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I painted a design on the front of a malm dresser ... with just latex paint and it has held well for over a year. I didn't even sand or anything because I needed most of the drawer fronts to stay plain. Not sure about painting a whole piece, though ... I'll be interested to hear from others who have since I've been thinking about doing another dresser for my niece.

Staining laminate is crappy. Laminate doesn't absorb the stain like normal wood, and the stain goes on really unevenly. I definitely advocate painting (spraypainting or otherwise) instead. It will save you the trouble of having to sand really carefully, and the result will likely look a lot better. Good luck!

I've painted some Ikea laminates. It's fairly easy and works well. Sand lightly, prime, then paint. I just used a foam roller and a foam brush for the inside edges, as the foam leaves fewer marks than a bristled brush.

Light sanding, high adhesion primer.

Ugh. Learn from my mistakes. I just painted a Pax wardrobe last weekend. I sanded lightly, as was recommended everywhere, but apparently *too* lightly. I didn't prime (mistake #2) and although the paint stuck pretty well going on, its very fragile now that its dried. It peels and chips at the drop of a hat.

That said, i used a short nap roller to get an even coat and it looks pretty good.

I spray painted a Malm dresser not too long ago and it came out great. Just clean the surface well and let dry. I didn't sand (didn't want to scuff the finish) or prime either (but I am sure it wouldn't hurt).

I used a nice glossy appliance paint and it turned out much better than expected.

Zinsser bin primer will absolutely work, no sanding necessary....it smells nasty and is definitely not low voc (make sure you have adequate ventilation, or you'll get quite a high), but it is very effective for painting over laminate. i painted laminate kitchen cabinets years ago, and the paint is still in great shape.

Can anyone put photos up of their handiwork?

Yeah I primed and painted a Malm dresser as well (w/out sanding) and it came out great, if I do say so myself! Use very glossy paint to reduce the chance of smudging or chipping. Your local hardware store should be able to recommend a good primer and paint.

So are y'all saying to forget about any illusions of preserving the grain of the veneer and just paint it?

I just painted my malm dressers as well -- Sanded them, used a high adhesion primer (Behr interior enamel undercoater primer & sealer), and then painted with a semigloss latex. They look fantastic!

oh, and i'll put up pics tonight...

There's a big difference between painting plastic laminates/melamine/foil finishes and real wood veneers. Unless there's a heavy varnish or polyurethane coating on a wood veneered piece (you can tell because it will be glossy) painting a veneer generally works better and is much simpler than painting a laminate.

IKEA's Malm line is veneered in wood except for the white pieces.
IKEA's PAX wardrobe cases are all laminated in plastic - some doors are laminated in melamine but many of the doors are wood or wood veneered, and can easily be painted or even gel-stained.

(Hint: If it says "wood effect" on the website or catalog description - it's plastic laminate/melamine.)

You can apply a tinted polyurethane like Minwax Polyshades if you want to change the color of a laminate but still allow the woodgrain to show through. Unlike stain that has to soak into wood, tinted polyurethane contains the color in the transparent topcoat (available in gloss or satin finishes). You can also try a gel stain designed for hard surfaces like metal.

I tested Polyshades on an Ikea laminate bookcase and it worked just fine. Good adhesion and a durable finish. The only caveat is the stuff takes a little practice to work with; it dries quickly and you have to maintain a "wet edge" when applying or you'll have visible colored brush strokes at the overlaps. It's petroleum based, so provide good ventilation and use mineral spirits for cleanup.

My fiance and I have actually had success in sanding/staining a veneered piece of furniture.When our roommates moved out they left behind a nice heavy old desk, that we thought was solid wood. However, it didn't match our decor (of course) so we decided to sand it down and stain it an espresso color. After we started sanding we realized it was a really well put together combo of solid wood/veneer.

But i wouldn't try to stain a laminate. I'm sure with a nice sanding and a good coat of primer you'll be just fine.

nashdp, do you still have to sand it first? will it be able to give a birch piece a black-brown finish?

I painted my vets laminate cabinets with a primer called "Aqua lock". It sticks to stuff like nobodys business and we havent seen any chips yet.