Refinish A Wood Laminate Table

You can sand prime and paint laminate as if it were a solid wood piece of furniture.

Refinish a wood laminate table. You can refinish veneer almost the same as you would refinish a piece of solid wood as long as you take precautions to avoid damaging the thin veneer. At some point you ve probably wondered if you can how to refinish laminate furniture. Manufacturers use this product to cover less expensive wood composite furniture to give the appearance of higher quality wood. Along the way i think most of us have picked up a cheap piece or two of laminate furniture.

The process allows expensive or exotic woods to be used on reasonably priced furniture. Air bubbles splits and corner lifts all follow the same basic steps for repairs. To paint laminate furniture start by sanding down the surface using 120 grit sandpaper so that the paint will stick better. Give an old table a new look by applying a new laminate top.

Next apply an oil based primer with a brush or roller and wait 4 hours for it to dry. For a bubble tape the area with a couple of layers of masking tape and slice the bubble with a craft knife with a 10 blade. Using contact cement apply two coats to both surfaces. In fact it s quite easy to do.

Laminate is a man made shiny smooth non porous material that is like a print or photo of wood grain. Yes indeed it can be done. But staining isn t possible since there s no real wood to soak up the stain. And for that matter don t attempt to refinish laminate either it s plastic people.

Solid wood is a better candidate for refinishing than veneer which tends to be thinner. Veneer is a thin layer of wood glued to a base of less expensive wood. It s easy to skip the sanding step because sanding is a drag but it s especially important with laminate. Then apply a coat of an acrylic latex paint with a brush or roller using short even strokes.

Think of cheap ikea furniture although many of their tables are actually solid wood you can paint laminate furniture although you need to prep it with bonding primer first. Common concerns when painting laminate furniture are. Two methods for refinishing a table. Because it s often somewhat glossy looking and important to sand it down until the finish is very dull before priming.

Start by roughing up the tables glossy finish to give the adhesive a good surface to stick to. Laminate can be painted but it can not be stained. Finish by trimming. You know the kind with the fake wood or the matte white finish.

Once it s dry gently sand the surface with a 220 grit sandpaper.