5 On Friday: My Top Refinishing Must-Haves

Show of hands – who likes to refinish things? (I’m raising both hands)

Do you have go-to products that you always use no matter what item you are refinishing or what project you are working on?

Perhaps you are new to the refinishing and DIY world and are looking for some recommendations?

Today my friend Emily from Le Cultivateur and I are going to share 5 of our favorite products when we refinish or DIY. I have no idea as I write this, what products she chose and the same with her so we may have chosen some of the same things! I can’t wait to see what she shared.

Paint is usually one of the most common things for me to use because it’s a very inexpensive and fast way of dramatically changing somethings appearance.

Whether it’s a room or a piece of furniture or a piece of decor, almost anything can be painted. More things than I bet you even realize. You just have to know what product to use and how to prepare the item for the paint.

Chalk Paint – This is a wonderful type of paint that can be applied to almost any surface and needs very little preparation of the surface before painting. It has a very flat finish and will need either a polyurethane top coat or traditionally a wax applied over it to seal it and give it a nice smooth feel and finish.

There are a number of brands available and I’ve tried quite a few of them. You can also make your own which I like to do because then the sky is the limit as far as color goes. I will share a chalk paint recipe with you in the near future.

One of my favorite brands for larger surfaces is Rustoleum Chalked. I used the Linen White color shown above on my tall dresser makeover.

For some applications its kind of nice to have the spray option and I have tried the Rustoleum Chalked spray paint and it’s very nice! I was pleasantly surprised that they could do a spray chalk paint since chalk paint is traditionally quite thick.

I used this spray paint in Serenity Blue on the seats of my chairs that I rescued from the curb.

Spray Paint for Metal – Believe it or not many things you already have in your home can be reused or revamped simply with some spray paint. If the style isn’t horrible, consider changing the color to better suit your decor rather than buy a replacement. A can of spray paint is only a few dollars, after all.

I’m a Rustoleum girl when it comes to my spray paints for general use or spraying metal. Most of the time I just make sure the surface is clean and dry and use this type of product. Light coats and lots of dry time between. However when I sprayed my bathroom faucets and some interior door handles (yes, you read that correctly) I used a self etching primer first and then sprayed them with this product. Several years later they are still looking perfect. Not a scratch on them. I wash them with a sponge.

I’ve linked a Burnished Amber above but it comes in a wide variety of colors both metallic and non-metallic.

Spray Paint for Plastic – If you finding yourself wanting to spray paint something that is plastic, it’s hard to beat Krylon Fusion. If your product is clean and dry and you do light coats, allowing them to dry in between, you will get about the best possible adherence.

This comes in a wide variety of colors and sheens.

Rub ‘N Buff – Have you read any other blog post I’ve ever written?

Mmkay then you already know about my obsession with this product.

If you want to add a touch of magic to something that looks like gold leaf or metallic anything, this is your magic. It comes in a tiny tube that looks like it will be gone in the first application but after you apply some to every surface in your home, including giving your kids highlights and hubby some new facial hair, you will still appear to have used none.

Did I mention it’s magic?

Here are just some of the colors you can get it in. Antique Gold is my current fav but there are so many more.

Off the top of my head I know I’ve seen a brass one, a copper one and a rose gold one as well.

After you apply this with your finger or a q-tip or paint brush, you buff it a little with a soft cloth and it’s amazing.

Check out my corbels and my clock! Hubby wouldn’t let me show you his new facial hair!

Now we’ve barely scratched the surface (guess that means we’ll have to refinish it 🙂 ) so I detect another few blog posts coming along with more of our favorite products.

If you would like to know what product we prefer for a certain task – don’t hesitate to ask! You can email or ask in the comments and we’d be happy to let you know our opinions.

It’s time to run over to Emily’s blog and see what product’s she can’t live without when she is doing her DIY’s. Thanks for dropping by.

You can follow me on Pinterest and Instagram for even more ideas and great product deals. Follow my blog with Bloglovin

This site contains affiliate links to products. I may receive compensation for purchases made through these links.