I want to share with you a fairly straightforward process for painting formica with a stained wood look. I will walk you through the steps that I used to finish the tops on the Redesigned Dresser with Barn Doors and End Tables.
The surface of this formica was smooth and very shinny, so using my orbital sander with 60 grit paper, I sanded to cut the shine and give a good ruff surface for the primer to grip to. After priming and allowing time to dry, I painted two coats of finish paint on the tops. I have found that the best surface prep to paint on with gel stain is a smooth surface so lightly sanding between coats is very important.
Using a sponge brush, apply a liberal coat of gel stain to the tops of the cabinets. You want a medium thick layer of gel stain that completely covers the surface enough to stay wet while you work the surface. Then, using a dry, natural bristle brush, begin removing the gel stain by brushing stain off and wiping the brush onto paper towels to dry it of stain. By working quickly and in long strokes you create a grain pattern that can resemble the grain of wood.
It’s important to allow plenty of time for the gel stain to completely dry before top coating. Depending on the thickness of the stain and conditions this may take 2 or 3 days. For extra durability I finish with two or three coats of GF High Performance Satin. I think this is a good option to coverup ugly and outdated formica while adding interest to the piece.
