A light sanding and primer should do the trick. My mother actually restained her IKEA Pax wardrobes (crazy woman, but it kinda worked. Not as effective as if it had been true wood, but better than I thought it would be).

No idea - you could also decoupage to change the look, or use a long table runner to cover the tops and sides.....

I was thinking about the 2 drawer low dresser of this series to use as a media stand. I hate the black, and had decided to paint it white. The piece is solid Pine, so you can easily sand these down and repaint with (my suggestion is an oil based paint, just because it will be tougher and wear better)oil or latex. I ended up going with a unit from somewhere else, but I was really set on this one for some time and studied it well. Any of the solid pine pieces from IKEA are pretty easy to refinish, its the ones that are laminate or veneer/foil that you dont want to mess around with. Good luck, I dont think you will have any problem.

If painting the laminate versions, you need a "high adhesion primer" made primarily for painting over melamine.

Please use oil based paint. I repainted IKEA pine furniture with latex and you can't put anything on it now because it will stick and rip off the paint.

I've painted Ikea white laminate, cheifly the Billy Bookcases. It isn't difficult. These are instructions I typed for the ST Cure (week 6):

Painting the Billy's isn't difficult...just time consuming and a bit painstaking. I actually have four more short bookcases in the living room I've been wanting to paint for ages, but it's really not going to get done this year.

I used melamine paint in "cloud white." It just takes the glare out of the Ikea white. Melamine paint can be tinted any colour--except a medium to dark one. Apparently, if you try, you just get a "pale" version of your deep colour. (That's what happened when I painted the one in the dining room green.)

1) Scuff every surface to be painted with 100 grit sandpaper. (I use an angled sanding sponge--works quickly and well).

2) Cut in the corners with a foam brush and use a light hand. Apply the paint with a small (6") sponge roller. This is key. The paint must go on smoothly and evenly.

3) Be careful of drips on the sides of the shelves. I wasn't this time and I had to spend some time sanding it off so the shelves would fit. Even then, I had to use our Army Engineer mallett to get some in.

Melamine is an oil based product, so wrap up your materials tightly in a plastic bag between coats. 1/2 dried bits of melamine causes no end of headaches.

KRYLON!! Krylon has paint for EVERYTHING, even plastics. They also have a lot of different primers, like high-adhesion, stain-blocking, etc. www.krylon.com Not sure if the Krylon Fusion for Plastics will work on melamine laminate, but I think it would. You can write to them and ask.

Krylon paints are absolutely amazing, and I'm surprised it's usually not mentioned here at AT.

That dresser in the picture is solid pine so it can be sanded, painted stained, whatever.

I'm getting the 4-drawer dresser from this series and staining it walnut.

P.S. You should never use latex paint on any furniture...Ikea or not. The fact that the piece is Ikea has nothing to do with why objects stick to the latex paint.

orangejuice, thanks so much for the paint comment. I was about to paint a bench, and was going to use latex. I'll use oil based instead.

Gripper is a good primer too, it sticks to metal, would probably also stick to laminate.

Glad someone else asked the question about painting on melamine/laminates/solid wood items from IKEA - not only because of the great replies, but if I relied on my terrible memory, I'd never have posted the question :)

Thanks all!

Now, as far as painting on wood that is NOT a laminate.....if you want to use a water base paint, go with Milk Paint.

http://www.milkpaint.com/

Everything you need to know about milk paint is at that site.

I remember using it as a colorwash on a wall once. It's a very interesting medium that takes a little learning and getting used to, but the rewards are great.

When painting melamine or laminate you want to follow Patrick's suggestion of a high-adhesion primer, also known as a bonding primer. Try Zinsser's B.I.N. ; XIM's less toxic primer UMA, or Kilz Original-Low VOC. I haven't tried these three because I try to stay away from oil-based paints, but they are supposedly the best of the bunch for this type of job.

Kah,
I paint my IKEA pine pieces with acrylic latex all of the time, and it has never been sticky. (See my blog for lots of proof.) I'm always amazed when someone says that. I guess the key is to use a good primer (like Kilz) and to let the piece dry at least 8-12 hours between each coat of both the primer and the paint. Also make sure that you sanded the piece pretty roughly before even putting the first coat of primer on.

You can use latex on wood furniture, but I would advise topping it with a clear coat. I like Varathane Diamond. Also, prepare the surface properly and use thin coats.

I had some success with painting a Bertby piece. A professional painter told me to lightly sand the sections I wanted to paint with a fine to medium sanding block, then apply XIM primer (see their website for where to buy).

You do not need oil base paint or melamine paint.
Use first a latex primer called GRIPPER made by Glidden, any Home Depot. $19.95 per gallon.
brush on. i rolled first then used a brush for a heavy layer. next day used a home depot latex
PERFECT. !

light sanding all over and priming with high density foam roller.