Do I have to sand my dresser before I paint it?

You may just sand the surface so the new paint will stick and not peel off. You should also consider the type of paint you use on this surface and how many coats you apply.

Be weary of what you read on some of these posts.

Do not peel the laminate. There is no telling what is under there. If it was made with different types or grains of wood under the laminate and you peeled it, you would never get a good finish no matter what type of paint you used.

My personal suggestion would be to lightly sand the entire dresser. This allows your primer and paint to stick(ahdere) to the finish much better. I prefer latex because of the easier cleanup.

Before you actually start, take the time and talk to someone at a paint store. There might be paints specifically made for this application. You do not have to buy the paint there, but their advice could same you a lot of time and frustration.

My mother had a business when I was a child and she refinished many dresser drawers. I recommend you either sanding by hand or there is a technique where you burn off the laminate and then scrape that off. This is not a small thing you are doing with the dresser but it will look so much better and increase its worth. There is another method and it takes much longer and is semi dangerous it too is available. You can purchase a chemical that is spread like clear glue over the dresser sections at a time and it this chemical eats away the laminate. THen you scrape that off. Which ever you use after th dresser is clean of allllllllll laminate you then want to stain the wood. Wood should not be painted. Go with a natural grain looking stain. After the stain you use a poly eurethane to seal the wood.

If it is a laminate, it is a kind of plastic wrapper, in fact. And you do need to sand it so paint will properly adhere. But you need to use a very fine grade of sandpaper, 280 or better. This stuff is so fine, it may not appear to be sanding anything at all, but you can tell by the dulling effect it has on the shiny surface. Using a hand-held orbital sander would be helpful -don't leave it in one spot -keep it moving; and when you turn the sander off, pull it away from the surface FIRST and THEN turn it on.

HOWEVER...I find it difficult to believe the thing is SOLID wood AND has a laminate, because a laminate is usually used to give the appearance of solid wood, when the piece is made of something like particle board. What may actually be there is OLD PAINT. If so, and if it is in good shape, the sanding method above will work. Otherwise, if in poor condition, use a heat gun and chemicals to remove the old finish.

One way to figure this out is to scratch up a small area that is out of view. If it peels up, it is paint; if it chips away, its probably the laminate.

Best to know fer shure what you have before attacking.

Good luck.

Honestly, your paint would probably not stick on a vinyl laminate such as those that are used on most particle board furniture. In fact, some paints might actually cause the laminate to expand and it would become like a big wrinkled prune.

If you do paint over it, try at least sanding the laminate, not to take it off, but to break the glaze of the laminate and give the paint something to bond to. A 320 grit or so should be adequate. If the laminate doesn't wrinkle then you are OK. If it does, then you will have to use a paint stripper to remove it and possibly a primer surfacer sealer to fill the particle board if that is what the wood under the laminate is. Most hardware stores can tell you how to do that.

If you are talking a Formica laminate, that would be a different story. In that case just sand to break the glaze, and paint the surface like you would a regular wood dresser. You do have to break the glaze to get the paint to stick though.

I am no expert on household paints, but, probably a good latex enamel would do, depending on the colors you are interested in.

You got a lot of answers on this question, you going to read them all? 287 as of this edit.

I have painted over laminate before .. What I did was rough up the surface with a rough sanding.. not sand it all but to get a good grip for the paint.. then I put a good latex primer on.. after that some latex paint and finished with a clear overcoat.. came out pretty good.. as for the laminate, if the dresser is an antique I would try to get it off and see the wood underneath, maybe using a heat gun etc.. might be worth the look.. then you could refinish it with natural stain.. hard work but sometimes worth it..either way.. good luck to you..

It sounds as if your dresser has a photo finish. This is some what like putting a contact paper or something on the wok. If that is the case sanding will ware through to the wood very quickly. All is not lost however, it needs to be sanded in any case. You might first "wash" it down with a solvent or even soap and water, be sure to dry off the water if that is what you use, the solvent will dry quickly. Then sand, start with #80 grit, dust it off and go over it with #120 grit and so on till you are happy with the "feel" it should feel smooth and the finer sanding will take out most of the scratch if it has any. Then paint, sand with #200, paint again and if you are happy with that, pat your self on the back and have a "cool one".

lightly run sand paper over the entire surface, this will create grooves that your paint can stick to.

Get a good primer, Walmart now sells Kilz which is far and away the best. Without the primer, you risk having moisture get between the paint and the laminate finish causing the paint to peel.

Prime the wood first, then you can apply any type of paint that you like.

Tip: If you are painting a color other than white, ask the paint mixer at the store you buy your primer to tint the paint. This saves 2 - 3 coats depending on the darkness of the final paint.

What finish do you want to achieve? What color or pattern is the laminate? I doubt you have a laminate. Haven't seen too many laminate covered dressers. Maybe you mean only the top is laminated. Yes, you can paint over a laminate. I t will help if the old surface is sanded and all of the old wax or build-up removed. There are liquid products on the market to strip old wax, etc. Still elbow sanding can't be beat. A orbital sander is good, but cost a few bucks. To achieve a faux finish apply a flat -base coat of a primer and then use a glaze and a sponge, newspaper, comb, or anything that will give the finish you desire on the glaze coat. Of course let dry between coats. If you want a straight color, use a primer and a finish coat of the sheen you desire. High-gloss, semi-gloss, satin or flat. If the dresser is to be used in a child's room I suggest the semi-gloss as if is easier to maintain. Just remember three reasons we paint. Appearance, sanitation and protection. When my kids outfits went in the drawer, I painted inside, bottom, sides and all over. When the paint is dry remember to rub a little bar soap on the bottom skids of the drawers to help it slide. Take an old piece of panty-hose , wrap some pop-por-ie in it and place it in the drawer for your daughter. If you don't understand any of these terms send me a question.

If the wood is some kind of laminate, then it is not solid wood.

If you mean it is not stained, nor painted, but is sealed in some way (like with wax or oil), then you may be able to paint it.

How you prep the wood to receive paint depends precisely on what the material coating it is.

For example, an oil rubbed on the wood will need one kind of remover (as opposed to sanding) and a wax-based sealant will require another.

IF you cannot identify it, you can take a drawer to the dresser to the hardware store, and ask the expert to identify the material coating the wood. Then see if the expert can recommend a solvent to remove it to prep for paint.

It is also important that you identify the type of paint, because a latex paint, an enamel paint and an oil based paint will have different characteristics.

This website might help:

http://home.howstuffworks.com/how-to-strip-wooden-...

or try this:

http://www.alsnetbiz.com/homeimprovement/htseries/...

Laminate means: the process of bonding or gluing together layers; the final product may also be referred to as a laminate.

It might actually be a veneer, which means: a thin slice of decorative wood applied to another wood surface.

Best of luck.

I am not sure but it sound like the finish is Art Deco from the 20 and late 30, dont sand it to much if you have to....

If it old and has never been painted then it may be worth a lot of money, don't do anything, painting it will be your worst mistake.... But if you want to do it anyway then get some paint remover and in an open air area out of the reach of children brush on the paint remover, let it set and wipe it off, do this a number of times, don't be in a hurry and take your time, use rubber gloves and eye googlies when working with pain remover if you get it on your skin it can blister and burn your skin so keep some water near to wash it off right away..

After you remove all the paint the finish may not need sanding but if it does, use light sand paper like 600 grade and water to make a nice smooth finish, wipe it off with a dry rag and use about three coats of Deep clear, it also comes in spray cans, it will bring out the finish and look new with very little work, but remember preparation is everything...