Lets talk about Prep, furniture prep to be exact!
Following on from our previous blog, I want to talk about the prep that is involved in producing a piece of furniture that is worthy of gracing your home. Anyone can paint a piece of furniture and sell it but for that furniture to have a near perfect finish and to stand the test of time, prep is the most important step and so many people cut corners.
Taking your furnitutre apart, all doors, drawers, legs (if they can be removed) hinges, glass, shelves and knobs/handles are the first things we do.
Washing your furniture thoroughly (sometimes you will need to wash it 2 or 3 times), both inside and out is such an important step, dont forget underneath, you will be surprised how dirty furniture can arrive and if you sand without washing you are forcing all of the dirt and grime into the wood. I will link the products we use to wash our furniture, a little goes a long way. here
Sanding, we use a festool sander here and extractor but we started our journey with a little black and decker mouse sander which is great to start with and for hobbies, but if you want to make a business out of this or if you upcycle lots, we recommend getting something more robust or you will spend days sanding something that can take hours not to mention sore hands. I will link the sander we have, along with the sanding disks we use, but another great brand to consider is Makita. Here
Washing after sanding, we give our furniture a good clean after sanding too, this is to make sure all dust is gone and also to confirm we havent left any dirt or grime anywhere. Remember those crevices, super important for a clean finish!
Let your furniture thoroughly dry before attempting to paint. Choose the paint you feel matches your style of painting, there are many. We prefer a smooth finish so tend to go for mineral or eggshell paints but we started our using chalk paints and even stocked some once upon a time :)
I will be introducing little step by step video guides to my subscribers in time to help you with this, if you are a budding upcycler for a new business or for just a hobby you will find this beneficial in getting that super professional finish.
After many years of trial and error, a lot of reading up on the best products to use, and some amazing painty friends to bouce ideas off. We feel we have the right formula, but as with everything in life, there is always room for improvement and always more to learn!
In our next blog, we will focus on achieving the perfect silky smooth finish with an added layer for protection!