Paint for built-ins--what type?

[Dawn]

Hello everyone,

I feel like I'm here all the time, whether it be lurking or asking questions. This is a great place to get help.

We have some built-in bookshelves/desk/cabinet in our study. The builders put them in because this was one of their models. They're built with pressboard/particle board, so they have to be painted. Right now they're dark brown, but it's chipping badly, so we want to repaint them.

What kind of paint should we use and what prep work should be done, if any, besides cleaning and sanding any rough spots? We want a paint that will last a good time because our house will go back on the market early next year and it has to look nice. Can we just use regular wall paint?

I would ask at a paint store here but even the good ones seem to have morons working there.

Thanks a lot for any advice,

Dawn

[Zed]

What I did recently in my kitchen is use a good quality primer and two top coats of a latex acrylic enamel. It dries to a harder finish than latex wall paint. I applied the paint with a brush and a foam roller. Good luck.

[David Nebenzahl]

Dawn spake thus:

So far as paint goes, I'd use old-fashioned oil-based paint--if I could find any. This may be off the market where you are.

Otherwise, use the best-quality "enamel" (meaning gloss or semi-gloss paint) you can find. The other poster's suggestion about using acrylic as opposed to latex was probably a good one.

Another candidate would be porch & floor paint, if you can find it in a color you like.

[mm]

Any properly done paint job should last for 10 years and more.

Unless you or your family have an unusually combative relationship with your furniture. In which case, you might consider painting the week before it goes on the market.

I don't think that would look good. It would make it look like a wall instead of like furniture.