My Top 5 tips for super smooth furniture painting
- Use a synthetic brush
For water-based paints always choose Synthetic brushes. Synthetic filaments are far softer and finer than bristles of natural brushes and, as lovely as they are, natural bristle brushes WILL leave more texture in your painted surface.
2. Use the right size brush for the surface
In order to keep the brushstrokes to a minimum you literally need to do less passes of the brush so that means the larger the area, the larger the brush. Conversely, using too large a brush for a small area will make it hard to smooth the paint down nicely. I show you the brushes I use in my Furniture Painting video as well as the Roller and Laying off method I use for large, flat surfaces.
3. Apply the paint thinly and don't brush over it too much
Don’t worry about being able to see through your first or even second coat, always apply in thin coats and build up in layers once each is dry. Don’t be tempted to try and cover in one coat or add more over drying paint or brush over it too many times as you are more likely to create brush marks.
4. Lightly sand between coats
Rub over after each coat with a synthetic sanding pad to remove any little gritty bits and smooth out any unevenness in the painting before painting the next one. Remove the sanding dust before painting the next layer
5. Don’t paint when it’s warm
This includes in warm centrally heated houses as much as sunny weather. Painting at anything over 20c means the paint will dry much quicker and that can mean more visible strokes as you apply the rapidly drying paint.
If you’d like to learn more about how to create a brilliant modern, smooth finish and see my tools and techniques in action while I paint one of my drinks cabinets check out my Furniture Painting video!