Restoring old kitchen table and chairs

xx_lucy_xx

I'm wanting to go for a olive green heritage look.


I'm getting bogged down with what finish to go for?


I cant imagine the annie sloan chalk style paint is durable enough for a kitchen table and chairs? Is a varnish finish better?? Is there much difference?

Hoploz

You're right, chalk paint is a Matt finish and won't wipe down. You can wax it to give it a finish but that is very hard work and would be difficult to get a smooth regular finish over a large area as you have to work it in in patches so unless you're very good it could look awful. Or you can varnish it with a brush but this can bring the paint off so I'd avoid this option unless you want really 'shabby' chic!

Are you going for the chalk paint idea because you don't want to sand? You'll get a more durable finish if you sand and prime first - painting straight on with chalk paint might be ok for a small decorative piece which doesn't get any wear but won't cut the mustard for a kitchen table, so do prepare the surface.

After sanding and priming you can use any wood paint colour on top. There are many options. Egg shell is Matt finish, satin is a bit shinier and of course gloss. Basically the shinier the finish, the harder and more durable it will be.

You can always add a couple of coats of varnish afterwards to make it really hard and easy to clean. Varnish comes in various finishes also, from Matt to shiny.

Hoploz

Have you thought about keeping a wood finish on the top, and painting only the legs? That looks good. And it's a bit more forgiving if you forget to put a coaster down and end up with a tea ring!

spadoosh

I'd be tempted to just top coat it with a spray sealer after undercoating with the colour you want. Dullest finish youll probably get is a satin (so a slight sheen) but will more hard wearing. Do lots of thin coats to build it up.

Spraying gives a much better/even finish for furniture than brushing/rolling.

xx_lucy_xx

Really helpful replies, thanks.


I was planning on leaving the top as wood and just painting the chairs and table leg as I like that look!
So what were saying is sand, couple of coats of primer and then some specific wood paint in a shiny finish?!
Sounds good to me. Everyone is raving about this chalk paint and I've never really understood why, I just thought I was missing out on a trick!

Hoploz

I have one set of dining chairs which I did in Rustoleum spray (following sanding and priming with a brush) That has quite a hard finish but was expensive. They wipe down very easily. Four years in they look ok still. A few chips from inevitable knocks and I'm hesitating to touch them in as you can't just spray a tiny patch easily! Normal paint with a brush I would just touch in with a little artists paintbrush.

Another set I have done with leftover emulsion I used on the walls - yes! I have 6 chairs done in 3 pastel shades and they look beautiful! Sanded and primed again, then I painted the emulsion colours on.

I left them like that while i decided what varnish to finish with. Looked lovely for 5 minutes till they got mucky kids finger marks on and a little wipe obviously brought the paint off! So I then had to recoat them with the colour.

I used a Matt finish varnish from Wilko after that, and they now have a good solid hard surface which is fully wipe able, I'm very happy with them. They've been done for about a year, used every day in the kitchen and the paintwork is good as new after lots of wiping down with damp cloth.

On other bits I have used silk emulsion with no varnish! Super cheap for a big tin! It has a reasonably hard finish so is adequate for less-used items. I've done a bathroom cabinet and a bedroom cabinet in this and they are fine, can wipe it occasionally but it doesn't get much damage anyway.

I have a nest of tables in the lounge I've done in satin finish with no varnish coat or anything. That's fine too. I freaked only this morning when I spotted my son had left a drippy hot chocolate mug overnight, directly on the table with no coaster - aaarrggghhhh! But was pleasantly surprised it has wiped off no problem

pollypenny

This is useful for me, too. I painted a pine kitchen table and chairs some years ago. In spite of of careful sanding, priming, re-sanding, the chairs still get very chipped.

I'm ready to redo them. I thought spray paint would be better and I'll try the varnish idea to finish.

Edit after reading post above: I might try the emulsion tip. I have bits of some favourite colours .Varnish on top, of course.

ispookie666

I got the floor varnish from B&Q.
Sanded the table down, started with 40 grit and all the way till 120 grit - around 6 coats and sanding (240 grit) in between - the table has come out lovely.
I bought sanding paper fro Screw fix - Oakey - a bit pricey but we'll worth the cost .

Ps: if using varnish make sure to add adequate amount of thinner, you get very minimal brush strokes with it along with bubbles

theonlywayisup

I wouldn't use 'shiny paint'. My OH painted some furniture with Neptune paint. It's not cheap, but it's an eggshell with no sheen, thoroughly wipeable/washable and very hard wearing. You can buy match-pots to try out before you commit (or a few match-pots if you are only doing the legs on the table).

This is what the base of the dresser looks like:



It was painted in their 'old chalk' colour. It feels smooth and vinyl-like, as if varnished but has no sheen and looks like a matt finish.

Hoploz

I've got a Neptune kitchen and it does indeed wipe well.

However, it frankly looks awful. It was fitted in 2013 by the previous home owners, and the colour is all over the place. It has faded terribly - even some drawer fronts above and below each other vary significantly. The colour is a wishy-washy mix neither cream nor green, no idea what it's called, but with the fading it looks even more wishy-washy! So personally I would hesitate at spending £53 on a new tin of Neptune eggshell paint.

theonlywayisup

Hoploz wrote: »

I've got a Neptune kitchen and it does indeed wipe well.

However, it frankly looks awful. It was fitted in 2013 by the previous home owners, and the colour is all over the place. It has faded terribly - even some drawer fronts above and below each other vary significantly. The colour is a wishy-washy mix neither cream nor green, no idea what it's called, but with the fading it looks even more wishy-washy! So personally I would hesitate at spending £53 on a new tin of Neptune eggshell paint.

We have a Neptune kitchen, it was fitted in 1998 when we converted our barn. It still looks amazing and half of it is under glass roof (plenty of room for the sun to fade). The dresser above, is a Neptune dresser and was repainted purely because we didn't like the 'Limestone' colour we bought it in. It was repainted 4-5 years ago.

Limestone seems to be the standard colour finish and sounds exactly like you describe (colourwise) but the old chalk colour on our kitchen and now on selected pieces of furniture is just perfect and has had longevity.

Neptune do eggshell and another (emulsion?) finish, perhaps yours is not eggshell?