Categories: Kitchens

How to Paint a Table Without Sanding

Published by
James marcus

Use this tutorial to learn how to paint a table without sanding! You can paint laminate furniture from IKEA (or any kind of table!) with the right kind of paint and primer!

When it comes to painting old furniture, there are a ton of tutorials out there. Most of them will tell you they know the best ways to paint a table but I’m here to show you what I think is the EASIEST! For most of us, sanding is our least favorite step. It’s messy, hard work and there’s so much dust! You don’t need a 10 step tutorial – you just need to know the most important step: using the right primer!

Yep, it really is that easy. No need go the long way and try to remove the old finish to paint wood furniture. You also don’t need liquid sandpaper or liquid deglosser. If you want to paint furniture quickly and easily – all you need is regular paint and the RIGHT primer!

I found this old table at a thrift store a while back. I knew it would be perfect for our dining room despite the dark color. I really wanted a bright white dining room table with plenty of seating. With the right prep work I could paint it whatever color I wanted; even with that glossy surface!

You have many options when it comes to furniture painting. Some of the more popular types of paint are chalk paint, mineral paint, or milk paint. I personally am not a fan of the “distressed” or “farmhouse” look so I steer clear of these type of paint.

Laminate furniture (IKEA is probably the most popular!) has glossy surfaces that paint will not stick to. The good news is, the bonding primer I recommended you will be able to transform your piece of furniture the easy way despite those shiny surfaces!

You may look at the materials list below and think: wait I thought you’re showing me how to paint a table without sanding? Why is SANDPAPER on the list!? Not to worry – we’re only using that to smooth the wood filler. No dents or dings on your table? You can skip that step completely and go straight to priming!

This was a large piece of furniture so it took a long time to paint. About 30-45 minutes for each of the coats of paint. PRO TIP: If you want to save even more time, try spray painting with a paint sprayer. I love the Wagner Flexio 5000 and I’ve even used it to paint walls in our house! There’s no right or wrong way to do the painting but a sprayer sure saves time!

Now when I tell you this primer is magic – I’m not kidding! Another good primer is INSL-X STIX. You don’t need to sand with this one either so it saves you a ton of time! BIN even comes in a spray primer!

I was painting laminate furniture in this tutorial, but you can use the same steps for wooden furniture! There’s no need to go through the sanding process you normally do with paint projects *if* you use this primer! It bonds to the wood surface just like it does to the glossy finish of the laminate.

It’s a fast dry primer coating sticks to all surfaces without sanding. This is not just for painting wood furniture – I used it on our dark brown shower tile! Yep, I PAINTED our shower tile!

After painting a table, you want to allow enough time for the paint to cure before using. Don’t set anything on your fresh coat of paint. Remember there’s a difference between dry time and cure time. Check on the paint can to make sure you don’t mess up your new coat of paint. Not putting things on the table is one of the only reliable ways to ensure your painted table surface cures properly!

I hope this tutorial inspires you to give a new life to your dining room table (or any other furniture piece you may have!) You can change your table to a completely different color – even if you are starting with black like I did or a dark stained wood.

Love a good furniture makeover? Be sure to check out my Upcycle archives for other blog posts!

This post was last modified on 23/10/2023 12:08

James marcus

Garden Courte is a blog written by [James Marcus], a passionate gardener and writer. She has been gardening for over 20 years and has a deep understanding of plants and how to care for them. In her blog, she shares her knowledge and experience with others, providing tips and advice on gardening, plant care, and more.

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Published by
James marcus

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