When someone says they want something painted white, I cringe. One of the hardest colors to paint is white, but I admit – I love a good piece of white furniture. I never knew it was the hardest color to do before I started refinishing furniture. But it’s true, when you want a pure, solid white on furniture or cabinets there are usually so many coats of paint needed to get full coverage! General Finishes just came out with a new product called Brushable White Enamel. It’s an all in one paint and topcoat and I couldn’t wait to give it a try.
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When you apply a topcoat over a light colored finish it can react with the tannins in the wood causing the paint to turn the dreaded yellow or pink – we call this “bleed through” and it is the nemesis of furniture painters everywhere. There is nothing worse than applying the very last coat of topcoat only to watch your piece yellow before your eyes! The chances of this happening lessen when you use a stain blocking primer – something like BIN Shellac, General Finishes Stain Blocker or Dixie Belle BOSS. But even with a good primer, sometimes it just isn’t enough.
So the White Brushable Enamel is supposed to be a solution – paint + topcoat in one application so there is no risk of the topcoat creating a problem on the final swipe of the brush. But, I’m not sure it’s all it’s cracked up to be…
I had the perfect candidate for a makeover, to really test this product out. I bought this tall dresser over the summer and knew it was just what I wanted to use in our bedroom makeover. It sat longer than it should have but you know how the saying goes… “the cobblers children have no shoes…” and I don’t always have time to do pieces for my own home.
This really was the perfect dresser because it was just the tint of orange/red that would really need a stain blocking primer – this was testing the Brushable White Enamel to the fullest. It needed a few repairs (see the front apron is taped on) but otherwise it was a fantastic piece!
I prepped with a light sanding (220 grit) and cleaning and then followed the directions on the Brushable White Enamel can. Prime first with 2 coats of General Finishes Stain Blocker.
Once that was done, and dry it was time to try the new stuff. It was pretty runny in the can, as you can see – a little thinner than General Finishes Milk Paint.
I just started painting. Letting dry between each coat. A light sanding was needed between coats from time to time to knock down some dust and some of the brush strokes.
The problem was, I just kept painting… and painting… and painting… I ended up doing 3 coats of Brushable White Enamel, and I probably should have done 4. I never did achieve full coverage. I was super disappointed in this new product. If you are going to reformulate your white paint, you may as well increase the coverage of the white paint!
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When it’s dry it does have a nice shine to it – I tried the satin finish, it also comes in gloss. Because the topcoat and paint is together there is no need for an additional topcoat. Thus taking out some of the risk that the topcoat will yellow the paint.
The top of the dresser was refinished in my favorite method of refinishing wood (you can see the tutorial here). I used my favorite stain combo and a flat top coated finish.
I distress the white with 120 grit sandpaper to bring out some of the beautiful details in this piece and to hide the fact that the white isn’t really fully white.
I kept the existing hardware, just cleaned and polished it a bit. Overall the dresser turned out great, but upon closer inspection you can see the coverage issues. This was 5 coats of primer and paint! I’m glad it was just for our bedroom, because I can let it slide, but if this were a client piece, I would have been super disappointed in the finish (and would have had to keep working at it).
The finish itself reminded me of using semi-gloss latex paint. When all was said and done, I didn’t see why this was an addition to the General Finishes Product line at all, it was a disappointment to me, and I’ll be searching for a better combo of paint and primer to achieve a pure white finish. Even using this on cabinets would have been a disaster because you’d have to just keep painting them over and over again!
So in summary:
- you have to prime to use this paint, a white stain blocking primer is the recommended base
- the coverage is terrible
- it does have built in topcoat so no need for an additional topcoat
- you can distress it (I used 120 grit sandpaper)
- you can tint it slightly (maybe to off white) but to do so you need paint tint, not just by adding a different color paint to the mix
So how do you paint furniture white? I’m on the quest for the best white furniture paint. No one wants to paint something white and have to paint it 15 times to get a good white finish, so I’m looking for a good paint that will cover well.
I was bummed about this one, there really hasn’t been a single General Finishes product I didn’t like, but this would be the one. I will not be carrying this product in the store – I think there are better solutions out there. I’ll let you know when I find it!
Until next time,
Jenni
It’s too bad that it didn’t turn out as you had hoped. The pictures look nice. While it didn’t work as a paint, did it work as a topcoat? Could you stain block, milk paint, then enamel paint? Or would that still take a million coats?
Yes, that may work. I think General Finishes Snow White – their white still takes too many coats to get good coverage. I found a solution to this white coverage issue and will be sharing it soon!!
I’m always glad to see one of your reviews. I feel that you tell it like it really is and I appreciate that! This definitely saves me from buying something that will just frustrate me, waste money, and cause me more work in the end. Thanks!
You are welcome! I was genuinely disappointed in this product and you’re exactly right, I wanted to save others from the same frustration! I think I found a better solution, stay tuned, I’ll write about it soon!!
Darn, I feel for you; I know the frustration of painting coat after coat after coat, hoping each would do the trick. Even though you’re not entirely happy, your piece turned out really cute. Thanks for sharing your experience with this product and I await word on your blog about the perfect-coverage white, when you find it! xJane
Thank you! I do love how this dresser turned out, although I was hoping for a good solution to the “white paint problem” as well. I think I found a good solution, I’ll be sharing soon!!
My favorite paint is called Rethunk Junk. Linen is my go to white, but cotton is a pretty color too. It also has a built in top coat. I have painted many pieces of furniture with this paint and have never used a primer. It has great coverage and goes on smooth. If I want to distress a piece, I just use a damp cloth. Sometimes I will apply a top coat of polyacrylic just to add a little protection. Rethunk Junk also has other great products too.
Thanks for recommending this paint Cindy, I have heard of it, but haven’t tried it! I may have to!!
Jenni, A couple years ago, I undertook painting my. Kitchen, cabinets and all white. My cabinet doors and drawers are trimmed in some kind of vinyl. The sales person at the paint store sold me a two part primer for the vinyl, saying it would make the paint adhere. Well, now I have. Many sites it is scratched down to the vinyl. Do you have any suggestions? I am open to suggestions, just can’t afford new cabinets. Appreciate any suggestions you may have.
Hmmm…. painting cabinets can be tricky, especially with vinyl. The best primer I know of to make things stick is BIN Shellac. You may give that a try in the scratched places and then try to do touchup on top of the primer. Another option is Dixie Belle Slick Stick. I just painted my bathroom tile! with this first then paint and it has held up well to the water elements.
Thanks for your review. It helps me out quite a bit. I’m sorry you were dissatisfied, but the pictures of your piece look really nice,…but I too wouldn’t want to have to paint on endless coats. Wise Owl just came out with a one hour enamel paint with the topcoat built in- very durable too. I haven’t tried it yet, but so far the reviews have been great. I too was looking for a solution to the white paint -topcoat-yellowing problem, and I was very excited to hear about this.
Yes, the end result was a beautiful piece. I just wish this would have been a better solution to the “white paint issue”. I saw that Wise Owl release and haven’t tried it yet either, perhaps we will have to!
I was interested in this product for the same reason, making white customer orders easier. Thanks so much for keeping me from wasting my money and time! Looking forward to hearing about your solution!
You’re welcome! I wish it were a better solution! I’ll keep you updated!
I have just succumbed that when painting furniture white it will e problematic.
What I have been doing is 1) using a stain blocker as a base coat 2) painting a first coat in a different color 3) painting the piece of furniture with choice of white paint 4)mixing the top coat and a little of the white paint to finish- to prevent yellowing.
Voila Much work but end result is worth it.
Grace,FullyRestyled-
That’s a great idea! Yes, mixing the white paint with the topcoat is one of the best tricks for that last coat. And I agree, just knowing you may have issues when painting something white will at least get the expectations in the right place 😉
Thank you Jenni, for your great information. I am looking forward to your “white paint findings” as I want to paint my grandmother’s old cedar blanket chest this summer. I used your tutorials last year to learn how to paint furniture. I gave new life to my old student desk that I always hated. It was brown, dark brown and brown all over! I painted it a beautiful grey and gave it highlights with a pearl glaze. It turned out so lovely that it has inspired me for future projects! I sold that re-done desk and the buyer was thrilled too. I’ll be watching your tutorials before I start the cedar chest. Thanks again! Great job on your closet!!!
Wonderful! Sounds like you are on a roll! Yes, I’ll be sharing my “white paint” findings soon! I think it will be helpful!! Enjoy all your projects!
Thanks for your review! Very helpful! I used General Finishes Seagull Gray last summer on my kitchen cabinets. I love them- except this summer I painted my walls a similar color and would like to change my cabinets to white so they will pop out more. Do you think if I lightly sand the cabinets I will be able to use a General Finishes Milk paint over them? Is there anything else that I should use? Thanks for your thoughts.
Yes! That should work just fine!!