1. Clean whatever your are going to paint. Just wipe it down with a wet cloth and let it dry.
2. Always use primer. I don't like to sand the stuff that I paint and sometimes when you're painting metal or plastic or other such things it's kind of hard to sand. But if you use primer, the paint sticks well and covers well. Most primers are white or gray. I usually use white if I'm painting something white and gray for all other colors. But the Smith's Marketplace near us sells black HD Designs brand primer that I love because I spray paint a lot of things black.
3. I paint in my garage with the door all the way open or part way open to let things ventilate.
4. Primer the top with a coat, flip it over, primer the other side. Then paint the other side with the paint, then flip it over and paint the top side.
5. It will usually take about 1 can of primer and 2 cans of paint for most pieces of furniture... like a chair or headboard.
6. Distressing is your friend! If you have paint runs or places that didn't get a good coat, just use your little electric sander or sand paper and sand off those places.
7. Finish your project with a clear coat to protect the places that you distressed.
*You can spray paint almost anything as long as you primer first. If you are doing a piece of furniture that has a lot of smooth flat surfaces like a dresser, table, bookshelf, etc, I wouldn't recommend spray paint. Spray paint will usually leave spray lines on things like that. I would use a small foam roller and brush to get in the corners. However, spray paint is great for things that have rounded parts or hard to reach in places.
Here are a few other projects I have painted since I moved into my new house...
This cute headboard to matchthis cute mirror in my guest bedroom.
Most of my kitchen chairs.
This cute chair goes in my craft room, but it is so cute I couldn't resist taking my baby's picture on it!
Most of my kitchen chairs.
This cute chair goes in my craft room, but it is so cute I couldn't resist taking my baby's picture on it!