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This Was My Experience Painting a Desk with Beauti-Tone Designer Series Cabinet & Furniture Pain


**FTC Disclaimer: This post also contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. This is NOT a sponsored post.

I wanted to share my furniture painting experience. I had a very dark brown desk, almost black that I wanted to paint white. I didn't actually know how to paint furniture, so I figured I had my work cut out for me.

Prep ...

After looking at a few YouTube videos I sort of had an idea of what the process was going to be. But I knew that if I went to my local Home Hardware they would be able to help me figure out what I needed. I brought in a small piece of the desk so that they could see exactly what I was going to paint in order to help me select the right product.

They quickly directed me to this Beauti-Tone Designer Series Cabinet & Furniture Paint. And when I asked if they sold primer as well I was happy to discover that the primer is included in this paint. I also wasn't sure if I needed to add an additional sealant-type of paint after I painted the desk for a nice wipeable surface but they told me that this already had a nice sheen finish that could be wiped.

Wow! So I only had to use one kind of paint and could avoid several tedious steps? This seemed too good to be true. They assured me with a light sanding and wipe of the furniture this was the only paint I needed to purchase.

I picked up a small can (just under a liter) for $25.99. Even though I have many other pieces of furniture in my home that I would eventually love to paint white as well, I wanted to see how well this product worked before committing to a larger size.

I picked up a Linzer Better 2" Flat Brush and a Shur-Line Good 4" Foam Mini Roller with Frame from Walmart. I already had a small paint tray which I had purchased at Dollar Tree.

While I'm sure painting something while disassembled would be much more thorough, I opted to paint this one while mostly assembled. This desk was just way too heavy to be moving around, so I simply removed any of the smaller shelves.

I gave the desk a good wipe and allowed it to dry. I skipped the sanding because it was in a bedroom. I wasn't sure just how that was going to affect the end result but I just didn't want all the ensuing dust in that space.

Because I was going to paint this desk in the room where it was going to stay, I had to make sure I protected the walls and curtains all around it. I picked up some cheap white table covers from Dollar Tree and placed them on the walls in behind and underneath, being sure to cover all of the carpeting in that area. I also placed one under the shelves which I had removed.

Of course, I made sure to open the window for good ventilation and removed the drawer knob.

Process ...

I was nervous about that first stroke of paint, like, I was going to screw it all up but I had to learn somehow. Here are the steps I took:

1. I started by painting one side of the shelves with the roller.

2. Then I painted the desk itself from top to bottom, using the brush for nooks and crannies and using the roller for larger areas and to smooth everything out.

3. I went over the work surface with a little extra paint several times because I knew this area would be the most noticeable and have the most use.

4. When painting the front part of the drawer I pulled it out just slightly away from the desk in order to paint the top and sides ever so carefully.

5. By the time I finished my first coat on the desk, I went back to the shelves for their second coat.

This entire process took me over an hour at least ... okay, maybe two ... that desk seemed to go on forever.

After leaving it to dry for a few hours, I repeated the same process. I flipped the shelves over for their first coat on the underside, painted the desk again, and then went back for a second coat on the underside of the shelves.

Completion ...

I was definitely impressed with this paint's coverage over that dark brown colour it had been before. Woohoo! I was almost done!

I left the desk untouched for a few days to really allow it to dry thoroughly. The paint that had gotten all over the table cloths also needed to dry before I tried to remove them.

I placed the shelves in their designated places on the desk, which allowed me to paint that tiny little lip part in the front. I had to be careful to use very little paint or it would drip onto the nice, smooth desktop. However, if it did, I could just smooth it out with the roller.

After a couple more hours of allowing that to dry, I figured it was safe now to remove the plastic table clovers. I also put the drawer knob back in its place. Yay, all done!

Here's what I learned for next time ...

Painting is a lot of work. Would I paint such a large desk again with so many nooks and crannies? Er ... maybe not. It was very time consuming and not nearly as fun as organizing.

But it's a great way to save money. Because I purchased this desk used and in a different colour than what I was looking for I saved a ton of money and ended up with a similar product which I am completely happy with.

Use sparingly on vertical surfaces. There were a few spots on the sides of the desk where you can see the paint dripped down. Next time I could probably avoid that by being a little more sparing with the paint in those areas.

My final thoughts on this product ...

Very faint smell. I was impressed with how little the paint smelled. Even though I spent hours painting this thing it barely noticed any smell.

Excellent coverage. I was very happy with the end result after only two coats of paint, especially because of how dark the original desk colour was.

Just enough. This sized can of paint was, literally, just enough to paint this desk. I only have a tiny bit left for touch ups.

I would buy this product again. Next time I pick up this item I will definitely go for the larger can so that I can paint even more items, however, after seeing how much work it can be I will probably stick to painting furniture with a little less nooks and crannies, like, maybe a coffee or side table.

My recommendations ...

Ventilate. Paint in a well ventilated area and, if painting inside your home, open windows and avoid that room for several days.

Take it easy with the roller. I found that if I put slight pressure on the roller and refrained from fast rolling I could avoid the inevitable flicking of paint all over.

Protect your space. Make sure to use drop cloths to protect everything in the surround area. No matter how careful I tried to be, I still ended up getting paint all over the place.

Protect your skin/hair. Next time I might use gloves and a shower cap. I got this paint all over myself and in my hair too when I was crawling down to paint underneath the desk. Fortunately, it was pretty easily removable with a wash cloth and after a good shampoo.

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