I read some blog posts about painting Ikea furniture and bought my supplies based on those and the recommendations of the paint specialist at Home Depot.It is a Hemnes dresser from Ikea in the white stained finish. The paint I'm using is Behr Marquee Paint+Primer in one. At Home Depot I double-checked with the paint specialist that I really didn't need to prime (as I was dubious of this claim) and I also asked if I should sand first. He said I should scour the surface with a damp scouring sponge and that would be all I would need to do for prep. Then two coats of the Behr Marquee paint for full coverage (Marquee claims it can be done in one coat but it's a very dark, olive green over white).Since the dresser is new, I'm painting it before assembly. Everything was going fine until the second coat went on. I waited 2 hours between coats but the second coat had some uneven patches. Thinking it was the white showing through I plowed ahead and did a third coat on the assumption it would smooth it all out. Impatient at this point, I only waited an hour between the second and third coat (doh!) and I only applied the third coat to select pieces. It dried very bumpy on these pieces - presumably because I didn't wait long enough between the second and third coats (and possibly between the first and second coats). OR did my paint dry too much in the paint tray by the third coat and became too tacky for smooth application? I had plastic wrap over it but it was not air tight.I resolved to wait 24 hours, sand down the rough pieces to a smooth finish and do one more coat.In sanding the pieces today, I discovered how very easy it is to nick/scratch the paint off: https://ift.tt/383QG95 (a corner of one of the drawers).Is that because it hasn't cured YET and needs time to become durable, or because it will NEVER cure because I either didn't prep it properly, or didn't wait long enough between coats?Either way, what would be your recommended course of action at this point?Here are my options as I see them:Continue painting one last coat now that the pieces are sanded and cleaned. Then leave it for a few days before assembling.Continue painting one last coat, wait a day, then apply a clear polyurethane top coat to improve durability. Wait a few days, then assemble.Sand ALL of the paint off and start again, this time priming first with a proper primer. This is a terrifying prospect as I don't have any power tools and I live in a 1 bedroom apartment with a small patio.If there's something I haven't thought of, please share! via /r/DIY https://ift.tt/3jRW5Cm
