Painting a formica table?

Question

I have a coffee table that was given to me by a friend. It's black formica, or possibly laminent. It doesn't go with my room which I'm slowly but surely changing over to a sort of Country feel, like you'd find in Country Living magazine. I want to paint the table white and sort of do like an aged look to it - like it was actually wood.

Is there a way to do this?

Answer 1

Check Home Centers and lumber stores for laminates. You can install these with contact cement and have a finish that will last longer than painting. If you decide to go with paint, get a quality paint and then a clearcoat.

Answer 2

HI, sure you can paint it, but being a table that you are going to use often, maybe is not the best idea, you can call someone to replace the formica, but if you choose painting, the best paint should be oil base, I like benjamin moore (satin impervo), sand and apply primer first, 3 or 4 thin coats may be better, let it dry very well between coats. I hope this helps.
Marcelo

Answer 3

If it is Mica it "is" a form of a laminate. There are many pieces of furniture, even antique that are laminated veneers of REAL wood also. That probably should be determined first. With no offense meant, so much "furniture" today is crafted from MDF and even laminate look contact paper type finishes, such as one finds in big box TV/entertainment center "furniture."

Certainly you'll find and get dozens of YES answers, and the likelyhood is that you "CAN" but I suspect, after many decades of experience, by JUST painting over Formica, you may eventually be dissatisfied. It was created and is used as it's own finish, never with the intent to "Paint" anything over it.

It seems likely that this is not an heirloom, antique, highly prized or valuable piece of furniture, so then I assume you won't insult the giver in whatever you do to change the table.

You can begin by scuffing up some surface finish, perhaps even where it's least noticeable. If it's Formica, it will be like sanding glass essentially, but with enough effort you'd get through the color of it to see that the it looks brownish under whatever the surface finish is. If it's a contact type paper over MDF you'll likely note that almost immediately.

The fact that you want to "age" it anyway, allows you a lot more lattitude in what it is now and how you can alter it. This will be like a faux finish project.

Scuff and clean the existing surface/ Prime it with an oil based KILZ or some such, then apply whatever finishes you have in mind... Some shade of White, then glaze over and rub off the glaze. Crackle finishes come in a two stage process. Brushing on a final finish will help enhance texturing.

To create the illusion that it's "wood" brushing might be the best way to go. Even paint over a deeply textured wood, doesn't result in a glass smooth appearance.

Steven Wolf

Answer 4

Yes, if you first clean it with a good degreaser and then prime it with 2-4 coats of KILZ. Follow with 2-3 coats of paint, allowing to dry thoroughly between coats. Using fine grade sandpaper, distress the piece in places that would normally show wear, such as the corners and along the edges.

For a tabletop, you may want to apply three coats of water-based polyurethane over the paint to seal and protect it.

Answer 5

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