Prepping Furniture for Painting: DOs and DON'Ts

[@AngieWilliamsDesigns]

I’m about to buy a surf prep sander. I’ve been eyeballing them for years. You mentioned the things that I’ve found that cause pigtails. Starting with the right grit is important. I usually start with 80 if I need to aggressively remove stuff. Then I move up to 120. If I’m painting… I stop there. If I’m staining… I pop the grain (wipe it down with water and a wet rag. Adding that water will raise the grain. Plus I can usually spot any swirls or pigtails I need to pay close attention to. After it’s dry I sand with 180 and that’s as far as I go. Going to higher grits usually is only needed if you are doing certain finishes and those finishes will tell you what grit you should sand to. Another thing that causes pigtails is the build up on the sander. Also… not cleaning the piece well before sanding. But there’s one thing I learned recently. Pushing too hard on your sand and suction from your dust collection. I’ve started turning the suction down and it helps. I don’t understand it. But it helps. Just found your channel. Love that you are working toward paying off your mortgage. Just subscribed. I really hate starting over. We’ve all had to do it. LOL

[@tableflippinghousewife]

Hi Angie, thanks for the sub! I'm so happy you found me. :) Yes, I've tried it all. Slow sanding, no pressure, going up the grits, going in the direction of the grain, changing the sand pads frequently, recalibrating the Surfprep, replacing the red back up pad (four times), slowing the speed, calling Customer Support, joining Facebook groups etc etc etc. It's very very frustrating. Someone else commented that they do all those things too and they also get pig tails swirls. I'm actually considering selling my SurfPrep and all the sand pads etc on eBay. If you're interested, let me know.

[@cleopatracatra2097]

You did a great 2 jobs here (LOL)!!! This piece turned out absolutely beautiful!

[@tableflippinghousewife]

LOL!!! 😂 Thank you!

[@gf8958-p7p]

Thanks for this video - I’m sure this piece was a heartbreaker for you, but it turned out beautifully! Excellent choice on the hardware. ❤

[@tableflippinghousewife]

Thank you!

[@ChristineFeucht]

Beautiful job. 😢you can’t make a mistake I haven’t already made. I felt your pain. Great comeback. You have inspired me to do the PB technique on my honey oak buffet. Thanks

[@tableflippinghousewife]

Thank you! I think it was serendipitous that this happened. My gut new something wasn't right when a couple spots chipped on the drawers. I felt MUCH better putting it on the market when everything was redone. Go for the PB finish!

[@joannwall6333]

I think your finish looked even better the 2nd time around!

[@tableflippinghousewife]

Thank you! I was pleased with the final outcome as well.

[@lorimecikalski3079]

Wow, hard work and perseverance really paid off on this one. It is gorgeous!

[@tableflippinghousewife]

Thank you!

[@heidisettles5537]

1) Love your PB finish, one of the best executions I've seen! 2) "Lick your wounds" comment after the peeling paint discovery, that's exactly what it feels like. Most of my big mistakes are wrong product choice, or rushing, or trying to take a shortcut 3) Bondo in hardware holes has not been working well for me, too much sanding, end up having to refill. KwikWood is better. 4) I've been wanting to try that topcoat, and the styx primer (sp?) looks like it sprayed very nicely 5) Excellent hardware choice!

[@tableflippinghousewife]

Thank you Heidi! Yes, Bondo is a bear to sand without going through the finish and leaving a different texture under your paint. Scraping the excess off with the side of a tongue depressor did the trick. I like using Quik Wood too but I find that it dries out in the container quickly and when I try to mix a piece up a piecce I get small hard pieces in the mix. Do you not have this challenge with it? The primer and the topcoat are big wins for me! And you can't beat the $50 price for a gallon of topcoat! Hardware ... I meant to include this in the audio. I have ordered that exact set on Amazon four times and each time the color varies. These two boxes had a coppery tone to them which I didn't care for. Thanks for always being so encouraging with your feedback Heidi.

[@heidisettles5537]

@@tableflippinghousewife Occassionally the Quik Wood does get those little bits in it, especially if I haven't used it in a while. I store the container in a baggie to try to keep it fresher longer.

[@dianawhyte4631]

Well done for persevering! It must have been soul destroying when you realised that the paint wasn't sticking. It looked great in the end though :)

[@tableflippinghousewife]

Thank you! Crushing to have to redo but I couldn't in good faith put it on the market without starting all over.

[@lashondascruggs8809]

I love how this turned out. You may already be aware but that Blue painters tape is very sticky and will remove the paint. i've been there and learned the hard way. Home depot sells a super delicate tape that works well when you need to tape over painted areas. From my experience, I use bin shellac in the gallon to prime my peices no matter what and it has served me well. Im not a fan of the price but it has saved me tons of time not having to deal with tannins or adhesion issues.

[@tableflippinghousewife]

@@lashondascruggs8809 you don’t say. 🤣😭🤣

[@tableflippinghousewife]

I just reread my reply and that may have come across snarky. Not my intention at all. It was frustrating when it happened but I’m glad it did while still in my possession. I’ll have to look for that tape. Is it green frog tape you’re referring to or something else?

[@lashondascruggs8809]

@tableflippinghousewife it's the purple delicate surface painters tape made by Scotch

[@raquellynch3593]

I think it’s because oil based primer and water based paint don’t play well together. Looks good though. I wanted a Surf Prep sander, now I’m rethinking that purchase. Thanks

[@tableflippinghousewife]

That's a good thought. Except I typically use KILZ or Zinsser BIN Shellac as a primer with my paints and they're oil-based. What other sander are you considering? If I could make that big investment again I would choose the Festool. At that time (3-1/2 years ago) what I was reading about the Festool was that it was an aggressive sander and I infered that to mean it wouldn't be a good choice for a relative newbie. Now I wish I had put my big girl britches on and bought that one. I'm thinking about putting my Surfprep and all the sand pads etc on the market and getting a Festool.

[@christhompson3655]

I bought the Festool rectangle sander and love it. Of course my Dewalt orbital works best.

[@tableflippinghousewife]

I'm so tempted to make the switch ...

[@KimberlyWoods-x5j]

Oh my goodness when you pulled that tape … I FELT YOUR PAIN! Are you retiring from education? You seem like you have the perseverance of a teacher! I just retired this year! This piece is beautiful! I did this technique on a cheap MDF piece!

[@tableflippinghousewife]

THANK YOU! And yes, I'm retiring from teaching! Funny how you could tell. Next year will be 20 years and that will be it! Stick a fork in me, I'm done. Fortunately, thanks to this channel and furniture sales, we are currently on schedule to have our mortgage paid off. Woot woot!

[@lzs6856]

Love to watch furniture flipping

[@tableflippinghousewife]

@@lzs6856 yay! Welcome to Table Flipping Housewife! 😍

[@vickyb9918]

It came out great. I’m curious as to why you didn’t use a water based polycrylic which you know got sure wouldn’t yellow. Also when do you use bondo vs. wood filler. Thank you!

[@tableflippinghousewife]

Thank you! The Minwax topcoat I used IS water based. I may not have been clear when I talked about it. Being that it's water based I don't think it will yellow. And this particular topcoat has GREAT reviews for being scratch resistant. Apparently it's used on floors with great results.

[@vickyb9918]

@@tableflippinghousewife You did say it’s water based but my question is why not go with the for sure topcoat that you know won’t yellow (polycrylic) as opposed to this polyurethane that has the potential to yellow? Are you using it because it may be more protective than polycrylic? Do you have the answer to my question about using bondo vs wood filler? Thank you!

[@tableflippinghousewife]

@@vickyb9918 I chose to use that topcoat because I've heard great things about its resistance to scratches and because it's an affordable topcoat. I missed your question about the Bondo ... Bondo doesn't shrink and it sands super smooth unlike some wood fillers. For that reason, I typically use Bondo or Qwik Wood to fill hardware holes.

[@vickyb9918]

@@tableflippinghousewife Thank you!

[@TheShizNat]

How long have you been refinishing furniture? I just found your channel. I appreciate you showing all the process, good and bad.

[@tableflippinghousewife]

I started the channel in March of 2021. I'm so glad that you found me. 🥰

[@tableflippinghousewife]

Out of curiousity, how DID you find me? Was I suggested by KZbin in your feed?

[@TheShizNat]

@@tableflippinghousewife Yes, you showed up in my feed.

[@angelazguric4944]

Oh my goodness girl - you must must must always prime - that spray you used first was the issue

[@tableflippinghousewife]

I compleytely agree. As I admitted, it was both that and that I should have scuff sanded at a higher grit.

[@minelldallmann8166]

Did you rinse after tcp?

[@tableflippinghousewife]

I did not because directions on this product say that it's not necessary to rinse before painting. The two main culprits here were that 220 wasn't coarse enough for the finish on this piece and because I didn't prime it properly. Now I know ... any ole oil-based spray is NOT a substitute for a real primer.

[@Ontheflipside2021]

It’s probably because you used topcoat as a primer

[@tableflippinghousewife]

Absolutely! My thought was that anything oil-based would work here and I didn't want to use my KILZ because I avoid priming in white when I can if I'm finishing it a dark color. Plus - when I was sanding the top the 2nd time (!!!) and using my carbide scrapper, I realized how thick and shiny the original finish was. So in addition to a true primer, I believe it also needed a more coarse scuff sand than the 220 I had used..

[@melissapoole8580]

OMG I HATE my surf prep. I KNOW how to sand and this little piece of expensive crap ALWAYS leaves the swirlies. Doesn't matter what I do. Now back to the video. LOL

[@tableflippinghousewife]

@@melissapoole8580 well thank goodness I’m not the only one. That makes me feel better. Whew!

[@AlenBeals]

I love your videos. I get the hard work and then your still not done when you thought you were. Beautiful results on your piece. I just use my round sander and it has been great. Sorry for the difficulties with your surf prep, you didn’t need that on top of other hic ups. Linda Beals.

[@boring.doerings]

@melissapoole8580 does your surf prep even leave little pigtail swirls with higher number sand paper? Just curious because I’ve really been thinking of trading up? Thanks for the info

[@tableflippinghousewife]

@@boring.doerings since I don't start with the high grits, I can't say.

[@jodenabeale4355]

You do not list any products you use. Is there a reason why?

[@tableflippinghousewife]

I stopped doing that since it's time consuming and since I feature the items I'm using throughout the video. I'm in the process of trying to set up an Amazon affiliate store. Once I figure that out, it will be worth the extra time to list everything. If there's an item you need clarification on, please let me know and I'll be happy to get back to you.

[@tableflippinghousewife]

I just added them to the video description. I'm in the process of being approved which is, why I think they're not live links, but at least you can copy and paste to find them on Amazon.