We recently painted dining chairs that I got second hand. They look so good, I thought I would share the process! This is exactly what we do when we have painted banquette seating, and anywhere we need the paint to hold up and not scratch or chip! The key is the primer and the sealer.
If you missed it, you can check out all the details on the changes in our dining room, including a new dining table, HERE. And keep reading for how we painted the dining chairs….
Step #1 Sand and or Prime-
Sanding does not always need to be done. In fact we rarely sand furniture before painting. The only reason to sand before painting is if there are imperfections, and the current state of the item is chipped. So sand off any chipped spots.
After sanding, or assessing that sanding is not needed prime your furniture. Often you can buy paint and primer in one. But if you have the time, might as well do this extra step to set things up for success. If you are painting outside we like this Rust-Oleum Primer Spray Paint, if you are painting inside you can use this Zinsser Primer you roll or brush on.
Step #2 Paint-
The question was what color to paint the chairs? They came all white. It helped to get samples of all the colors I was thinking (we already had the paint, because it is all the colors in our home). I painted the 3 colors I liked on a piece of wood, and we thought why not paint one in each color!
After deciding on the color, we got the paint. The type of paint you use is key! We went with Benjamin Moore Advance, Interior Waterborne Alkyd in Semi-Gloss. This paint is great because it cures to a hard, furniture-quality finish. You can use this paint on doors, trim, cabinets, walls, and ceilings. For primed or previously painted wallboard, plaster, masonry, wood and metal!
We sprayed the chairs using This Paint Sprayer. Loved the paint sprayer, only complaint was the battery died quick, luckily we had more batteries we could charge as we went.
Step #3 Seal-
After your paint has dried, apply 1-2 coats of this polyurethane spray paint after. If you are painting inside, I would use this polyurethane that you apply with a paint brush or roller. I think this step of applying a polyurethane is necessary even with a high-quality paint. It is that extra step to ensure no chipping or scratching. We always apply on the top of dressers too.
Paint Colors-
The colors are….Preference Red Farrow & Ball (the burgundy). Bancha Farrow & Ball (the green). Sulking Room Pink Farrow & Ball (the pink). Get all the info on our dining room HERE.
We also use Chalk Paint for a matte finish, it works great too!! Read how we painted our piano HERE.
Find all the paint colors in our home and paint supplies we love HERE
[…] Question is, what color to paint the chairs? They came all white. And we sprayed them using this paint sprayer all three different colors wanting to see what we thought. See exactly what we used to paint the chairs HERE. […]