Ready to get started on your next DIY painting project? Do you have everything you need? I have the Best furniture painting product checklist. Even for seasoned DIY’ers, the supply list for a new project can sometime be daunting. And you usually end up making at least one run to the hardware store mid-project anyway when you run out of something!
I have tested a large majority of supplies including paint brushes, sponges, cleaning products and more. We have accumulated a substantial list of what we usually need, and thought you might find it helpful, too! Bonus: You can download our painting instruction manual here.
Let’s go through the list in the approximate order of project steps…
Cleaning, Scuffing & Prepping
- Denatured Alcohol – I prefer to use the clean-burning fuel kind, but you can find denatured alcohol at your local hardware store on the same shelf with the cans of acetone and mineral spirits.
- Mirlon Pads – Mirka’s mirlon pads are great for cleaning as well as finish sanding. Use the Very Fine level for cleaning.
- Sandpaper – Read more on types of sandpaper here
- Cleaning cloths – Old t-shirts will work well for this. Whatever you use, avoid fabrics that leave behind loose fibers.
- Dusting Cloths – Those in the link are by far the best in the market in our opinion. They get the job done and seem to hold up the longest! Tip: Stick to the oil-free types to avoid leaving residue on both the surface of your products as well as your hands (yuck!)
- Aqua Coat White Cabinet Grain Filler. – If you want to hide some oak grain this stuff is great. Read more on our blog here.
Priming
- Shellac – This is the best option for a stain blocking primer for a project that you plan to distress. You can find it in Clear for transparency to the wood underneath. It’s also available in aerosol for your smaller projects (yay, no cleanup!) Tip: Make sure you have good ventilation, shellac can be stinky.
- Shellac – White shellac you can use to when using light colors or not distressing.
Painting / Staining
- Wooster Brush – For hand painting, these large wall brushes work great for large surface coverage. I prefer firm brushes, but each person’s slight-of-hand is different. Others like the short handle for cutting into corners.
- Chalk Paint Brush – I really like these brushes for chalk painting, because they hold a lot of paint and get into groves nicely – Great for projects with raised details.
- Sponge Pad – Application sponges like this hand-held one are great for staining large surfaces. They hold a lot of product and get great coverage. They are also useful for glazing!
- Choosing your Paint:
Glazing
- Angle Brush – Make sure you have a good artist’s brush (preferably with an angle) like this one if you are applying glaze with an inking technique.
- TJR C.A. Technologies Spray Gun – If you are doing a lot of inking or glazing try out this guy!
- Clean, dry cloths – As mentioned in cleaning supplies above, old t-shirts work great. Just aim for staying away from pilling cloths that leave behind loose fibers that will ruin your finish.
- Get a good Deck Brush for clean straight lines.
Clear Coating
- Sponge – When applying by hand, sponge brushes work best for even coverage. The pads mentioned above for staining large surfaces are also fantastic! This one also works well.
- Scuffing Sanding – 220 grit sandpaper, or fine grit mirlon pads
- Final Coat Buffing – 1000 grit sanding discs (optional)
Touching Up
- Preval Sprayers: Whenever I need to do a quick touch-up on a water-base finish I use my Preval Sprayer.
- Small Touch-up Brushes: You can also use a small brush like this one.
Paint Product Recommendations
- Enduro White Poly– General Finishes I spray the white poly I buy it from my local paint store and have them tint it to the color I need.
- Brushable White Poly – They also make one that is brushable if you do not have a sprayer.
I hope this will help you finish up some of your DIY projects! If you have used anything else and had great luck we would love to hear about it and test it out ourselves!
In addition to this product list I have accumulated my favorite products, that include upholstery supplies, furniture cleaning / painting and much more. This is an Amazon list but please be sure to check your local hardware store for prices before purchasing as it might be cheaper and easier to get locally. You can see that list here.
Happy DIYing,
Tara Lou
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