How to Create Paint Dipped Furniture
I first came across this paint “dipped” furniture trend a few years ago when scrolling on Instagram (yes in the old days when you still saw mostly still photos). I wish I could remember who initially inspired me to give them proper credit, but I fell in love instantly and knew I had to try it. Since then, I have seen countless furniture artists create this look, and I have done a few myself. So I will share what I’ve learned when creating this look – with a step-by-step tutorial plus some tips to make your project a success!
When to Use
The possibilities are endless when it comes to using this technique! However, I find it is a great option when you have significant damage that you can’t/don’t want to restore, but still want to have a significant wood element to your design. This is exactly why I decided to use this dipped technique on the MCM dresser pictured below. It had significant damage veneer damage to the top and several of the drawers.
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Steps to create paint dipped furniture
Before getting started you need to decide on a design plan. What part do you want painted and what part stays wood? Preparing these surfaces will have different steps. As a quick note, you can also do an all paint dipped (or two-toned) look. For this you can skip steps 2 and 3 (preparing and finishing the wood area). You would prep the entire piece for paint and then move directly to taping in step 4.
supplies Needed
Step 1: Prepare the paint area
Once you have decided which portion of your piece you want to paint it’s time to get started! You’ll want to remove all hardware, clean and sand your piece, and then follow up with any necessary repairs.
Step 2: Prepare the wood area
Next, you want to prepare the area you plan to keep wood. To remove the finish you should either strip the finish off or use a sander to remove the finish (if it’s not that tough of a finish). For my project, the finish sanded off easily and I was able to skip any stripping.
Step 3: Finish the wood area
Once you have removed all of the old finish, it is time to start creating your new wood finish. This can be a darker stained finish, a light raw wood look (which is what I chose), or something in between!
To get the light wood, I used wood bleach, and then followed up with a paint wash in the color Turtledove by Melange Paints. I’ve shared more details on wood bleaching and paint washing in these articles.
Once I completed both of these steps I applied my topcoat to protect the finished wood surface. I let that dry overnight before moving on to the next step.
Step 4: Apply painter’s tape
Now it’s time for tape! I like using this delicate purple painter’s tape for this technique so I don’t disturb my newly finished wood surface. Be sure to put any drawers in before taping so that you can make sure the line looks continuous from surface to surface.
I’ve seen some people use levels to get the tape even, but honestly, I don’t have that kind of patience so I’ll usually just measure on either end and then eyeball it. You can easily reposition if needed.
Step 5: Finish the paint area
Now it’s time to prime and paint the paintable area as you normally would. If you need additional guidance on this check out my articles on priming and hand painting. For this project I used Melange Paints stain-blocking primer in gray and the color Toile as my finish coat.
And the secret to super crisp lines? Before you prime and paint, seal the edge with a topcoat. Use a small artist’s brush to apply the topcoat over the edge where the paint and tape will meet. This will prevent any paint from seeping under the tape.
Step 6: Topcoat the entire piece
Once your paint has dried it is time for my favorite part – the tape peel! It’s so satisfying! If you sealed the edge well it should be nice and crisp. And if you have a few spots where the paint has bled under I try to gently remove it with a small razor or exacto knife.
Once you have removed the tape, I like to gently sand the edge with a very high-grit paper (just enough to flatten out the paint ridge but not enough to sand through the finish of either side). Then I’ll apply a topcoat over the entire piece. You’ve already topcoated the wood, but doing a coat or two over everything will make that edge even more seamless.
Additional tips
As I mentioned you can absolutely do a dipped furniture technique with two colors of paint. You can angle your lines. Use on the legs of a desk or chair. Or add more tape lines to create some stripes – the sky is the limit!
If you want to go with darker stained wood and use an oil-based sealer, make sure you wait a few days (read the manufacturer’s recommendations for your product) before painting over with water-based paint. And be sure to seal the paint with a water-based topcoat. Oil-based sealers will cause your paint to yellow.
If you do use this technique, I’d love to see the results! You can always share it with me on Instagram or send me an email. I love seeing other’s completed projects.
other ways to add character to furniture:
- Furniture Painting Ideas: How to Add Character
- Using Paintable Wallpaper on Furniture
- How to Use Milk Paint on Furniture
- Adding Cane Webbing to Furniture
- How to Distress Painted Furniture
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