We all know how Ikea’s Furniture is accessible, good quality, and easy to assemble; they also come in a plethora of different designs that are usable in different spaces. However, sometimes we want to add a bit of our own personality to these pieces by adding different colors to them. This question then goes into our minds, Can you paint over Ikea Furniture? Well, let’s find out!
Why Paint Ikea Furniture?
Before we dive deep into the painting process, some might be asking why do it? Well, this is really just something that you can do if you want to uplift your Ikea furniture and customize it according to your aesthetic and taste. Let’s not forget that Ikea furniture is generally mass-produced therefore, there’s always a big chance that someone will have the exact same coffee table or shelf as you. So if you’re up for customizing your pieces and making them unique to your taste and space, well, we highly recommend that you paint over them!
Painting Ikea Furniture
To answer the initial question, “Can you paint over Ikea Furniture” the answer is a big YES! You definitely can! In this post, we will talk you through how you can paint your furniture and, most importantly, make sure that your paint will stick and won’t give you that horrible peeling effect after a few days. We know that many of Ikea’s furniture comes in laminated veneers and melamine surfaces that are non-porous, so we decided to focus on that specifically. Remember, painting ikea furniture laminate shouldn’t be hard, and you can definitely do it by following these five easy steps:
Step 1: Dismantle Your Furniture
It may seem that painting over your Ikea furniture without dismantling it would make things easier; yes, to some degree, you can look at it that way; however, you’ll definitely get more benefits in the long run if you dismantle your furniture, paint over it and put it back together. You can lay the panels of your furniture on a flat surface to help you dry out the paint. By dismantling your furniture, you’ll have a bigger chance of painting your it accurately and fewer off-painted corners that are hard to reach. You won’t really run into many problems with this since Ikea Furniture is always easy to dismantle and easy to put back together.
Step 2 & 3: Prepare and Prime
When dealing with surfaces that are laminated and non-porous, the most important step you have to do is prep. To achieve that full proof, no paint chip and smooth surface, it’s absolutely necessary to lightly sand your surface before applying any primer. You can use a P120 grade sandpaper to rub your surface, especially if you’re dealing with Ikea Furniture with a glossy satin finish. This step will give your primer that little extra something to hold on to, which will give you a great result.
Moving to the second most crucial step, which is priming! Priming is so valuable in this process because it essentially becomes the link between your surface and paint and allows the paint to stick well on your furniture to create that smooth and satisfying coat.
When it comes to Ikea furniture, the best primer for you to use is something that is suitable for laminate surfaces. You can try using Kilz Primer or the Zinsser BIN Shellac-Based Primer, as these are designed to operate for laminated exteriors. We highly recommend using a mini roller rather than a paintbrush when applying primer, as paintbrushes can leave you to brush marks. To close this step, we recommend you lightly sand your dried and primed furniture pieces just to make sure that there are no bumps and rough edges and to give you that perfectly smooth finish.
Step 4: Painting Ikea Furniture
Once you’re done with the prep and prime, it’s now time to paint your furniture! When choosing a paint finish, we highly recommend sticking to something with gloss because this will give you a much long-lasting finish. Also, keep in mind that you use paint compatible with the primer you used (which is for laminated surfaces) and we highly recommend you carefully follow the drying and re-coat instructions of your paint. Of course, you get to choose whatever color you want to use!
Step 5: Use a Top Coat
After prepping, priming, and painting your Ikea furniture, we highly recommend you use a top coat or a sealer before you put things back together. This will help with making your coat of paint last longer. For this step, you can use a coat of transparent satin Polycrylic. However, one pro tip is to lightly sand the surface and remove the dust from the sanding before adding the top coat for optimal results.
Try to Paint Over Ikea Furniture
We hope that these three simple steps will help you with your DIY project and get that Ikea furniture painted! Comment down below on what specific Ikea furniture are you eyeing to paint?
