Painting/stenciling a chair

[glassslipper2004]

I want to make a very special gift for a friend, and I have purchased an unfinished wooden chair to paint and decorate for her to use in her art studio. I'd appreciate any tips on how to do it, including what types of paint to use, any suggestions for prepping it and finishing it, and mishaps to look out for.

I tried looking elsewhere on the web, then remembered this wonderful DIS board, and thought I'd give it a try. All suggestions welcome!

 

[Dom13]

Are you looking to paint it or stain it? It would help to have an idea how you want the finished item to look.

 

[glassslipper2004]

Sorry I took so long to reply. I primed the chair today, and tomorrow my plan is to paint it with a solid color, let that dry, and then paint and stencil designs on it. I'm wondering if you have to use latex paint (like house paint from Home Depot) or if you can use acrylic paint from a craft store, either for the whole chair or for the decorations/designs.

I'm thinking of a kind of stars and moon thing, folk art style, but am not so gifted so I'm going to use stencils for the shapes.

Then - how do you coat/finish the whole thing, so that it looks nice and complete and the paint is secure? Polyurethane? Spray or paint?

Any thoughts/suggestions would be welcome.

 

[Dom13]

For the base coat I would definetly use a Latex house paint. It will cover better than craft paint and will last longer. For the stenciling etc. use the craft paint as that will give it the folk art feel you're looking for. Defeintely poly it when you are done. Either spray or brush. You can get a water based poly for brush that works well. It's also low odor and easy clean-up.

 

[glassslipper2004]

I painted the chair with latex house paint, and decorated it with craft paint, including paint pens. It looks great!

But when I went to put on a clear poly semi-gloss coat - thankfully on a test strip first - the poly smeared the paint pen work. Panic! I obviously won't use this on the chair itself, given that it would ruin it all, but I am frightened that the paint pen work won't last. I tested the strip to see if water smears it - it doesn't - but what can I do to finish the project and seal it without smearing it?

Any suggestions would be very much appreciated.

 

[Dom13]

You don't say which type of paint you are using, oil based or water based and how you're applying it, brush or spray. If you're using an oil based poly and brushing it on you could try a couple of light thin coats of a spray poly over the pen. That should seal the pen in place and allow you to go over the rest. Seeing as water doesn't bother it you should be able to use a water based poly. Definetly experiment first.

 

[danceintherain]

I know this is kind of late, but I thought I'd put in my 2 cents anyways. I worked in the Home Depot paint department over the summer, which makes me seem like an expert (I actually started out as a cashier and they moved me over there without any training HAHA ) Anyways... Home Depot paint is actually 100% acrylic latex. They don't sell anything that is not 100% Acrylic Latex (well... they do, but it's very limited, and it's oil based, and then there's Rustoleum spray paint which is a completely different avenue), which means any Home Depot Paint would work on a chair. The glossier the paint, the more resilient it will be to wear and tear, which means it's better for furniture that will get a lot of use, however any sheen will work.

Like I said... I know I'm a bit late...

 

[glassslipper2004]

Thanks anyway! The chair came out great - I used Home Depot paint, and I'm glad I did. The only exception was some paint pens for decorations, and I'm wishing I hadn't done that, because when I went to put a coat of gloss on, it smeared (on my test, not the chair).

My friend was very happy to receive the present. All's right with the world (at least in this little crafting corner).