
Posted : 03/11/2023 8:35 pm
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Sand it, prime it, paint it. Had good success with Dulux Trade paints, or better still, of you have a paint shop nearby, get some Armstead. Same stuff, but cheaper. We have a table that we painted in the kitchen and the 2 year old hasn't chipped it yet.


 
Posted : 04/11/2023 12:03 am
tjagain and tjagain reacted
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What broken banjo says.  I have recently repainted a chest of drawers like this and got a really nice finish


 
Posted : 04/11/2023 12:13 am
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Annie sloane chalk paint and stuff wax finish.  DONE


 
Posted : 04/11/2023 12:23 am
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My wife is our in house painter and decorator.
This stuff is fantastic- https://frenchicpaint.co.uk/
Just get that.


 
Posted : 04/11/2023 7:19 am
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Disclaimer, my employers.
https://www.mikewye.co.uk/product/stand-oil-paint-kreidezeit/


 
Posted : 04/11/2023 9:14 am
andy5390 and andy5390 reacted
 bigh
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Don't expect the Zinsser allcoat to stick it probably won't. Bradite one can is a superior product indoors for min prep. Alternatively an adhesive primer like Zinsser bin as you already mentioned, or Zinsser cover stain then paint with whatever. I recently used the bradite stuff on laquered windows, seriously impressed


 
Posted : 04/11/2023 9:22 am
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Use a small foam roller to get a super smooth finish. Nothing worse than brush strokes.

I'd go for the idea of just painting the legs and leaving the unblemished woodwork natural. Give you a bit of a contrast.

You might also consider a 2 pack epoxy floor paint. Certainly hardwearing and never going o come off.


 
Posted : 04/11/2023 9:59 am
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Thanks all, I picked up a 4" foam roller yesterday, I'll take a look at some of the recommendations


 
Posted : 04/11/2023 2:16 pm
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Other ways of hiding it than painting, you could put a pair of door fingerplates on the ends as decoration.

This place is spendy but loads on ebay cheaper.

https://www.broughtons.com/store/category/32/276/finger-plates/


 
Posted : 04/11/2023 2:22 pm
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A different view - if the bed is solid oak or another hardwood...get the damaged leg professionally repaired by a furniture repairer and then have the bed completely re-finished with shellac or varnish.
That, IMO, will give a much better end result than painting it - even if your painting skills are great and you use specialist paint.
I've seen various pieces of old wooden furniture painted and described as 'upcycled' - they, nearly always, look shit.


 
Posted : 04/11/2023 2:33 pm
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100% on the upcycled look looking less than great, that's what I'm trying to avoid, I'm not a massive fan of the oak finish in general though, I guess another way would be to stain/treat it with something a bit darker but I have less knowledge on staining than I do with paint!


 
Posted : 04/11/2023 5:23 pm
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I fairly recently painted up an old dresser which had been sat in a shed for years.
I’d not really done much painting besides slap dash decorating before but gave it a go.

I took a good bit of time with prep taking it apart, sanding and wiping down. I used Little Greene All Surface Primer and Eggshell top coat.
2 coats of each applied with fine foam roller and small brush and fine sanding between coats.
The horizontal surfaces were left unpainted but treated with Blanchon black hard wax oil to darken the wood and Liberon special effects wax to add back a bit of patination.

Prob not to everyone’s taste but I prefer this to the usual shabby chic chalk paint style.

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Posted : 04/11/2023 6:02 pm
dyna-ti and dyna-ti reacted

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