How to Paint Flat Pack Furniture

1. 🧩 Flat pack furniture is generally not designed to be disassembled and reassembled.
2. 🔩 Remove drawers, shelves, doors and handles — and nothing beyond that.
3. ⚠️ Taking the carcass apart risks damaging the chipboard joints and cam lock fastenings, which are typically single-use.
4. 🚚 Move the piece to a garage or workspace where possible for better light and access.
5. 📦 If it cannot be moved, protect surrounding walls and floors with plastic sheeting or cardboard drop cloths before you start.

🏷️ Bag and label the fittings you do remove — flat pack screws are rarely interchangeable.

🛏️ Paint drawer fronts and doors flat on a bench for the smoothest result.

1. 🎯 Masking tape must be removed while the paint is still wet, or left until the paint is completely dry.
2. ⚠️ Never remove tape from paint that is partially cured — the curing film will tear and deform, leaving a ragged edge that is very difficult to repair.
3. 🧱 This matters even more on melamine, where adhesion is already more demanding than on wood.
4. 📐 Press tape edges down firmly so nothing bleeds underneath.
5. 🔪 If the film has built up, score along the tape edge with a sharp blade before pulling.

⏱️ When in doubt, leave the tape on and come back once the paint is genuinely hard.

🎗️ Use a premium low-tack tape — cheap tape lifts freshly bonded paint off melamine.

1. 🧼 Any trace of grease, dust, polish or residue will compromise adhesion, so cleanliness before sanding is critical.
2. 🧴 Clean the entire surface with a sugar soap solution and a soft cloth.
3. 🔍 Work the solution into all edges and joins, not just the obvious flat faces.
4. 💧 Rinse thoroughly with a clean wet microfibre cloth.
5. ⏳ Allow the surface to dry completely before you start sanding.

🍽️ Pay extra attention to kitchen and bedroom pieces — polish and hand grease build up invisibly over years.

🧻 Use microfibre specifically; other cloths shed lint onto the surface.

1. 🪚 Melamine is a smooth, non-porous plastic surface — paint has nothing to grip without sanding. Do not skip or reduce this step.
2. 📏 Sand the entire surface firmly with 320 grit until it is uniformly dull, using a flat sanding block on flat faces to keep the abrasive even.
3. 🧽 Use a sanding sponge on edges, profiles and routed sections, and paper folded to a point for tight corners.
4. 👉 Unsanded melamine has a sheen — run your fingertips across it and they find grip because the surface is so smooth. Sheen means flat, and flat means paint will not stick.
5. 👌 Correctly sanded melamine looks very matt and feels slightly floury and slippery — your fingertips glide across it. That is the microscopic architecture the paint keys into.

🔆 If any area still has a sheen after sanding, sand it again — every part must be uniformly matt before painting.

🎯 The goal is to scuff the surface, not to sand through the melamine into the chipboard beneath.

1. 🧻 Wipe the whole piece down with a clean damp microfibre cloth to lift every trace of sanding dust.
2. 🔍 Work along edges, joins and internal corners where dust collects.
3. 💨 Vacuum the workspace as well — airborne dust settles straight back onto a freshly sanded piece.
4. ⏳ Allow the surface to dry fully before painting.
5. 🖐️ Run a clean dry hand over the surface as a final check; it should feel matt and clean, not gritty.

🚪 Let the dust settle for a few minutes before wiping down rather than painting immediately after sanding.

🧼 Rinse the cloth often — a dusty cloth just moves the dust around.

1. 🎨 Our dedicated Flat Pack paint is self-priming on melamine — no separate primer is required, provided the surface has been correctly cleaned and sanded.
2. ⚪ Matt — a restrained, low sheen.
3. ✨ Satin — a smooth lustre. Both launch sheens are scrubbable and suitable for everyday use, so the choice is entirely aesthetic.

🫙 Sample first — a 60ml pot is enough for two coats on a test area of the piece itself.

🥄 Stir for 1–2 minutes before use so the colour and consistency are correct.

1. 🪶 Keep every coat thin. Melamine is inert and absorbs nothing, so a thick coat cannot cure properly on it and stays soft underneath.
2. 💧 The paint may need thinning slightly on melamine so it flows out into a thin, even film. Add a little clean water at a time and stir well; stop as soon as it rolls on smoothly.
3. 🎢 Use a lint-free, mohair-style short pile roller on flat faces, and a good quality synthetic brush for edges, joins and anywhere the roller cannot reach.
4. 🪵 Exposed chipboard edges are more porous than the melamine face and will absorb more paint — apply these with a brush for better control.
5. ⏰ Allow 1–2 hours between coats.
6. 🫰 Check it is ready before recoating: wait out the recommended recoat time first — 1–2 hours, longer if conditions are cool or damp — then tap the dried coat very lightly with a fingernail, gently enough not to dent the film. It should feel and sound firm and hard. If it feels soft and sounds dull, a bit like tapping a pencil rubber, give it longer.
7. 🔁 Thin coats may need a third coat for full, even coverage. That is normal and gives a far tougher finish than two heavy coats.

🪚 Denibbing lightly with 320 grit between the first and second coats gives the smoothest result; before a third it is beneficial but not compulsory.

🧻 Always wipe down with a damp microfibre cloth after any sanding before recoating.

1. 🌙 Leave all removable components — drawers, doors, shelves — out for at least overnight after the final coat before reinstalling.
2. ⏳ Allow the full 7 day cure period before the piece is subjected to everyday use.
3. 📦 Handle the piece carefully during the cure period and avoid knocking corners for the first 7 days.
4. 🧽 After curing, clean with a slightly damp microfibre cloth only — no abrasive pads or chemical cleaners.
5. 🔩 Refit handles once the paint is genuinely hard rather than merely touch dry.

📦 Keep the leftover paint sealed for touch-ups; stir thoroughly before using it.

1. 📋 Painted flat pack furniture will not be as durable as painted solid wood.
2. 🧱 The chipboard substrate and melamine surface place limits on how deeply the paint can bond.
3. ✅ With correct preparation and our Flat Pack paint the finish will be durable and long-lasting for normal everyday use.
4. 💥 Edges and corners remain more susceptible to chipping than on solid wood.
5. 🖌️ Keep a little paint back — small chips on edges touch in easily and invisibly with a fine brush.

🎨 Darker colours show edge chips less than very pale ones on chipboard-cored pieces.

🛠️ Preparation is everything. The paint is the easy part.