How to Stop Stains from Coming Through Paint

Stop painting over “stains” on your painted furniture. Learn how to stop stains from coming through paint, before or after you’ve painted your furniture (or your wooden walls). A yellow stain coming through white paint, or any color stain coming through any color of paint, is called bleed through. It’s annoying, but keep reading to learn how to fix paint bleed through, and how to prevent it from happening the next time.

Get more painting techniques for furniture here!

bleedthrough stains coming through white paint

Bleed through. A word I never heard of until a few months into my painting career.

Click here for the stain removal guide and checklist

And then BAM, it was all over, and I had to completely start over on my freshly painted dresser. It was a disaster!

If you’re struggling with a stain that keeps bleeding through paint on the wall, or on any white or light paint, keep reading because we’re going to get it fixed.

Table of Contents

Supplies Used to Stop Stains from Coming Through Paint

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What Does Bleed Through Look Like?

In simple terms, bleed through acts like a stain that shows up on your painted wood. It tends to look orange or red, and it will not go away, no matter how many coats of paint you put over it.

What Causes Paint to Bleed Through?

In more complicated terms, bleed through is caused by tannins in the wood.

If the tannins aren’t sealed in, they seep through paint, or worse, they don’t show up until you have topcoated your paint with some waterbased poly.

OR they can even take their time and show up weeks after you have painted the wood.

*insert ugly crying face here*

I got you though!

Whether you already painted your piece and you’re just finding out about bleed through on wood furniture, or you haven’t even started your painted furniture project, I have just the fix!

You have to block the bleed through with the right primer!

When Does Bleed Through Most Likely Show Up?

Bleed through is the biggest pain on lighter colors of paint. If you’re painting with a dark color like black, you might not see it because the dark pigments do a good job of hiding the bleed through.

That happened with one of these dark grey painted dressers. That doesn’t mean that it’s not there though.

black bleed through stain on green painted furniture — Check out our Behr Chalk paint review to see this buffet makeover.

Bleed through also shows up in wood knots and places where the old finish has been removed down to bare wood. Learn more about how to stop wood knots from bleeding through paint here.

How Can Bleed Through Be Avoided?

The best way to not get stung by bleed through is to prevent bleed through from happening in the first place with a coat or two of stain blocking primer.

Check out the best primers to stop tannin bleed here.

I’ll be honest, when I first learned about bleedthrough I thought that I would just treat it as it happened. But it kept happening so frequently that I wasted so much time going back and fixing it.

orange bleed through stain on white painted furniture — See this spray painting furniture makeover here.

So, I promised myself that I would never move forward with a piece without preventing it first.

How to Prevent Bleed Through on Painted Wood Furniture

There are a couple of ways to prevent it, and I choose from the different options depending on the finish I’m going for, or the environment that I’m in.

This step of preventing the bleedthrough on painted wood is like the middle of a sandwich. It’s after I prep the furniture for paint, but before I actually paint any color on.

First, I prep by cleaning the furniture, lightly scuff sanding, and then cleaning the dust off. (Things like permanent markers can bleed through paint too!)

Learn exactly how to prep furniture for paint here and learn more about the importance of sanding before painting furniture here.

Once the prep work is done, I apply 2 coats of my choice of primer below. Check out the best primers for painting furniture here.

Two full coats are really the minimum I would ever recommend using to prevent bleed through. Then you can paint your furniture, and you shouldn’t have bleed through stains anymore.

Related: Don’t make these other five biggest furniture painting mistakes!

Shellac

My first choice is usually shellac. It dries clear, making it a really great way to prevent bleed through if you want to distress the paint on top of it.

It also comes in a spray can, so the application is super easy and fast.

How to Use Clear Shellac to Prevent Bleed Through

When using shellac, I let it dry for at least an hour between coats, longer if you can wait. The longer it dries, the more effective it will be (to a point).

Clear shellac comes in a regular can too, and can be brushed or rolled on. But they will need to be cleaned with ammonia if you want to keep them for another project.

The biggest downside to shellac is that it really really stinks and it’s flammable. So I only use shellac when I can paint outside and I definitely wear a respirator or face mask to protect my lungs.

Pros:

Dries clear
Dries quickly
Cheapest option
Comes in a spray can for easy application
Shellac also helps with adhesion

Cons:

Has a very strong smell
Flammable
I recommend 3 coats of shellac
Works really well with chalk paint and mineral paint… But not all paints

Furniture Makeovers Using Clear Shellac

BIN Shellac-Based Primer

BIN shellac is a white primer that is shellac based. This one is really good for pieces that I’m painting white, or if I don’t plan on distressing the colored paint.

It covers really well and makes it so you don’t have to use as many coats of white paint, which is a huge plus because painting white can take 5 coats sometimes.

Learn about painting furniture white to get a perfect finish.

I also really love that it comes in a spray can as well, and it acts pretty similar to the clear shellac. It also is one of the best bonding primers for painting furniture!

How to Use BIN Shellac Based Primer to Prevent Bleed Through

When using BIN shellac based primer, I let it dry for at least an hour between coats, longer if you can wait. The longer it dries, the more effective it will be (to a point).

I also like to prime with 2 coats for the best stain blocking powers. Sometimes it needs more.

The downside again, just like the clear shellac is that it’s very stinky and flammable. So I only use it if I am able to paint outside, and I definitely wear a respirator or face mask.

I prefer to use the spray can, but that can get expensive quickly. The next best way is to roll it on because it’s so thin. Here are the best rollers for painting furniture.

Pros:

Dries fast
Comes in a spray can for easy application
Cheaper option
Is great for white painted furniture
Great adhesion
Works with ALL paints

Cons:

Isn’t clear for distressing purposes
Has a very strong smell
Flammable

Furniture Makeovers Using BIN Shellac Based Primer

General Finishes Stain Blocking Primer

general finishes stain blocker white primer

I started to use General Finishes stain blocking primer when I had to paint inside for the winter. It still has a smell, but the smell is way less potent than shellac, so I feel way more safe using it indoors.

I still wear my respirator with it though, just to be safe. It works really well to block bleed-through in wood, but it only comes in white.

It also costs more than the shellac options, and it doesn’t come in an easy-to-use spray can.

How to Use Stain Blocker to Prevent Bleed Through

The dry time is also longer than with shellac. I believe the can says to let it dry for at least 2 hours, but it’s best practice to let the last coat dry at least overnight so it can really seal in the wood tannins.

It has to be brushed, or rolled, or you can spray it on with a paint sprayer. Here are the best brushes for painting furniture and here are the best HVLP paint sprayers.

One last thing, I have personally had a couple of problems with this primer drying up and clumping in the can before I can use it.

Once it does, it’s nearly impossible to get it all mixed back together. If you can buy it from someone who hasn’t had it sit on their shelf for a while, you’ll be better off.

Pros:

No strong smell
Works very well
Great for white painted furniture

Cons:

Isn’t clear for distressing purposes
Takes longer to dry
Not as cost-effective
Doesn’t come in a spray can

Furniture Makeovers Using General Finishes Stain Blocking Primer

Other Stain Blocking Primers

There are other stain blocking primers, like Kilz Restoration primer, Zinsser 123 primer, and numerous other waterbased primers that claim that they will block bleed through stains.

Here’s my list of the best water based primers for more information.

Check out my Zinsser Cover Stain Primer Review here to learn more about the pros and cons of this product.

The very best bleed through stain blockers are shellac and oil based primers. (Oil based primers take a long time to dry enough that you can sand them without clogging up your sandpaper.)

Some water based primers can block bleed through, but they honestly aren’t as good as shellac or oil primers. They also need to dry longer to be effective enough.

If you are working with a lot of bleedthrough, then it’s best to just use shellac primer and/or oil primers to block it.

If there is a small chance you’ll have bleed through, the water based primers might block it without an issue.

Check out this video to see what bleed through looks like, and how shellac based primers compare to water based primers. There are so many good tips in this video!

My Favorite Product to Prevent Bleed Through

My first choice is shellac primer in a spray can. I love how easy and quick it is, and I love that it dries clear. BUT, if I can’t paint outside, then I would use the General Finishes Stain Blocker.

And if I’m not using a mineral or chalk based paint, (like painting with Benjamin Moore Advance) I would recommend not using clear shellac… just because it doesn’t always help every paint stick to all surfaces.

brown bleed through stain on painted furniture

It has worked 99% of the time for me though!

How to Get Rid of Bleed Through After You’ve Already Painted

What if you’ve already painted your furniture, but you’re just now seeing bleed through?? Can you paint over bleed through?

I’ve got good news and I’ve got bad news. The good news is that it can be fixed. The bad news is that it’s going to be extra work.

Here’s our list of the best paint for furniture.

bleedthrough on wood knot — See this printmaker’s farmhouse industrial coffee table makeover here.

If you haven’t sealed the paint yet

If you caught the bleed through before topcoating your painted furniture, it’s super easy! Just pick your choice of stain blocking primer and paint it over the un-sealed paint.

Make sure to use at least 2 coats and let it dry at least the proper time before painting again.

Read this guide about the topcoats for painting furniture to protect your paint.

If you’ve already sealed the paint with polyurethane

If the bleed-through hid until you painted on the water-based poly, don’t fret! (If you used a wax, it needs to be removed before you can lightly sand and prime again. Sorry!)

Let the poly dry completely and then lightly scuff sand the whole piece by hand. (If you don’t want to sand by hand, here are the best sanders for furniture.)

You just want to scuff up the surface of the poly to make sure your stain-blocking primer is going to adhere well.

Once you’ve scuff-sanded and wiped all the dust off, grab your choice of stain-blocking product and paint at least 2 coats, allowing for proper dry time.

Then paint again and apply your poly. Here’s how to apply polycrylic to painted furniture and learn what’s the best polyurethane for furniture here.

Check out this makeover to see how I fixed bleed through after I sprayed a coat of polyurethane on this homemade chalk painted dresser.

It’s definitely not the end of the world, but it may feel like it when you think you’re basically done with your project!

After basically repainting a few pieces after I didn’t prevent bleed through, I stopped taking chances and now I always prep for bleed through.

Need some inspiration for white painted furniture, or white painted dressers? Check out these posts!