Cyndi writes: I bought this table from my local Savers; it was originally orange. I didn't particularly like that color, so, on the advice of the paint guy from my local Home Depot, I painted it a deep red. He told me that the orange would always show through, but I thought it would cover most of the color with a few coats. After 2 coats of paint, it's sort of an orange red, with a somewhat uneven coating of paint..."
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Hi Cyndi- Kudos on finding a "diamond in the rough" and wanting to transform it. However, whenever you are planning on repainting an already painted surface, it's always a good idea to try to remove as much of the original paint as possible, and/or to sand it down to help avoid potential uneven spots. Also, using a good primer is beneficial as well. It's hard to suggest what other colors you might try without seeing the rest of the room you're thinking of putting it in, but from what we can see, the bones of the piece are still good. I'd suggest trying to strip all the paint off and start with a clean surface. Here is a link to an eco-friendly paint remover that we've found success using. Does anyone have any other ideas to suggest to Cyndi? Do you think she should just paint it black? Please share your suggestions in the comments!
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Comments (6)
Plus the home depot paint is probably cheap-ish paint. A higher quality paint will be more opaque.
If you do strip and prime it, see about getting the primer tinted with some of the red.
Get a color you love, that's my first advice. Then strip all of the old paint off - having it dunked by professionals is your best option. Stripping paint can be a pain. Make sure you get a durable paint designed for furniture, one that dries to a slick surface (if it's glossy) that won't stick to things in the future, not some gummy wall paint. Spray paint is probably your best bet - no brush marks.
How about putting a black glaze on it? It will deepen the color up a bit but not cover the red that you are looking for.
I once tried to paint my bookshelves bright red with good latex paint (Benjamin Moore). After several frustrating coats, the Benjamin Moore guys told me to get a really good solid red I should use oil-based paint. I did and they look great and the paint job has held up for years.
I'm beginning to think the HD guy is an idiot too; I think I'm going to follow the advice given here, and take the table to a professional to have the paint stripped. I'm going for a deep red that will pair well with shades of grey in the furniture & walls. I'll swap out the paint I bought for something suited for furniture.
Thanks for all the advice!
Cyndi
I found a cute bedside table that had been painted orange in the 1970's, like your piece. I sanded it down, my goal was to get a smooth surface. I then used acrylic primer and robin's egg blue paint. That was five years ago and it still looks great. The surface is also smooth because I sanded between primer & paint and between 1st and 2nd coats.