How to Paint a Wood Veneer Piece
Wood veneer pieces are composed of manufactured particleboard, covered with a wood veneer coating that makes them look more like solid wood furniture. If you want to paint a wood veneer piece, condition the veneer before application, or you will end up with a short-lived finish that will chip and flake. In addition, because wood veneer is so smooth, employ specific application techniques, or you may end up with a finish that contains unsightly brush strokes.
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Things You'll Need
- Heavy-duty fabric dropcloth
- 220-grit sandpaper
- Tackcloth
- Blue painter's tape
- 3- to 4-inch latex paintbrush
- Acrylic latex primer
- 2-gallon painter's pot
- Wooden stir stick
- Acrylic latex paint
Instructions
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Place the wood veneer piece on top of a fabric dropcloth.
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Abrade the wood veneer with sandpaper. Scour the veneer until it feels slightly gritty.
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Wipe down the veneer with a sticky tackcloth.
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Cover parts of the wood veneer piece you do not want painted with low-tack blue painter's tape.
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Coat the abraded wood veneer with acrylic latex primer, using a paintbrush, manufactured for use with water-based latex paints. Wait two hours for the primed wood veneer piece to dry.
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Wash the brush with water.
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Dilute the acrylic latex paint to promote a smoother finish. Pour one gallon of paint into the two-gallon painter's pot. Stir in one oz. of water, using a wooden stir stick.
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Coat the primed wood veneer with two light coats of the diluted paint. Wait one complete hour between coats. Wait four hours before returning the finished piece to its original place.
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Tips & Warnings
Don't use plain rags in place of tackcloths, or you may leave sawdust that will inhibit primer adhesion.
Do not attempt to paint over wood veneer unless you have abraded the surface first, or the finish will fail.
Never paint over unprimed wood veneer, or the paint will peel.
Do not try to cover the veneer with a single, heavy coat of undiluted paint, or you may end up with a finish that contains unsightly brush strokes.
Resources
- Photo Credit sandpapier image by Thomas Aumann from Fotolia.com
