4 Tips for Painting Particle Board

While not exactly elegant, particle board is nonetheless valued for its affordability and sustainable use of discarded materials such as saw dust. Plain and simple, particle board is usually seen as the poor relation of actual wood. If you own furniture made of particle board, you might want to paint it to match the decor of the room. This article gives you tips on your particle board painting project.

Tip 1: Knowing the Properties of Particle Board

Particle board, while still made of wood, is not really genuine wood. Instead, it is composed of leftover particles of wood such as wood shavings and even saw dust. These particles are glued together with a kind of resin. Pressure is then applied to make the particle board smooth, flat and sturdy.

Its unique composition renders it much lighter than actual wood, but it's also very weak, and prone to moisture, which can cause the board to expand and become malformed. That is why most commercially available particle boards are commonly covered with a kind of laminate that protects it from water or moisture.

Tip 2: Prepare the Particle Board for Painting

The outer layer of laminate will prevent paint from adhering successfully to the particle board. That's why before you decide to paint your particleboard furniture; you have to first take out the outer laminate. You can do this by rubbing the surface vigorously with 120-grit sandpaper. This successfully removes the laminate without destroying the underlying particle board.

Tip 3: Always Prime the Surface

Primer is always important your paint projects. It helps prepare the surface of the particle board to adhere to the paint. Before applying the primer, make sure that the surface is clean and the dust from the sanding has been carefully removed. Otherwise, the primer won't stick properly and you will have to reapply it. Primers come in either the more traditional bucket form, or by the more convenient spray form.

Before proceeding to the next step, allow the primer to dry completely for it to successfully work.

Tip 4: Paint the Particle Boards

Sand the primed surface with a 200-220-grit sandpaper to remove imperfections left behind by the primer. Then it's time to go wild and creative by painting the particle board. There is no specific kind of paint that you need to use. Feel free to choose between oil-based or water-based paint. All in all, it's just a personal and artistic decision that you will need to finalize.

Enjoy your newly painted particle board in the room of your choice, and watch as it dramatically transforms from a plain, strictly utilitarian item, into a dramatic piece of furniture that you and your family and friends will admire. Particle board does not need to look cheap, as long as it is dressed in the right designs and colors.