Painted furniture, anyone else doing it?

[johnelliott]

I mostly do kitchen stuff now, but before that I did quite a bit of painted furniture. I did experiment with MDF, but didn't like the dust or the smell. Then I tried birch plywood (much dearer at about £31 a sheet 3/4") and now I use nothing else.
Reason why I'm posting this at all, and in the general section, is that nobody it seems ever mentions making furniture out of sheet materials and then slapping a few coats of Dulux on it. It can look quite good

If anyone is interested in having a go, I would be happy to pass on the results of my experiments. If anyone is already doing it, let's hear about it
John

 

[Chris Knight]

John,
That does look nice indeed, my daughter would certainly approve, she has just had her kitchen done with a number of painted units in quite a few different colours - seemingly the younger folk are moving away from the uniform look. Do you apply any edging to the ply or something similar before painting? Is it a particular grade? I have seen reference in some places to a cabinet grade but have not found anyone who supplies it as such.

I use birch ply quite a bit but I am getting a bit fed up with the stuff I receive from my local supplier (Champions, a small trade supplier ) who have been sending me stuff that starts to warp quite quickly even in 19 mm thickness, I have the impression they don't keep it very well. I have painted it too on occasions, although I mostly veneer it for furniture. The last time I used paint it was a white precat lacquer that I sprayed on - looked pretty good.

 

[SimonA]

To be honest John I've just been thinking about the same thing myself.......I made a built in shaker set of shelves for my daughter a couple of years ago and had a quick dabble in painting the backboard, but thats about it. If you can pass on any info on what you do and what you use that would be great!! I've always been amazed at the finish the woodworkers across the pond get on their painted furniture, they do use spray systems to be fair, but its still a great result.

I wait your full run down of the painting process!!

Cheers.

SimonA

 

[Bean]

johnelliott
That Dresser looks really good, yes please I would love to know what, where and how. Especially the edges how do you get them so smooth??

Bean

 

[johnelliott]

I get my birch ply from Edens, who have branches over most of the South (UK) and stock mostly Latvian birch. The 3/4" stuff has thirteen laminations, all the same thickness.
The edges I just round over where appropriate, and sand smooth (120 is plenty smooth enough). Might need filling where knots in intermediate layers leave voids at the edge
The paint I use is Dulux Luxurious Silk(water based). First coat is hard work, lots needed and needs to be worked in well. I use synthetic brushes, try to finish with long strokes in the direction of the grain. Three coats is usually plenty. Keep going over the paint as it dries to get rid of the bulges and fat edges that tend to occur at corners and edges.
No need to sand between coats, just draw a stanley knife blade (held at 90 degrees)over the surface to knock off the little raised bits.
Horizontal surfaces I apply a coat of matt water-based varnish (Ronseal Quick Drying) to reduce the tendency of items placed on them to stick.
John