PREPARING A WOOD SURFACE FOR FOLK ART PAINTING

PREPARING A WOOD SURFACE FOR FOLK ART PAINTING

Before you paint a design on your project you must prepare the surface. If you are using an old piece,
you need to sand it really well to remove any chipped paint - or have it commercially stripped if you feel you can not do it yourself. Nail holes should be filled, but I never worry about dents, knots or imperfections in the timber itself because they add an interesting texture to the rustic type of paint.

Sand the piece lightly prior to painting with aluminium oxide paper of grade 180 if you can get it, otherwise, wet and dry sandpaper of the same grade works well too. Pay particular attention to routed edges or the edges of plywood, which sometimes are a bit uneven, using household (soapless) steel wool.