Despite what you may have heard — or maybe your own last attempt — you absolutely can paint over stain beautifully and durably. The key to getting a professional result is recognizing the projects that will require more work, then choosing a paint that accommodates both your aesthetic and your patience.
Stained wood nearly always has a protective finish of some kind, and this needs to be removed before painting can occur. While there are chemical products that can achieve this, most people choose to use sandpaper to scuff up the surface. As long as the glossiness is removed, your new paint can stick to it.
You do not necessarily need to remove all the poly or stain. In most cases, roughing up the surface so the paint will adhere is enough. As I already mentioned, no need to sand down to raw wood – even for stained wood – if you plan to paint your furniture.
If you properly clean the surface and use the correct primer, you can avoid sanding altogether. I promise! It's time to tackle painting that stained piece you have been avoiding because you thought you had to sand or even strip off the finish first!
Conclusion. In the category for best primer for painting stained wood, our results found two top performers. They are Sherwin Williams Extreme Bond Primer, and Behr Bonding Primer. These top two primers were the very best at bonding in both the 24 hour test and the 38 day test.
Primer can save paint by ensuring that the first coat isn't absorbed into the wood. Primer can create a strong bonding layer between a stain of one type and a surface paint of another. Certain primers will seal the prior surface so that wood tannins and old stains and dyes won't bleed through your new paint.
The highest quality bonding primers will often state 'no sanding is necessary' and will adhere to almost any shiny surface, such as glass, metal, tile etc. Primers like Kilz, Fuse, and Zinnser are good for bonding very strongly. Primers can be costly, but if they are of good quality there will be no need for sanding.
Of course. But you don't want to do it without a little prep work first! To get paint to adhere to wood, you have to sand it, to rough up the surface. This allows the paint to grip the surface, especially with anything that's varnished.
You can paint over varnished wood as long as you use the right materials and painting process. The best paint to use is a water-based acrylic one. If you're using an oil-based paint only use an oil-based primer, not an acrylic one.
To paint over a stain, lightly sand all glossy surfaces until the finish is dull, then wipe it down with a damp rag dipped in de-glosser. Allow time to dry. Then with even strokes, apply a quick-dry primer-sealer to prevent bleed-through. Allow the sealer to dry, and you're ready for your finish coat.
Applying a coat of the correct primer is very important; it will keep the dark stain from bleeding through the finish paint and also make it possible to give the wood a light tone with a minimum of coats of paint. You want to use stain-killer primer such as Bulls-Eye 1-2-3 or Kilz.
Don't over or under apply the primer: You should aim to apply two coats of primer to your wood's surface. Brush the primer on, and allow the first coat to dry completely before adding the second coat.
Prime and Paint
Apply your primer and let it work into the wood and then start with your base coat, top coat, and finish as desired. Oil-based stains are much harder to remove and paint over than water-based stains, but it is totally possible to work with these stains.
You can paint over varnished wood without sanding it but it is generally not recommended to do so. You can use Chalk paint and seal it with a top coat to protect it permanently or you can use a special bonding primer to prepare the surface for painting without the need of sanding anything beforehand.
Many people believe you can't paint over varnished wood. This however is false. In order to paint over it you will need to use either oil or water-based paints. However, it the process is time consuming and you will have to complete all the steps if you want it to look professional.
You can, but you'll need to use a good primer first. Polyurethane creates a slick, plastic-like finish that most paints won't adhere to. A bonding primer will stick to the polyurethane and create a surface that's just textured enough to paint over easily. Think of primer as a glue.
White washing is simply mixing white paint and water to lighten wood. The more paint you add to your mixture, the less opaque the finished look will be. So, if you're looking to just lighten your wood without covering the wood grain, then use mostly water with a few drops of paint.
If the wood is too dark, soak a clean cloth in turpentine or mineral spirits and rub the wood firmly and evenly along the grain. This will lighten the stain but not remove it.
Liquid sandpaper, a.k.a. deglosser, is a chemical that can be used to rough up existing paint on walls and other surfaces by removing the gloss, making it possible to paint over what's left on the wall after use. This is good for hard to reach places or an object that you may feel would be awkward to sand.
Good news, you can stain wood without sanding the old finish off! But you'll still have to do some prep to make the new gel stain bond properly with the old stain. Start by always cleaning the old finish with a good cleaner and degreaser, like TSP. Be sure to rinse all of that cleaner off before moving on.
You should sand after the first coat of water-based stain to flatten any wood grain the water raised, but it's unnecessary after that.