- 1). Sand the table top with a fine grit sandpaper. This roughs up the surface and helps the paint to adhere. This step is necessary for metal or wood tables.
- 2). Dust the surface with a cleaning cloth to remove any sandpaper residue.
- 3). Apply a primer paint to the entire table top and allow it to dry complete before continuing.
- 4). Mark off your stripes with a pencil, using a T-square to ensure the stripes are in a straight line on a rectangle or square table. Find the center of a round table using two chord lines, each drawn from one side to the other. Draw two lines from the outside of the circle to the center, each one perpendicular to one chord. They will intersect at the center. Draw two additional intersecting lines through the center point at right angles to each other that extend to the outer edge. These are your guidelines for placing you stripes with the T-square on a round table.
- 5). Apply tape in strips from one edge of the table to the other, depending on the size of your stripes. The painter's tape removes easily and won't remove the base coat. If you want alternating stripes of color with the base color, tape over the entire table top with tape and then remove every other one. This creates even stripes over the entire surface. Another idea is to use a ruler to mark off different distances across the table, they can be vertical or horizontal. For instance, you could have a stripe that is 3 inches wide alternating with one that is 6 inches wide or whatever sizes you desire.
- 6). Paint the wood table top with the latex paint that you want to use as the base coat and allow it to dry completely. Use a paint for made for metal if you are working on a metal table. Paint in between the strips of tape with an artist's or a regular paint brush, depending on the width of the stripes. It may require two or three coats of paint to obtain the coverage you desire, Allow the paint to dry completely each time and sand lightly between coats of paint.
- 7). Peel off the strips of tape once the paint is dry.
- 8). Spray on a clear sealer to give the tabletop a glossy shine and to protect the painted stripes. Two or three coats may be necessary, but allow the sealer to dry before adding other coats.
- Advertisement -
- Advertisement -