working with paint

• wear old clothes, wear gloves(!), be equipped with loads of paper towels (put them under the thing you're painting!!!)
• if paint does get on your skin: asap wash with warm water and soap, scrub like your life depends on it
• use nitro / paint thinner to get paint off
• do it outside

painting ikea furniture (according to this tutorial)

what you need:

• painter's tape
• primer (water-based primer for water-based latex paint; oil-based primer for oil-based finish paint; tinted primer for dark paints)
• paint; either:
  • water-based (aka latex) - best choice
  • oil-based (can yellow over time, hard to clean)
  • chalk paint (for 'distressed' look)
  • spray paint
• topcoat; either:
  • polyurethane (use water-based, not oil-based as they can yellow over time)
  • wax (you could use it if you used chalk paint, but it's not great)
• painter tools
  • roller (+ tray)
  • foam brushes (cheap, smooth strokes)
  • bristle brushes
• paper towels, etc.
• optional: sanding tools

steps:

• 1. find out what material the furniture is
  • laminate ("clear acrylic lacquer")
  • solid wood
  • metal (e.g. steel)
• 2. disassemble
• 3. (for solid wood furniture: sand!)
• 4. wipe down with damp cloth to clean
• 5. primer (usually just one coat), let it dry
• 6. paint (may need multiple coats; let it dry between coats! optionally you can sand between coats to smooth out the paint), let it dry
• 7. topcoat, let it dry
• 8. clean your brushes
• 9. assemble

optional: add trim, handles, decals, overlays, or any other decoration