How to paint a wardrobe
Change the look of your bedroom by upcycling and painting your wardrobe. Painting a wardrobe is easy and will transform the look of your room. A painted wardrobe is a great way to introduce colour and add impact into your room.
Here is a step by step guide on how to paint a wardrobe.
Like all painting, preparation is key and this is especially true if you are painting a tricky surface like laminate, melamine or MDF.
Calke Green, Farrow & Ball
Step 1: Sand and dust
The first stage in the process is to lightly sand the wardrobe. This will open the surface and give the primer and undercoat a good surface to adhere to. Lightly sand all areas to be painted using a fine sandpaper or sanding pad. We like a sanding pad as it is easy to use and hold, especially for sanding larger areas. When you’re finished sanding, dust down the wardrobe. Sanding is a really important step as it will give you a smooth painted finish.
Step 2: Cleaning
After sanding, you will want to clean down the wardrobe to remove any grease, grime and dirt. Using sugar soap and warm water, wipe down the wardrobe thoroughly. After cleanin, allow to fully dry prior to priming and undercoating.
Step 3: Priming and undercoating a wardrobe
Depending on the surface you are painting, you will more than likely need to prime and undercoat the surface before painting your topcoat. However, if you are painting a previously painted surface there is no need to undercoat and prime, you will be able to skip this step.
For other surfaces like untreated wood, laminate, melamine or MDF you will need to apply an undercoat and primer. For this we recommend using Fleetwood Bloxx-It Undercoat & Primer. This all in one product will undercoat, prime and seal the wardrobe, making it ready for the topcoat. Paint two coats of Fleetwood Bloxx-It to the wardrobe. Fleetwood Bloxx-It is an oil based product so drying times are a little longer than water based paint, so be sure to allow adequate drying time between coats. We recommend cutting in with a 2” cutting in paint brush and rolling with a Two Fussy Blokes 4” smooth roller sleeve. You will need to clean both your brush and roller with methylated spirits as it is an oil based product. Depending on the colour you are using for your topcoat, we can tint the Fleetwood Bloxx-It to a darker colour if needed. Please get in touch with us if you’d like us to tint your Bloxx-It primer and undercoat. If you are painting bare wood, the Fleetwod Bloxx-It primer and undercoat will also prevent the knots coming through your topcoat.
Step 4: Painting a wardrobe
Choose from any of the colours from the Farrow & Ball, Colourtrend, Vogue, Pantone or Popular Colours for a beautifully painted wardrobe. Once you’ve applied 2 coats of Fleetwood Bloxx-It and allowed it to dry, you can paint your top coat. You can choose any of the colours from Paint Online that are available in an eggshell, satin or gloss finish. Using a similar process to step three, cut in with your 2” cutting in brush and paint the other areas with a 4” roller. The Two Fussy Blokes 4” Smooth roller sleeve will leave a beautiful smooth finish. Paint two coats of your chosen topcoat colour. Drying times will be less between coats with any of the water based products which we recommend using for painting your wardrobe. If you are painting a dark or bright colour, sometimes you may need to apply three coats to bring up the true colour of the paint. Be sure to allow suffienct drying times between coats for best results.
We would love to see how your painted wardrobe turned out. Be sure to send us a picture or tag us on social media. Here is a little paint colour inspiration for your painted wardrobe.
Salter Stone, Colourtrend. Photo Credit - Nicholson Carpentry
Purbeck Stone, Farrow & Ball. Photo Credit - PotterWoods Furniture
Grey Wolf, Colourtrend. Photo Credit - Driftwood CNC Services