There are a few tips that you will hear when it comes to thrifting furniture. 1. Check to make sure its sturdy. 2. Give it the smell test. 3. Always buy real wood.
Well guess what? As great and fine as those are sometimes that isn’t an option…especially when it comes to #3 on the list. Buying real wood. If you are in love with vintage furniture the chances are great that you will come across a piece or 99 made from laminate. Chances are that parts of your piece may be real wood, while other parts (like the top) are laminate. Its just the way things are. So does that mean that you should pass up your dream piece because its not real wood?
HECK NO.
Painting laminate is a totally doable DIY. You just have to know what the right products are for the job. (This is where I come in.)
I have tried every technique that pinterest can offer and I am so excited to tell you about the fail proof way to paint laminate.
One of the most popular tutorials on Vintage Revivals is this how to paint furniture post. I 1000% recommend using Pro Classic if you can. The only downside is that Pro-Classic doesn’t come in a deep base so if you want a darker color then you are sort of out of luck.
BUT. For National Painting Week I thought it would be perfect to kill 2 birds with one stone and show you the best way to paint laminate and what type of deep base paint I use to do it!
The color is a vibrant rich green called Arugula.
Ok so this is where I started.
Before I was able to do anything to this cute guy I needed to clean off this space age duct tape that was stuck to it. You guys, this is the kind of stuff that will take off your fingerprints…from your fingers…permanently. Goo Gone and other adhesive removers didn’t work so I pulled out my favorite paint stripper and gave it a good dousing.
Thankfully I was able to scrape the majority of the adhesive off after using that.
The first step to painting laminate is to give it a nice little sanding. Laminate typically has a hard shiny finish that makes it scratch resistant and durable. If you don’t give it a little texture then the paint and primer have nothing to stick to and will easily peel off. I used 150 grit sand paper on this part. You can see in the picture below that I didn’t sand off the laminate, just the surface of it.
Once everything is sanded, wipe it down with a damp rag to make sure that all of the dust is out of your life. If you don’t do this then you will have a situation on your hands.
Ok are you ready to have your life change? The secret to a durable long lasting finish on laminate is the primer that you use, specifically Sherwin-Williams Multi Purpose Primer. It is a bonding primer that basically sticks to anything and everything that you could ever want it to.
Use a Mohair roller to apply 2 thin coats to your piece (make sure that they are fully dry in between.)
Once they have had a few hours to completely dry, give it a light sanding with 220 grit sand paper.
Then wipe it down completely to get rid of any dust.
If you are using a color that can be mixed with a light or medium base, go with Pro-Classic. If you are using a color that needs a deep base you’ll want to use Sherwin-Williams All Surface Latex Enamel.
The Latex Enamel doesn’t lay down quite as easily as the Pro-Classic, to combat that we are using a dry time extender. This gives your paint more time to relax and level out before it dries, giving you a smoother finish.
Latex Enamel is amazing for its durability and has such a great finish.
I could not be happier with how this little guy turned out!
Now for the REALLY fun part, there are a whole slew of bloggers sharing project ideas and paint palettes for National Painting Week, you will for sure want to be checking those out here.
to dream the impossible dream: painting laminate! up to now i also haven’t found the ‘sure thing’ way. this looks like it may be the answer. thanks for sharing!
The connect for the blogs for National Painting Week doesn’t work.
Hey Barbara! Link is working now!
xo
Thanks for the paint tutorial! I love painting furniture as a hobby and to make a few extra $$ on the side. The green looks amazing with the gold accents, great job! I usually use Zinsser Bulls Eye as my primer and it has been amazing stuff. I will have to try SW next time, it’s always good to try out other products 🙂
Once again, well done. I really appreciate your effort (and success!) at writing cohesive, thorough and understandable directions. I am a real fan! Keep up the good work. Love your guts!!!
Ok now I DEFINITELY know what I’m replacing my old dresser with! I’ve seen so many dressers that look like that in thrift store, but hated the colors – now I know exactly how to solve that problem. Thanks so so much for sharing!
I have very smooth laminate kitchen cabinets in a light oak color. I’ve been hesitant to paint them because I’m worried about peeling and chipping. Do you think this technique would be durable enough for something as high-use as cabinets? Thanks!!
Hi Mandi, thanks for all your great tips. Do you have any advice for a laminate piece that is lifting slightly? I have an old console table of my grandma’s that I’d love to paint, but the top is bubbling up a bit in one spot and I fear it will show even more if I paint it.
Like some of the others I have a laminate piece that I have been too chicken to start. Thanks for the inspiration! That table is coming out of storage now.
Looks great! I have some laminate end tables that I’ve been wanting to paint- I’m hoping that I can use killz primer on them because they smell terribly of smoke! If only I knew about the smell test before I bought them!
Anyway, hopefully I can woman up and knock those suckers out.
I love how all your pictures have an amazing brick wall in the background now. Also, why is the floor white?
Love what you did with this. Gives me hope for a cabinet I bought to turn into a litter box hideaway! Any suggestions for changing the “80’s curve” that it has for trim?
You’re the bomb. Thanks for sharing the process!
Just lovely! And great timing…as I’m planning on painting a thrifted champaign dressed as soon as it warms up here in MN. Any advice/thoughts about the hardware? Did you keep the patina or clean it up? What would you suggest?
This piece turned out wonderful, I just love it. I hope you have time to head over to my blog today to see the mid century nightstand that I transformed with just a bit of paint. It doesn’t have laminate but I do have other laminate pieces and will need the information from your article soon. Thanks for the information, Mary Beth
Love. love. love. the color choice. Awesome job! Thanks for the tips on painting the laminate as well! Pinning for later.
Hi Mandi,
Just ran across your blog, love it! Great ideas & a little comic relief {which I desperately needed today}. Have you tried Annie Sloan Paint? It’s awesome on everything, even glass, one coat generally covers the worst of sins nice & evenly. I’ve even made customized blends to match commercial clients signature colors, used as a base, have topped with a shimmery glaze then distressed to allow the color to peek through. Thanks for brightening my day!
Hey Mandi! I found a small credenza a couple of weeks ago. It’s laminate but it looks cool and found it on the street = 0€ (0$ if you’re wondering :P) so I couldn’t help myself and took it home. Haven’t figured out what I’m going to do with it yet but will definetely use these tips. So, thank you, you’re my favourite 🙂
Nice job restoring the dresser. The color was a good choice.
I painted a laminate side board about 5 yrs ago and it still looks great. My method was way lazier than yours. I used car primer in a spray can to prime it and then a clear coat in a spray can to seal it (I liked the matt gray of the primer). It is in my loungeroom and is pretty well used, I have lightly recoated the top with primer again to cover some scratches just once in 5 years.
Great job, I really like the colour. The sanding is a must when painting a laminate, good point! Thanks for all these helpful tips.
So do you seal your paint job with anything?! I assume not since it wasn’t mentioned. I re-do a ton of furniture, but I use cheap hardware store paint(the mis-tints that are highly discounted!) so I always seal with a poly-crylic, which I hate using! I hate furniture wax even more. I’m trying to find a better way to do it, but haven’t splurged on any SW paint to try yet. It might be worth the splurge if you don’t have to seal, so I’d love to know if you do or not. Thanks! 🙂
I wish I would have read this article years ago! It looks expensive. Thank you
Man I am so so surprised you recommend the Surface Enamel paint. I discovered the same no-dark-base problem about my beloved ProClassic, and was talked into Surface Enamel by the sales guy. Worst decision ever.
I painted a dresser next to my bed (read: used frequently) with it, and though the paint went on fine, the finish is terrible. It’s been six or so months, and even though I waited until each coat was fully dry to recoat, it never fully cured. The entire thing is lightly tacky, still, after all that time. Worse, every little thing marks the paint, so there are lots of tiny scratches on it (a problem I’ve never had with ProClassic). And -the kiss of death for this paint for me- if one of my contact lenses ever falls on the paint and is not IMMEDIATELY taken off, it bonds to the paint and cannot be removed!
I had such an awful experience with this paint in a high traffic area that this week I’ve been sanding it down and repainting it with ProClassic; the limited color options are worth it for the quality.
I’d be curious to know what happened that you had such a different experience than I did with that paint; maybe I got a bad batch? Not willing to risk it again, though :/
I was immediately drawn to this page because I refinished the same dresser two weeks ago. Ours was dubbed the “banana dresser” because of its lovely banana yellow drawers. Fortunately I had less work to do because the dresser itself was already white. I wanted to paint the drawers only so it would better match our home’s coastal theme.
I found a great primer at Lowe’s (Zinsser oil-base cover stain primer) that I painted straight on to the drawers, no sanding or prep needed. I let it dry for about 30 minutes and covered it with a regular satin wall paint. It’s held up great so far and I’m unable to scratch any of it off.
Hey! I work at Sherwin Williams and there is a deep base for Proclassic. Sometimes its just not always stocked in the store, but can be ordered in within a week.
Yes, it is a GREAT product! thanks for sharing your success!!!
was curious where you got the dresser you painted. Been looking for this exact one. There was a dresser just like the one in your post that was in our beach condo that we rented this summer. Love it Please let me know. Thanks!
I found it at the thrift store. Its a campaign style, so if you search for that I’m sure you’ll be able to find one!
xo
m
do you think it would make a big difference if i didn’t sand the furniture? i live in a tiny apartment and don’t have access to one.
Wow! What a goood tutorial! I think even myself will be able to handle it !!! Thank you so much for explaining it so clearly.
Thanks, I was just looking for a good paint for a vanity I’m painting a similar green. Heading to SW today. Do you recommend a topcoat or is the paint tough enough on its own?
Very impressed. One question…..I have a large laminate bedroom set that I do not want to compromise the integrity of the finish. The sealer is the issue. It has yellowed over the years. The objective is to
sand off the finish and possibly even tint in the gray tones with a white wash. Needing guidance…….
also recommendations on a good sealer that will not yellow ?