Furniture painting is hard work, that’s for sure. There’s no way around that. But, the results are definitely worth it. There are, however, three things you can do to make painting furniture a little easier and less work:easier2

1. Use an Electric Sander – I swear by using an electric sander.  Sure, you can use an eight dollar hand sander to sand, but it’s pretty strenuous work, especially if you are painting a large surface.  You can buy a small electric mouse sander or orbital sander usually for under $30.  Once you have an electric sander, you can do a light sanding over a whole piece in 10-15 minutes TOPS.  Also, sanding is easy, you just move the sander around, it doesn’t require as much effort as a hand sander does (non-electric).

sander

2. Spray on The Primer – Unless you are painting multiple pieces and really need to cut costs, I would definitely spray on the primer.  You can use an aerosol can or a paint sprayer, but if you spray evenly, you can avoid sanding the primer and touching up the primer, avoid drips, brush marks, etc.  It saves some unnecessary work later.  If you do a nice even coat, you can just go right to the next step, painting.

primer2
3. Use a Paint Sprayer – I know many of you won’t do this, but I have to say, this makes painting furniture 10 times easier.  If you have never used a paint sprayer, you would be amazed at how quickly you can paint a piece of furniture.  It usually takes me 10 minutes, start to finish to paint a piece of furniture with a paint sprayer, at the most.

Whether you do decide to use any of these tips, don’t be intimidated by the process.  There are things you can do to make furniture painting easier.  Even when using a brush, if you can make the sanding and priming easier, then you’ll have the energy to finish the painting with a brush.  It’s all about coming up with a good system that you can live with.