Cleaning Before Paint or Lacquer 101

What do I need to do before painting? Sanding is the first step right?

Sanding might be the second step but its certainly not the first! Cleaning a piece of furniture should always be the first step. Even if a piece looks clean, my long journey with furniture flipping and lacquering (as well as working in cabinetry and millwork shops) has taught me that a great finish always starts with a clean surface. Why? Well there’s many reasons

Grease, wax, failing finishes, and surface contaminants like pledge.

Some of the most difficult pieces when painting that I have ever had to deal with, the trouble most likely could have been prevented with more cleaning. Paint cannot stick to greasy surfaces, or anything that remains on the surface other than the old finish. The most surprising thing to know is what doesn’t really hurt a finish. I’ve had customers who were very concerned with nail polish spots, and other types of scribble like sharpie. None of these things have really given me to many issues. The corners will be the places which will often trap the most grease.

What you can do to make sure you have a successful painting or lacquer starting place

Pick a quality degreaser. There are many out there, but the most well known is dish soap like dawn diluted with water. TSP is another popular degreaser. I personally use krud cutter, although I might not recommend it to beginners because it can be a tad harsh on existing finishes. The first step is to place the degreaser on the rag, microfiber or scrubbing pad and somewhat aggressively clean the piece. When you are done, rinse the piece thoroughly with water to remove all the contaminants. I actually prefer to have a gallon of water to rinse the rag in and a bucket of clean water to rinse the piece with. Remember, a bristled cleaning brush can help to get into detailed profiles and corners. But all these places need to be cleaned before moving on to sanding!

My cleaning tools for furniture