Did you know that you can paint over mid-century modern Arborite furniture? It's totally doable but there are two simple but important steps to doing it right for a long lasting finish. In this post, I'm sharing
the scoop on how to paint Arborite as well as a
retro dining table makeover. The mid-century modern table is small and has one drawer that I think would also make a great desk or vanity table.
I'm sharing the retro table makeover first and the Arborite painting tutorial further down in the post.
How To Paint Arborite Retro Dining Tables
It is
Furniture Fixer Upper Day where six talented furniture painting friends come together once a month to breath new life into a piece of furniture. You can find links to the other makeovers at the bottom of this post. Last month I tried my first attempt at a painting technique that I had been itching to try and I'm pleased with how the
Pink Ombre Waterfall Dresser turned out.
This month it's a bright bold vintage table makeover that works well with the unique mid-century modern gold metal legs. But I couldn't stop with just a bright color. Remember my
Geometric Waterfall Dresser? Well the stencil I used on that makeover was calling my name and it added a fun playful vibe to this retro table.
To see where we started, this is what table the looked like before...
And here it is after the makeover paired with a
Glam Vanity Stool I refinished last year to show you how the table would make a cute vanity table.
The legs were showing some wear and so they got freshened up with gold paint.
The table is glam on the bottom and party on the top with this fun blue and white geometric pattern.
The inside of the drawer has a little stencil surprise too.
And rather than replacing the original knob like I normally do, I decided to keep the brass knob and paint the wood button in the center white. It plays nicely with the gold trim around the table top and the table legs.
How to prep Arborite furniture for a lasting finish
This post contains affiliate links for your convenience so you can see what products I used or recommend to make this project. See my full
disclosure policy.
The next three steps for prepping Arborite furniture for paint are the most important for a lasting finish. I'll be the first to admit that these steps are tedious but if you skip them, you will regret it later. Ask me how I know!
Clean
Remove any dirt, grime, and grease with a scrub pad and pail of warm water, 1/4 cup of vinegar and a drop of Dawn dish soap. Another option is using this
cleaner but I ran out and have it on my shopping list.
Sand
Sand the Arborite to rough up the smooth surface. I used a mouse sander with an 80-grit sanding pad. Be careful not to sand beneath the veneer.
Wipe the dust with a damp microfibre cloth and follow with a tack cloth to remove fine particles. Rub your hand over the Arborite to feel if it's rough to the touch. If not, carefully repeat the sanding process.
Dust free sanding tip:
If you paint indoors like I do, here's a great dust free sanding tip that I learned from my fellow Furniture Fixer Upper pal Kandice at
Just The Woods. Connect the end of your sander to the hose of your
shop vacuum and hold them together with duct tape. Genius!
Prime
Prime the roughed up Arborite with two coats of
primer, rolled on with a foam roller. Wait about an hour between coats and lightly sand with 220-grit sandpaper for a smooth finish.
NOW that we've done the necessary dirty work, it's time for the fun part, making the vintage Arborite table pretty with paint.
How to paint Arborite furniture for a lasting finish
For this retro dining table, I decided to go bright and bold and keep the retro vibe going with a fun stencil.
Paint
I painted three coats of
Peacock blue chalk mineral paint over the primed surface with a small foam roller. I waited an hour between coats and lightly sanded the paint with 220-grit sandpaper followed by a wipe with a tack cloth.
The table apron and inside the drawer was brushed with three coats of
Fluff chalk mineral paint.
The metal legs were showing some wear so I removed them from the table and headed outside. It was the perfect sunny Spring day to refresh the legs with this pure gold spray paint. It's a good thing I painted them when I did because the weather turned the following day.
Stencil
Like I mentioned earlier, I couldn't stop at the bright Peacock blue paint color and decided to add some retro fun with this
geometric wall stencil.
To stencil the table top I poured the same Fluff chalk mineral paint onto a paper plate and dabbed the excess onto a paper towel so very little paint remained on the brush.
I opted not to use the quicker method of stenciling with a stencil roller because the top had only been painted less than 12 hours earlier and I didn't want to risk using stencil adhesive to hold the stencil in place.
Instead, I used
delicate surface Frog tape to hold the stencil in place and pounced the paint with a stencil brush.
A surprise waiting inside the table drawer
The outside of the drawer was painted the same Peacock blue and the inside the Fluff white. I added a surprise to the bottom of the draw with this
polka dot stencil.
Protect
Normally I wax my chalk painted furniture pieces but with table tops, they will likely have drinks set on them and so I protect the chalk paint with three thin coats of this matte
water-repellent clear coat. This will give the table a rock hard finish after 48 hours.
Part of me wonders if I should have painted the apron Peacock blue and the drawer front white. What do you think?
I'd love to get your feedback and/or any questions you might have about this makeover. Please leave them in the comment section below or press the Contact Me button at the top of the blog to drop me an email. I love hearing from you!
Please join me to take a look at how my talented friend's transformed these furniture pieces...
How To Paint Arborite Retro Dining Tables
New Water Feature For The Greenhouse Flower Bed - Penny's Vintage Home
Easy Stromboli - CincyShopper
Tree Slice Hair Pin Table DIY - Kippi At Home
Easy Oreo Fudge - Spaceships And Laser Beams
Reinventing A Headboard With Fabric And Paint - Rever En Couleur
Southern Sweet Lemonade Cocktail Recipe - Ann's Entitled Life
