Expert: Eileen Cronk - 5/16/2007

Question
Our daughter's dresser was an old oak veneer.  We wanted to paint it white to match her bed.  A friend of ours told us about this supposedly great spray paint they had used when painting old furniture for their child's nursery.  They didn't even have to sand it!  So we gave it a shot.  We did still sand the dresser first.  Everything we used was spray paint (rustoleum American Accent I think it was called): primer, topcoat, and clearcoat.  Things went fine on the drawers.  But for some reason, when we did the topcoat on the top and sides of the dresser, the paint got all sorts of little bumps giving a rough finish, and the finish looks uneven.  We used the same kind of paint, we cleaned before we painted, etc.  We even tried sanding it down and trying again.  No luck.  I hate the idea of having wasted all this time and money to have to start all over again.  I was wondering, if we got a brush-on paint, could we put it over the top of the spray paint without having to sand it all off? Or will it chip? Even if there are still a few bumps, I at least want it to be smooth to the touch and have an even tone. If we can swing painting over what we just painted, I would at least feel like we didn't waste all our previous time and money... I could convince myself that we were just priming it really well :)  Any ideas on what kind of paint to buy, and what to use to apply it with?  It's a beautifully designed piece of furniture, and I want the job done right.  Thanks!

Answer
Hi Rebecca
I like your approach...convince yourself you were just priming LOL.
OK..as long as you use the same type of paint as before, you can paint over spray paint just fine.
Let me be really clear. If the paint you use was oil spray paint, you must use oil based brush on paint.
And if the paint you used was water based spray paint, you can use water based brush on paint over it.
Just give it a good sanding (the last LOL).
Get your brush according to the type of paint. A water based brush for water paint and an oil based brush for oil paint. No foam or cheap brushes. Get a decent one and you will have it a long time with care.
Renee check your spray cans to determine what type of paint you used.
The water will say latex or acrylic.
The oil will say alkyd.
Hope this helps and thanks for making my day with a fun question.
Kindest Regards
Eileen