Vintage Home Furniture

Painting/Staining old furniture?

I have an old dresser that I want to refinish. The wood is in fair shape so in leaning towards painting it. I tried painting it on the back of it with white paint and its bleeding red through it. ???Money/time is an issue here.

Public Comments

1. have you tried a good primer? like bin or kilz? they work really well at hiding even reds and bleed thoughs.
2. Is there paint on the dresser now? If there is and it's glossy, you need to prep the surface following the directions on your paint's container. If the dresser still has it original finish (you say the wood is in fair shape), this, too, may need to be prepped. The bleed through is likely the stain that was applied to give the wood an even color. If you want to stay with proper furniture technique, this stain and finish will need to sealed. Shellac has been one of the best sealants for wood and wood products. The only "problem" is that, even after it is applied, it needs to be sanded to accept the next finish. I am not familiar with using other products (Kilz) on wood furniture, so I cannot comment on using that technique.
3. Sand all the surfaces with medium grit paper and use a primer, such as Kilz...it covers everything. If you dont sand or prime, it probably will continue to bleed thru.
4. I understand your frustration of the color bleeding through. This problem happens often when you use a low solid paint. Because it is water based it takes a lot more paint, and this doesn't guarentee results. So often you pay more for a less expensive paint. I would suggest a good epoxy primer and coatings. It should only take one coat of each since it is high solid and shouldn't bleed. Not only that, but it won't fade or show wear for about 20 years.
5. What is bleeding through is called tannin generally found in cedar. Lightly sand to a dull finish and prime with oil base primer then paint.