How to Paint & Finish Bookcases
- 1). Move the bookcase over your drop cloth. If the bookcase is installed as part of a wall, lay the drop cloth on the ground in front of the bookcase.
- 2). Put on your gloves. Surgical or first aid gloves are best. General contractor Mike Byers advises that this helps some people reach into the shelf areas without worrying about getting paint on their hands.
- 3). Dip your brush in the paint until the tip is 1/4 to 1/3 submerged. Pull it out and snap the edge of the metal part sharply against the rim of your paint can. This will shed any excess paint.
- 4). Jam the tip of your brush into a corner at the back of the bookshelf. Run it along the edge until the entire corner is coated with paint.
- 5). Lay the edge of the tip of your brush in the corner. Maintaining gentle pressure, drag the brush toward the front of the bookcase, applying paint to the shelf itself. Continue doing this as you move down the corner. This method pulls paint out of the corners, helping to ensure an even coat in the back of the shelves.
- 6). Repeat from Step 3 until you've pulled as much paint as possible from the corners and rears of the shelves. Continue with new corners until you've painted all the corners inside the bookshelves.
- 7). Apply paint to remaining wood surfaces as you would with other flat surfaces. Use long, even strokes. Whenever possible, let your brush come off the wood as it runs off the edge of a plank.
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