Painting a crib
newtexasmom
Hi,I am trying to convert my daughter's crib to a Full Bed and also use the co-ordinating chest/changing station that i had in her new room as a chest.I want to paint these 2 pieces WHITE as i am painting her room Pink/Purple. But these 2 pieces have a very nice Glossry Cherry finish now.How should i proceed in painting these WHITE? Should i sand the surface first before applying the white paint? Also, how do i get the same glossy finish in white after painting? Should i use any special finish?Another quick question that i would like to include here as it is also related about paint:I have an old 9 drawer dresser(bare pull out drawers without any handles) which i got like 7 years back. Used it pretty good and also moved it couple of times. There are few scratches on it, this is not a real hard wood and has a golden trim on the top with walnut/peacn finish but is quite sturdy.I am planning to use it as a dresser/chest for my 2nd daughter's room instead of throwing it away. And anyway i have a paint project for my elder daughter's furniture. So i want to paint this one White too and may be add some nice drawer pulls to accent it.Can i do the same thing for this piece and is it worth the effort to do with such an old item?Link to the Crib:http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=4940118Link to the Dresser:Thanks
catwoman708
I tend to not like to paint over a perfectly good wood finish. Wood never goes out of style, but cute painted furniture does. But if you have your heart set on it ....Yes, you need to sand the furniture and add a primer before painting, especially if it's a glossy finish. If you don't prep it good, the paint won't hold and will peel off.To get a glossy white finish, after sanding and priming with something like Kilz, use a high gloss enamel paint. When you say the dresser doesn't have a real wood finish, I assume it is a laminate finish over a particle board type wood. These will not hold paint well, but since it's old anyway you could give it a try. Sand it and prime it like the other furniture, then paint over it. If you paint the mirror frame also, get some of that blue painters tape (it releases much easier than masking tape, or tape newspaper over the mirror finish and try to get it under the edge of the frame. You can always paint over where the gold trim used to be with any color paint (like pink or purple to match the room) or add knobs to dress it up or help match it to other furniture. You can buy wooden knobs (like ones that go on newel posts of stairs) to make bed knobs and possibly matching drawer knobs, painted to match. Or you can paint the drawer fronts different colors with contrasting knobs.
ju-ju
I agree with cat. It is very difficult to get a quality paint job over a professionally finished piece of furniture. If you know a professional painter who could spray prime and paint it for you (usually at a minimal cost), that might be your best option. Keep in mind that you'll need to sand it really well for the paint to take and to stay. Latex paint may not be the best choice for a furniture piece that well be getting alot of wear, oil may be more durable, ask your paint retailer or painter. I had pretty good luck with painting an old dresser. It had a badly worn surface, which was sanded to bare wood and primed with a really high quality primer first. Time will tell how the paint will hold up. You may want to consider painting unfinished pieces - much less prep work!
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