Can You Distress Painted Laminate Furniture

Try a dry distressing technique.

Can you distress painted laminate furniture. It s easy to skip the sanding step because sanding is a drag but it s especially important with laminate. A piece of laminate furniture that has already been painted is ready to go when it comes to giving it a distressed appearance as you won t need to prime it or give it a base coat. Chalk paint can be used to paint almost anything walls kitchen cabinets metal wood and even fabric but the most common use is to give new life to old furniture or to make newer pieces look old. The great thing about chalk paint is that there isn t a huge learning curve or a lot of prep work.

For a dry distressed look you can use tools such as wire brushes sandpaper files or even chains and hammers to mimic the appearance of years of rubbing and impact. You can just dive right in. This is a must have if you re trying to adhere any kind of paint to laminate. We chose latex paint for its ease of use.

You can choose two shades of the same color as we did or choose complementary or contrasting colors for a bolder look. It gives the surface a little bit of a grip that will adhere to most any paint but works especially well for chalk paint. Furniture with laminate or plastic can be painted and updated. Then apply a coat of an acrylic latex paint with a brush or roller using short even strokes.

Once it s dry gently sand the surface with a 220 grit sandpaper. Because it s often somewhat glossy looking and important to sand it down until the finish is very dull before priming. To paint laminate furniture start by sanding down the surface using 120 grit sandpaper so that the paint will stick better. When painting over wood laminate or another paint color that you don t want to show distressing may not be an option.

You ll also need to select two colors of furniture paint to complete your distressed finish. You can sand prime and paint laminate as if it were a solid wood piece of furniture. However oil based paints are known for their durability and oftentimes the go to option for. At least one bottle of elmer s glue i can t speak for other brands i ve only used elmer s when i ve distressed laminate furniture so that s what i d stick with.

And don t worry it s incredibly easy to distress the piece later with this primer. In that scenario a glaze or dark wax is your friend. Next apply an oil based primer with a brush or roller and wait 4 hours for it to dry. Below is a close up photo of the details on this same chest after i painted a base coat of white and some blue trim.