apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Sound like glossy black wouldn't be too ambitious with some planning, taping, spray paint and patience.

It is a beautiful piece.

I doubt you'll be able to paint over the lacquer without some prep, but a good sanding should make it possible. If the lacquer is actually lacquer, it may be possible to strip it off with lacquer thinner -- but it may be some other shiny substance that looks like lacquer but isn't.

Is the finish on the underside the same as the top? You could always experiment on a small patch there where it wouldn't be visible.

id just learn to love it the way it is... it cant be all that bad.

try rustoleom laquer spray paint. it only comes in a couple colors but it does come in black

its possible it is a glossy vinyl paper and not real lacquer. a light sanding and a good primer should work. i'd suggest a roller brush and not spray paint unless you have a good place to spray paint and lots of ventilation.

I'd learn to live with it.

Instead of risking any further dis-like of the beautiful piece I would enlist the help of your most favored painter. He or she should be able to properly prep, paint, and seal the piece for you so it will have the color you are looking for, without compromising the integrity or style!

I have an old, dark stained sideboard that I have been planning to paint since I bought it about 20 years ago. I've carted it around on my various moves, and used it because it is functional. Not too long ago I realized that I think it looks great where it is, and works beautifully with the things that are around it.
I guess I'm saying that procrastination can be a wonderful thing.

I have an old, dark stained sideboard that I've been meaning to paint since I bought it about 20 years ago. I've carted around with me on my various moves, and used it because it is functional. Recently I noticed that I really like the way it looks. The shape, size, AND COLOR look great where it is placed, and compliment the furniture and art near it.
I guess I am saying that procrastination can be a wonderful thing.

Sorry about the double post.

Jumping on the "love it" band wagon here- I would say that unless you are willing to pay to have it professionally re-finished, you might not be able to achieve a brushstroke-less finish on your own, or anything close to the original, lacquer is a b#@$h to try on your own. If the chip is driving you bananas (which it would probably do to me) then save up for a pro job. In the meantime, try and love it- maybe get a couple little room accessories that bring out it's colour, rather than try to hide it. I'll bet you can find tons of fabrics or pillows that have a range of chocolately browns in them to make everything go well together. Or, heh heh, keep the curtains drawn and the lights low so the colour matches....

I would wait until you are actually moved in to the space, before you decide to paint the piece. Chocolate brown looks great in many different color schemes.

I had a similar situation, only with a larger purchase. I impulsively bought a leather sofa in bright blue/green. When it was delivered, it looked atrocious in the room. I too wanted to cry. Because it was a big purchase for me, I HAD to make it work. In the end, all it took was a few strategic accessory purchases (and a much needed coat of paint on the walls) to make it look great in the room.

In another post someone had mentioned taking furniture to an auto paint shop. I'm not sure of the cost, but this seems like a good idea.

I have done a little bit of research on this, and from what I can tell, not all lacquers are the same. My understanding is that you can lacquer over lacquer (usually) or apply acrylic over lacquer, but if the shiny coat is actually an acrylic "lacquer", applying lacquer over it will cause it to mottle and wrinkle. In any case, it involves lots of sanding and proper prep to get that great mirror finish, and ultimately you may ruin it if you use the wrong black lacquer over the original paint. DO NOT USE WALL PAINT (latex) over lacquer.

You might want to try taking it to a place that does automotive repair painting and see if they think they could repaint it black in their spray booth. They may have a way of being able to tell what kind of lacquer the original finish is. If you decide to go DIY, you might want to try an automotive spray on lacquer like Duplicolor purchased from your local automotive store. It comes in a small spray paint can. Sand and prime first. The Duplicolor web site has some videos about how to properly apply their spray can automotive paint.

In any case, you will need a lot of patience and elbow grease to do a piece that large.

I can paint furniture like nobody's business, here is what *I* would do. Sand first to give it some "tooth". Just rough it up is all you have to do (wipe it down to get the dust off). Then I use Kilz water based primer which is white. I always do 3 coats minimum. Then comes the paint and I think you said you want shiny so get some enamel paint in the color of your choice. Enamel is hard to spread so I might go with semigloss or even flat then you'd coat it a bunch of times with MinWax water based polyurethane in the gloss level of your choice.

Now, for brush marks. Sherman Williams sells these wonderful sponge rollers. With each pass of the roller, have a brush handy. Feather it out with each stroke of the roller. That'll do it and you'll get really fast at it. Feather with the Kilz primer, paint and feather with the paint, feather with the poly. It'll work and I'd know since I've painted countless pieces of furniture. Your first and maybe second Kilz coats will look bad but just keep on til it's smoothly covered. I got so good at this I could knock out a piece or two a day.

You can have a coat on that coffee table in 20 minutes. If it's really hot outside you can add coats pretty fast because, by the time you finish one coat, it's really for the next on a hot day.

Linda in Santa Cruz, CA

P.S. WHOOPS a typo.

"...really for the next on a hot day." I meant to say READY for the next on a hot day.