How to paint a coffee table

[younghandyman]

I have an old yellowish coffee table that I would like to spray paint black. The table itself is very light weight so I think it is aluminum, but I am not 100% sure.

Can someone tell me the process for sandng and painting aluminum including which grit sandpaper to use?

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[tipsy]

My guess is it's just brass plated. You should be able to scuff that with steel wool or a scotch-brite pad. Then primer (rust-oleum or similar brand) then top coat of same brand paint. several light coats are better than one heavy coat.
Be sure to follow up with "finished" pics.

 

[rsanter]

It is was me I would use scotch Britt and cleanser.
You need to scuff the surface and you need to clean it of any grease or cleaner than may have been put on it over the years

 

[PugetDude]

I'd scuff it up thoroughly with a scotchbrite pad, wipe it down with denatured alcohol, then shoot it with Krylon Satin Black -paint and primer in one. It levels out nicely and leaves a smooth finish.

You can turn it over and hit it with multiple coat to ensure even coverage - unlike Rustoleum, Krylon has a reasonable recoat window and dries quickly. A heavy coat of Rustoleum will take forever to dry and you can't recoat after a couple of hours without it alligatoring and bubbling.

I've shot a heavy first coat with Krylon, waited a couple of hours, wet-sanded with 1500 Grit, and then shot the second coat in a few hours. No way you could do that with Rustolem, you'd be waiting for your grandkids to finish high school before the second coat went on.

Let it dry in a warm place overnight and you should be good to go.

 

[tipsy]

Rust oleum professional high performance has a very sort dry and recoat time and does an excellent job at covering too. I use it often.


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[CombatNinja]

There are also "hammered" metallic finishes that are extremely forgiving in terms of hiding little imperfections. Depending on the finished color you are going for, one of those might work.

 

[The Cobbler]

that looks like brass plated as others have said. it probably has a laquer finish to retard oxidization. be sure your paint doesn't wrinkle or bubble it or you have a real mess.

 

[Stuart in MN]

If you've ever used Pledge or similar furniture polish, it should be cleaned before sanding to remove any silicone residue.

 

[FlaGman]

I have worked on these tables before. They are a brass tone over chrome, not that it makes any difference if you are painting. Clean with acetone or lacquer thinner, scuff with 320 grit foam sanding pad, and spray paint with enamel or lacquer.

 

[younghandyman]

My guess is it's just brass plated. You should be able to scuff that with steel wool or a scotch-brite pad. Then primer (rust-oleum or similar brand) then top coat of same brand paint. several light coats are better than one heavy coat.
Be sure to follow up with "finished" pics.

Will definitely follow up with finished pics. Thanks for the advice. I've read good things about rustoleum.


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[younghandyman]

There are also "hammered" metallic finishes that are extremely forgiving in terms of hiding little imperfections. Depending on the finished color you are going for, one of those might work.

Going for a matte or gloss black finish, haven't decided which one yet.


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[younghandyman]

that looks like brass plated as others have said. it probably has a laquer finish to retard oxidization. be sure your paint doesn't wrinkle or bubble it or you have a real mess.

What can I do to ensure it doesn't wrinkle or bubble? It'll be my first time spray painting.


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[younghandyman]

I have worked on these tables before. They are a brass tone over chrome, not that it makes any difference if you are painting. Clean with acetone or lacquer thinner, scuff with 320 grit foam sanding pad, and spray paint with enamel or lacquer.

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[58Yeoman]

Does a magnet stick to it?

 

[younghandyman]

Does a magnet stick to it?

A magnet does stick strongly to it. Does this change any of the previous answers?

And how far do I sand with the scotchbrite? Is it until its smooth similar to how you sand drywall/wood?


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[The Cobbler]

What can I do to ensure it doesn't wrinkle or bubble? It'll be my first time spray painting.


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I would try an area that won't show to see if it reacts

 

[58Yeoman]

Well, the way I see it, it isn't aluminum or brass, so follow the above directions to clean and paint as any metal.

 

[Ocho]

I've re-purposed a number of pieces of furniture made out of similar materials. I'll repeat what everyone else has said: Scotch Brite followed by a solvent.

I've always had the best luck on metal using epoxy paint, specifically appliance epoxy. It is very forgiving and very durable. I also like the hammer tone paints as mentioned above. Both are very easy to use and hard to mess up.

 

[Buddy Jackson Racing]

Clean . Then XIM primer first. Everything sticks to XIM . And vice versa. A great base for even painting glass


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[myredracer]

Maybe epoxy prime it after a good sanding/scuffing and cleaning? Then paint over within the "wet" recoat time. I epoxied some car parts not too long ago and used Rustoleum Professional over it. Looks terrific and probably best looking rattle can finish I've ever done. A can of epoxy 2K primer is something like $30 or so IIRC though.

Depends on how good a finish you want I suppose.

 

[DieselNut88]

I like Rustoleum appliance epoxy. Dries fast and is very durable. It is only available in gloss. The rustoleum with paint and primer is complete garbage. Every can i have used splatters out paint and some cans would not even spray.

 

[younghandyman]

Maybe epoxy prime it after a good sanding/scuffing and cleaning? Then paint over within the "wet" recoat time. I epoxied some car parts not too long ago and used Rustoleum Professional over it. Looks terrific and probably best looking rattle can finish I've ever done. A can of epoxy 2K primer is something like $30 or so IIRC though.

Depends on how good a finish you want I suppose.

Well the tables are going to go in the living room when you enter the house so I want it to look really good and clean.


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[younghandyman]

I was talking to a friend about how to do this since his father owns an automotive garage, he suggested wet sanding with 600 grit first and then 800 grit, then use the scotchbrite before applying paint. Whats the difference between that method and just going straight to the scotchbrite?


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