How to Paint a Vintage Desk

This vintage desk was in great condition, but the warm wood tone was a bit overwhelming. Follow along to see how to paint a vintage desk. Blue pine was chosen for this desk and some highlights of Vintage Gold.
You will need a few supplies to paint. Prep is super important if you want your paint job to stand the test of time. Prep doesn’t have to be hard work! Cleaning with TSP Alternative and a scuff sand if your surface is shiny is usually all that is needed to ensure good adhesion.

List of supplies

TSP Alternative + Blue Shop Towels
Wood Glue and Clamps
Fusion Mineral Paint Blue Pine
Fusion Metallics Vintage Gold
Electric Sander and various grit papers
Staalmeester Flat square brush
Staalmeester Round One Artist Brush
Cleaning your furniture – prep to paint
The first step is to clean with TSP Alternative – We recommend a 1 cap into a pint ( 500ml ) of Fusion TSP Alternative to water in a spray bottle to spray the piece down. We use blue shop towels to wipe up the dirt and dust.  Warm water seems to loosen the dirt and grime, while the TSP Alternative helps to break it up and make it easier to clean. Our TSP is Phosphate free, Biodegradable and organic.

There was just a few quick repairs that was needed on this vintage desk. The veneer was lifting in a few places so we used wood glue and clamped down the wood pieces. We let them dry for two hours before sanding. No other major repairs were needed as this piece was in excellent condition. 

The original hardware on this desk was in need of a clean so we removed and cleaned them and used Fusion TSP Alternative. Cleaning the hardware gave us a clean surface to work with and allowed the paint to properly bond with the metal. 

The next prep step was de glossing the surface. The desk was in great condition and still quite shiny. We used various grit sand paper with electric sander to scuff the surface. Scuffing the surface provided some ‘tooth’ for the paint to adhere. After sanding, we used the TSP cleaner to wipe away the sanding dust. 

Blue Pine from the new colour collection was chosen for this desk. This moody shade of blue works really well with this warm wood tone.

We applied two coats of Fusion Blue Pine with our Staalmeester brush. Leaving one hour dry time in between coats of paint. 

For a little bit of glam we used Vintage Gold metallic and a The one series artist brush

Fusion Metallic Vintage Gold was to apply to the original appliques as well as the hardware. The artist brush was perfect for painting the raised surfaces  and into the recessed areas of the hardware. 
We waited overnight for everything to dry thoroughly and put our hardware back on. This beautiful versatile blue-green was the perfect colour choice for this piece. It is now a real statement piece!

The wood tone, metallic and Blue pine combination works so well. What is your favourite colour combo?

Updating your furniture with paint

We all have that one piece of furniture that could do with some love and Fusion.  With just a few simple supplies and some time you could upcycle your out of date furniture. We hope this post inspires you to dive in and paint it beautiful.