Expert: Greg Scholl - 4/29/2010

Question
QUESTION: Greg,

I have a dining room set which includes a table, 6 chairs, and a china hutch that is currently stained that my wife would like have painted.  I have thought about using the spray cans but to do the entire set would take a ton of cans so I am now considering buying a spray gun since it looks much nicer than using a brush or roller.  This will be my first time using a spray paint gun and need some help getting started. Do you have any recommendations on an inexpensive spray gun that will give me a great finish, as well as a place that I can purchase the correct paint and sealant (I'm assuming Home Depot and Lowes do not carry the correct paint)? Would Sherwin Williams carry the paint that I need?  I appreciate your help.

ANSWER: Hi Andrew, in my opinion there is no such thing as an inexpensive spray gun that would get you the fine finish you desire.You'd need to spend upwards of several hundred dollars to outfit yourself to be able to spray furniture. Also, paint is not the desired finish for fine furniture.It does not atomize well enough to be sprayed to a fine, smooth finish, dries too fast and therefore does not flow out well, and it's not durable enough. Lacquers or Urethanes would be the best choice,which Sherwin Williams definitely carries, and spray paints like Krylon are lacquer based technologies which are capable of amazingly good finish application as well, but I understand your concern about the quantity needed. I would also question the choice to do this to nice, finished furniture, I see this all the time on the "decorating" shows, where people slather latex paint all over beautiful (ok, sometimes not so beautiful), furniture,usually without proper preparation, (ruining it's value in many cases), and it ends up looking horrendous, and degrades the furniture in a big way, and then presents a huge job to revert back to a proper furniture finish.It's not possible for a novice to apply a quality, sprayed furniture finish like this, especially on a Dining table top, which is a challenging surface to finish with any finish choice....it takes High quality spray equipment, the proper materials, and most importantly, a high degree of skill, knowledge, and experience to do. Of course anyone can paint, and do a pretty good job, but I don't think you'd be happy with the typical "paint job" on nice dining room furniture.If you still want to tackle it, then I would consider using spray paint, if just for it's ease of application, availability, and superior finish, and it wouldn't take too many cans I don't think, when rationalized over the cost of spray equipment, and the learning curve to get to the point where you could actually produce Pro quality results. And remember, the furniture is not just stained, but likely has a stain and finish on it(most likely lacquer), so it needs to be thoroughly cleaned,especially if Pledge, Liquid Gold, or any other polish was used on it at any time,(which will cause you BIG problems),   and likely scuff sanded, then primed, before the finishing.This is a huge job that needs to be done carefully, as proper prep for any finish is 90% of the job, and is imperative.....please feel free to post back- regards- Greg

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks for your response...I was unaware of the challenges that spraying our dining room furniture would present.  It appears that we now have two options, either use the Krylon spray paint or have the furniture (we like the style of the furniture but hate the color that it is stained)painted by a professional in our area.  I'm assuming that we would still not to do the same prep work if we were to use the Krylon spray paint.  I am more than fine with doing prep work if it gets the job done right.  Do you happen top have any idea about how much a professional would charge to paint a full dining room set?

Answer
Good prep is imperative if you hope for the finish to wear well and last. A Pro finisher would not use paint either, probably a urethane or a lacquer, and likely topcoated with a clear. It could easily cost a few thousand dollars to have this type of refinishing done.Off the top of me head...6 chairs@125+ each - then the China Hutch @ $4-650+ depending on whether it has glazed doors, etc. and the Dining table @ $4-650+ depending on several variables- it adds up fast, but keep in mind that it's a big job and a large amount of labor when done properly. But as I said, if you decide to do this, (either yourself or hiring someone), you won't be happy with a crappy job, so it really has to be done carefully and professionally to yield a result that will look good,be worth the effort, time and money, and wear well over time.