How to Finish Wood Furniture After Cleaning
From the cabinets in your kitchen to a piece of furniture to a fun craft, at that place are plenty of wood items y'all can paint. And one of the best things about woods is that it accepts a variety of paints well, whether you opt for something that's acrylic or an oil-based formula. Painting wood is an piece of cake style to change its look and give it some new personality, but it's not always clear what paint to use for different projects and applications. Here's what y'all need to know most the right paint to utilize for wood.
What's Your Project?
First, it'due south essential to figure out the nature of your project, meaning you'll need to determine not merely what you're painting but also where it'due south located or going to be used. Are you painting shingles on the exterior of your domicile? Or are you painting an outdoor deck that'll see a lot of foot traffic? How most kitchen cabinets that people will touch ofttimes, or a bathroom shelf that'll be exposed to high humidity from the shower?
Knowing things like whether or not information technology's going to get moisture, how often someone's going to use information technology or impact it and what overall effect or look y'all desire to reach are all essential for determining what pigment you should utilize for the project. Wood accepts a very wide range of paints and stains, just each of those tin can have differing levels of immovability and protection. Some paints are better than others in certain situations, and you lot'll need to know your particular situation earlier you make your choice.
Pigment Types and Formulas
The groovy affair virtually wood is that, every bit long every bit you apply primer to information technology in most cases, any type of paint works well on it, depending on what function you need your projection to serve. More often than not speaking, paints to utilize on wood are water-based or oil-based. Acrylic and latex are the 2 most common types of water-based paints, while oil-based paints fall into two categories: synthetic or natural. Each of these is better than others for specific applications.
Latex paint is quick-drying, easy to make clean and better for the environment than other types. It's also less likely to discolor over fourth dimension. Nonetheless, it's not the most durable choice, as it can scratch and chip easily. It'due south all-time for indoor wood items or surfaces that you won't bear on or use very oftentimes, such every bit rarely used furniture, storage cabinet doors, stair spindles and picture frames. Latex pigment is oft the about affordable blazon.
Acrylic paint is platonic for habitation exteriors, although you can also use oil-based paint here. If the exterior is fabricated upwards of different materials, such as stone and woods, you're better off choosing acrylic. Materials like stone and masonry demand breathable paint to allow moisture and water vapor to pass through, and oil-based paint prevents this. Acrylic craft paints are likewise widely available and like shooting fish in a barrel to use and clean up if yous're doing a simple DIY craft project using wood.
Synthetic oil paint, which is likewise called alkyd, is the best choice for applications where you need a lot more immovability. Think everyday article of furniture that'll go used and jostled oft, kitchen and bath cabinets, interior trims like baseboards and door frames that'll go kicked and touched often, and flooring indoors and out. Oil-based paints are more rigid than flexible, water-based types so they're less likely to chip — even when people are walking on them — and they're also easier to wash clean because of this.
Natural oil pigment, called linseed, is best for craft projects on which you want to create a warm, anile patina. It'southward typically much more expensive than the synthetic variety, which is why information technology'due south best for smaller projects.
Prepping for the Project
To help the paint adhere well and to ensure the finish looks its best when everything is dry out, it's important to prep your wood to get it ready. If y'all're painting an exterior surface or item, requite everything a thorough wash to make sure in that location isn't any dirt, dust, moss or algae, all of which can go on the pigment from sticking to the surface. If you're painting wood deck furniture, a tabular array or something else for the outdoors that people will touch frequently, it's a wise idea to sand it before painting to give the pigment something polish to adhere to. Splinters and cracks tin can also go on the finished product from looking its best, and they're uncomfortable to sit on. Let the surface or or detail dry out out fully before applying the paint, and give it a few days to dry out and start curing before you utilise information technology. It's best to exercise outdoor wood-painting projects while the weather is nice.
If you're repainting an interior surface or furniture such as kitchen cabinetry or a dresser, take a await at the existing paint or finish. If the item's electric current paint isn't chipped, croaky or bubbling, you tin can usually paint right over it; just sand the wood areas briefly to give the surface more texture for the paint to stick to. If you lot don't need to remove cabinet paint, information technology's withal a good idea to clean the doors with a heavy-duty solution like TSP to eliminate all traces of grease and grime. If you do need to remove a little fleck of paint, such every bit a few chipped areas, y'all tin sand them down. However, you may need to use pigment stripper for items with paint that'due south very damaged. This is a product that softens the old paint so you can scrape and wipe it all off.
A word of caution here: If your cabinets or other painted home surfaces were last washed in the 1970s or earlier, they may incorporate atomic number 82-based paint. If you lot utilize a testing kit and determine in that location's lead in your paint, phone call the National Pb Data Center or your local wellness section to find out how to continue.
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