How To Waterproof IKEA furniture

Waterproofing IKEA furniture makes it durable. Let me show you how to waterproof IKEA furniture.

IKEA is probably the most famous furniture brand worldwide. You can gauge their popularity from the fact that despite the pandemic, they did nearly $40bn EUR (about 46.6bn USD) in sales in 2020. You can find almost any piece of furniture right from bed to sofa, dining table, study table, chair, and various others at an affordable price at IKEA. IKEA furniture is durable and wallet-friendly.

How To Waterproof Ikea Furniture

But IKEA furniture does lose its shine and color over time. You can always buy new, but if it is nothing but natural wear and tear, I have a better option. 

You can repaint and waterproof your furniture at home using some essential tools, primer, paint, and a good coating. It is fairly affordable, and you can easily do it at home. 

In this article, I will discuss how to waterproof IKEA furniture and make it shine just like new in a few simple steps.

How Do I Protect My IKEA Furniture?

To make your IKEA furniture waterproof, you have to repaint your furniture. The water base top coating will make your furniture withstand rain and dew.

Before painting your furniture, try to disassemble it so that you can repaint it easily at home. As usual, IKEA furniture is very easy to disassemble, and they give you all the tools you need to do it.

How To Waterproof Ikea Furniture

But if you don’t have time to disassemble, you can still paint the furniture, but you need to cover some specific areas like knobs and handles so that the older coat of paint does not show.

Let’s look at the basic steps on how to paint IKEA furniture.

#1. Clean Your Furniture

Firstly you need to clean your furniture thoroughly with soap and water. Then rinse it with normal water. After that, allow it to dry so that you can do further processing.

#2. Apply Stripper

You have to apply a liquid stripper on your furniture with the help of a brush and allow it to rest for a few hours. When you see bubbles on the paint, you will know that it’s time to scrape the furniture surface. But please do it in an open area and wear protective gear while stripping.

How To Waterproof Ikea Furniture

#3. Sanding

If you want to paint furniture that has laminate, then sanding is not necessary. You can use a good primer directly on it. But for solid wood, you have to do light sanding before starting the entire process. 

Sanding makes your furniture smooth by scraping away all the rough surfaces from your furniture. It removes not only old paint but also stains from your furniture. Some people tend to skip sanding, but it is essential for proper repainting. I will advise you to always sand before you paint.

You can use an electric sander and run over your furniture surface like you move an iron over your clothes. But if your furniture has laminates, then use low grit sandpaper for sanding. Do not forget to use sandpaper or an electric sander over the edges of your furniture. It will round the edges and make them smooth for painting.

#4. Remove Dust From Sanding

Sanding leaves behind sawdust and sand dust on your furniture surface. If you don’t remove the dust, then the paint will not adhere to your furniture. So before going any further, remove the dust with a dust brush or a paintbrush. Then use a tack cloth to wipe over the entire surface. It will collect all the dust which is invisible to the naked eye and make the surfaces smooth and clean for the next step.

#5. Try To Use Right Primer

You should choose the correct primer so that your paint will stick properly to the furniture surface. The primer is the base on which your paint is applied. So, you should not skip using a primer when you are waterproofing your IKEA furniture.

How To Waterproof IKEA furniture

You can use a Shellac-based primer that easily adheres to your furniture surface even if you have not done sanding. This primer dries quickly and even covers all the stains of your furniture so that you will have a perfect base coat for applying paint on the IKEA furniture surface. You can do a top coating above this primer. So, I will recommend you to use this primer.

#6. Try To Purchase Appropriate Paint For Your Furniture

If you have used shellac-based primer on your furniture surface, you can use any paint. But if you have not used that primer, you need to choose the proper paint for your furniture.

  • If you want to use water-based paint on your furniture surface, then use a water-based primer.
  • If you intend to use an oil-based paint, then use an oil-based primer.
  • If you want to use dark color paint on your furniture, then use a tinted primer. It may prevent you from adding an extra coating to your furniture surface.
How To Waterproof IKEA furniture

To paint your furniture, you need a spray gun, roller, or brush, which are all readily available in the market. But painting with the help of a spray brush is quite complex, so I would tend to avoid that method.

There are various types of paint available in the market. Let me explain some of the common types of paint with specific pros and cons.

Water Base Paint

Water-based paints are also called latex paints

Pros

  • People prefer water-based paints because these paints do not emit poisonous chemicals in comparison to oil-based paints.
  • This paint dries at a fast rate and does not change its color after using for many years.

Cons

  • They are not as durable in comparison to water-based paint.

How To Waterproof IKEA furniture

Oil Base Paint

Pros

  • They are highly durable.

Cons

  • It will become yellow and may crack after using for many years
  • It has a powerful smell at the time of application.
  • It takes more time to dry.

Chalk Paint

If you intend to do chalk paint on solid wood, you don’t need to use a primer. But if you are using chalk paint on IKEA furniture with laminate, you have to use a primer.

Pros

  • It gives your furniture a vintage look.

Cons

  • They are not as durable in comparison to water-based paint.

#7. Waterproofing Your Furniture

Now that you have renovated your old IKEA furniture, you need to coat it to make it waterproof. I will suggest you apply a polyurethane water base coat.

Wrap Up

IKEA furniture is globally reputed for offering modern and durable furniture at an affordable price. While they may be durable, they will start to develop stains and signs of wear and tear if you use your furniture for a long time. 

How To Waterproof IKEA furniture

So if you don’t want to spend more money buying another IKEA furniture set for your home, then you can repaint and waterproof it easily at home by the above steps. I am sure you can easily do it at home after going through the simple process that I have outlined.

Please do share your suggestions for this article. You can also share pictures of your IKEA furniture after repainting in the comments section. 

Have a great day!