Hackers Help: Need help painting solid pine

Ok, so … I have this awesome white stained bedroom set from the HEMNES line. I’ve had it for about a year and I’m loving the solidness of the pine and the clean lines.

The only trouble is that it needs a bit of color and that the nightstand is starting to change color. The bedroom is super happy sunny and my place is always warm and fairly dry. Always.

The legs and top of the nightstand are just the teensiest bit yellowed and the drawers/side panels remain true to the rest of the set.

HEMNES nightstand | IKEA.com

The other colors in the room are aqua, metallic gold, and light grey. The floor is deep mocha and the walls are tan.

I’m thinking about painting either the drawer front and side panels or the legs and top aqua. Advice on which to do? Can I use Liquitex acrylic paint?

If so what prep etc do I need to do? Should I do a flat color or is there a way to make an even, neat pattern? I have a gold pull ready to slap on it once painting is finished.

~ by Sean

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Hi Sean

The HEMNES line is a great one and the painting solid pine is so much easier than other IKEA furniture with a laminate finish.

I would suggest sanding over with sand paper (or to make quick work of it, an orbital sander) the areas you want to paint to remove the stain and lacquer. This will help your new paint adhere better.

Then prepare the wood using a primer like the Rust-Oleum Zinsser Bulls Eye on the areas you wish to paint. Use a good quality paintbrush (which will leave less shedding) or a paint roller. Let dry thoroughly. You may need to repeat the priming process if you still find unevenness or the wood colour showing through.

And when all that is done, onto painting the solid pine. A water-based latex paint is a good choice. (Not sure about acrylic paints on wood as I have no experience with them.) One or two coats of your desired colour may be all you need.

Last step would be to seal it with water-based polyacrylic to protect your paint job.

You could also leave parts of the HEMNES in its natural colour to get the pattern you want, like the example below (not featuring the HEMNES nightstand).

Source: Homedit.com

Or use an overlay to add a neat pattern. See how you can hack it here.

Hope our tips on painting solid pine helps. 

Let us know how it goes.

Happy hacking,

Jules

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