What Paint to Use on a Dresser
If you’re looking to give your dresser a fresh new look, then you’ll need to know what paint to use on a dresser. Luckily, there are lots of options out there that, when used correctly and with care, can produce stunning results.
In this blog post, we’ll explore these best types of paint for furniture to use and what kind of look you can expect to get with each one. Keep reading to find out more!
What Paint to Use on Wood Dresser
Honestly, it all depends on what you want your piece to look like in the end.
- Are you after a sleek, modern look?
- Shabby chic?
- Farmhouse style?
- Distressed?
- Chippy look?
It’s best to pick which one you want to use by first deciding on what you want your piece to look like. There are easier, faster, and better options out there to get the look you want on a budget. Take your pick from this list – with examples and more detail below!
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No Prep Furniture Paint
I want to be super clear from the very beginning. No matter what, if you don’t prep your piece, you will run the risk of coating not sticking to it. I know a lot of paint companies boast that they are no prep, but that’s just a gimmick to make you want to buy their product.
You really need to do the prep work! If you don’t, your new finish won’t last long at all! Learn more about how to prepare furniture for painting here.
Latex Paint for Furniture
This is the easiest to get ahold of locally. It’s in every hardware store. It is made for walls. Yes, it may be a cheap option, but when you add in the primer needed beforehand and then the polyurethane to go on top of it, it’s not cost effective or even easy!
Because of those things, I don’t really recommend it. But if you’re in a pinch, you CAN use it on furniture. Learn the secret to painting furniture with latex paint here, and here’s how to thin latex paint for HVLP sprayer for the best results.
Chalk Paint
Chalk painted furniture is the hot thing right now. I got the chalk painting bug a few years ago, and it’s one reason why I’m painting and selling furniture now.
It is one of those paints that have claimed to be no prep. And to be honest, it does a great job of sticking to most furniture. But if there is any shine or slickness to your piece, it can and will easily scratch off.
Side note: Country Chic Paint is my favorite. They are a very generous company, and their eco friendly line has such pretty colors. The coating itself has great bonding properties and is so easy to use.
It doesn’t require a primer like latex does, but it’s super porous, which means that it will suck up any water, oil, stains, or basically anything super easily. So, if you want to be able to easily wipe food or grime off of it, it has to be sealed.
You can seal it with waterbased polyurethane, hemp oil, or wax. My preference is in that order, waterbased poly being the most durable of them all. Here are some ways to seal chalk paint.
It also comes in spray cans – check out how to use spray chalk paint here.
What Paintbrush to Use with Chalk Paint
Honestly, you can use anything from a dollar store brush to an expensive Annie Sloan paintbrush. Each brand has its own brush that they say works best with their product.
But in all reality, you can use anything that you want. A dollar store one will do the job, but it will also create more texture with brush marks in your finish than other paintbrushes.
My personal favorite for Country Chic is their painting sponge. It helps get rid of brush marks when you thin the coating out a bit, but it also makes it really easy to get into details and spindles. If you really want true brush free results, learn how to spray paint a dresser with chalk paint here! This sponge is also really really amazing for applying polyurethane topcoat!
How to Make Chalk Paint
For a budget friendly option, you can make your own! After using it for a few years, this is my favorite homemade chalk paint recipe.
Favorite Chalk Paint Dresser Makeovers
- Grey Painted Dressers
- Embossing Furniture
- Painted Highboy Dresser
- DIY Emerald Green Dresser
- Teal Chalk Painted Dresser
Milk Paint
What is Milk Paint?
It’s another one of my favorites! It makes your piece look old – it is used to create an old world look, a chippy or even a solid finish.
It comes in a powdered form, so you have to mix it with water before you can use it. I love it because of how unique it is. It’s the easiest way to make your piece have a chippy finish. And the way that it dries just makes it look like your piece has been painted for years and years.
The best milk paint for furniture is Shackteau Interiors Milk Paint. It mixes up really smoothly, she has great customer service, and she actually uses it every day!
I’ve also used Miss Mustard Seed’s Milk Paint with great results. This is not the same as General Finishes Milk Paint. More about that later (in the acrylic section).
What Paintbrush to Use with Milk Paint
Again, you can use anything that you want, but my very favorite for milk coating is the Zibra paintbrush line! They are easily found at Home Depot or Amazon. But the best thing about it is it comes in different shapes. The round brush is nice for spindles and getting into details and tends to be my very favorite!
Learn how to use milk paint here, and get more tips on painting furniture with milk paint in this post.
Favorite Milk Paint Dresser Makeovers
- DIY Painted Chippy Farmhouse Dresser
- Black Milk Painted Dresser
- How We Easily Added This Floral Pattern
- Emerald Green Painted Dresser
Chalk Paint vs Milk Paint
Comparing these two is like comparing apples to oranges. They are two different things. But we get this question all the time. They are both great types, but the results they create is different.
Some of their biggest differences are:
- Chalk paint comes pre mixed, while milk paint comes in a powder form.
- Chalk paint creates a solid color finish, while milk paint has variations of color.
- Milk paint is known for the chippy effect it can create, while chalk paint is known for an opaque finish.
Some of their biggest similarities are:
- Both are easy to use.
- Both are very porous and need to be sealed with either waterbased polyurethane, hemp oil, or wax.
- Both can be distressed easily.
Acrylic Furniture Paint
This type isn’t as well known by its name. It’s typically actually known as General Finishes Milk Paint. I’m really not sure why they call it milk paint because it’s nothing like the real thing (the powdered form). General Finishes comes in a pre mixed liquid form (like most coating does), unlike real milk paint.
It has AMAZING leveling properties which basically just creates fewer brush marks. (Compared to chalk coating that is typically thick with these marks and texture.)
This acrylic paint also doesn’t need to be sealed like chalk or milk coating. But for extra durability on high traffic surfaces, it should be given a few coats of waterbased polyurethane.
What Paintbrush to Use with General Finishes Milk Paint
Again, you can use whichever you want. But I would recommend either the sponge or a Zibra paintbrush (find out more about those in the above sections).
If you really want to remove these marks, though, you can thin it out with some water and then use a Cling On brush. They are way more expensive, but holy moly, they do an amazing job at removing brush marks!
Favorite General Finishes Milk Paint Makeovers
General Finishes Milk Paint vs Chalk Paint
General Finishes Milk Paint (the acrylic kind) and chalk paint are a lot more similar than powdered milk and chalk paints.
Some of the biggest similarities between them are:
- Both are very easy to use!
- Both have great adhesion and don’t require a bonding primer in all cases.
- Both are also very, very thick. Actually, General Finishes may be thicker than the thickest chalk paint brands. No worries, though, it’s easy to thin it out with some water until it’s a better consistency.
- Both can be easily distressed, though chalk coating distresses into a fine powder, and milk coating distresses with a more gummed up texture, closer to how latex distresses.
Some of their biggest differences are:
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- General Finishes has amazing leveling properties that help create a smooth finish, while chalk paint is known for texture and brush marks.
- General Finishes also has a built in topcoat for things that are lightly used. For heavy traffic areas, though (like the top of a dresser), the extra protection of polyurethane is needed. Meanwhile, chalk paint requires a topcoat, so this might be a huge difference to you.
- General Finishes dries to a low luster sheen, kind of like an eggshell sheen, while chalk paint is very matte and porous. But when you put a different sheen of poly over either of them, you can change the sheen to your preference.
General Finishes Enduro Poly
The Enduro Poly is another great General Finishes product! It is a pigmented poly that doesn’t need to be topcoated. As the name suggests, it’s durable like poly, but it’s pigmented like paint.
It creates a super smooth and very pretty satin sheen! The biggest downside is that it was made to be sprayed, so if you don’t have a sprayer, this isn’t the best option for you. But you can invest in a cheap sprayer (my favorite budget friendly sprayer that I used for years!) to apply it!
Currently, it comes in black and white, but you can special request another color to be mixed up. This retailer on Etsy can handle that for you! And they even offer it in quarts instead of gallons like most retailers! See how we used the white one in this painted display cabinet makeover.
The Easiest Way to Paint a Dresser – Mineral Paint
There is one last type on our list. And honestly, this is the easiest way to paint a dresser in my opinion. It’s called Fusion Mineral Paint.
They claim to have a built in topcoat, which basically just means that you don’t need to put waterbased polyurethane on it to make it durable. In very high traffic areas, like tabletops, I would recommend a topcoat. But if it’s a lightly used piece, I wouldn’t worry about topcoating it.
I used to be very skeptical of their claim to a built in topcoat until I tried and tested it. And now I’m a total believer!
It also has great bonding properties like chalk paint (though I still recommend prepping your piece beforehand!). It is also easy to distress, just like the rest of these options (except for latex). So, if I were to recommend an easy way to use on a dresser, it would be with Fusion Mineral.
What Paintbrush to Use with Fusion Mineral Paint
Again, any brush will get the job done. But if you’re looking for better quality results, I really recommend the Staalmeester paintbrush! Like Cling On, the Staalmeester paintbrushes are very high quality and help remove visible marks.
I was honestly blown away when I used a Staalmeester with Fusion. It went on SO well, and there were very, very few marks left in the finish! I haven’t tried it with other options yet, but it’s totally worth an investment for Fusion Mineral!
Favorite Fusion Mineral Paint Dresser Makeovers
Cheap Furniture Paint
You may be wondering what the best cheap option is, though. The cheapest option is latex at less than $15 per quart. But when you think of the primer and waterbased poly needed to complete a dresser in this paint, it really isn’t the cheapest option. (But it is typically the most locally accessible.)
If Fusion Mineral is available in your local area (see if you have any Fusion Mineral Paint retailers in your area here), I would say that it’s the cheapest. It covers very well, which means that a little bit goes a long way. And it doesn’t require a primer or topcoat. It also comes in pints, so you don’t end up with a lot of waste.
If it isn’t available in your area, General Finishes Milk Paint (the acrylic kind) is usually a cheaper option, but I would recommend a topcoat as it doesn’t seem as durable as Fusion without a topcoat. Check out this post to find out where to buy General Finishes Milk Paint locally.
Popular Dresser Colors
Now you know the best type of paint for a dresser, but what color is the best? Here is our list of popular painted furniture colors so you don’t have to go through so many options. Check out these dresser paint color ideas for more inspiration.
I hope that helps you choose what paint to use on a dresser! If you have any questions, please leave a comment below! And as always, please share this post with others!
More Painting Furniture Resources
- What is the Difference Between Chalk Paint and Regular Paint
- Painting Over Oil Based Stain
- Painting Techniques for Furniture
- Painting a Dresser Black
- Heirloom Traditions All In One Paint Review
Follow us on YouTube to get more tips for painting furniture. Or share your project with us on our Facebook Group and be part of our community. See you there!
Hi I bought the blue whale fusion mineral for my table and chairs and I also got cashmere to go with my table is oak but I do have to sand it down but I was told to use a primer because my table is oak and the oak grains may bleed through the paint she told me the name of the primer but I forgot could you help me with this thank you.
Hey Alma!
A great primer for bleed through is BIN shellac based primer. Clear shellac will also work with fusion mineral paint.