Tips for Painting Wood Blinds or Shutters

While finished wood shutters and blinds for your windows can be fairly expensive, you may find that buying the unfinished product and then painting wooden blinds yourself can result in quite a saving. Although a little time intensive, finishing your own blinds can be very satisfying and it also allows you do finish them exactly how you like. They can be finished with either a stain, or if you prefer, you can pain them. Following are a few tips on painting interior plantation shutters or wooden blinds.

The first thing to do when you receive your unfinished wood shutters or blinds is to sand them down. Look for any scratches or bumps and sand those away gently till the wood is very smooth. Once this is done you will need to apply a primer. It is important to buy a good quality primer and to follow the instructions given on the container.

When the primer is dry you should again sand the wood down gently again. Make sure to remove all traces of dust after sanding, as you will want to paint on a dust free surface. Lacquer paint is most commonly used by shutter manufacturers, and it is an option for the DIY’er however the fumes are very dangerous so if you choose to use lacquer paint make sure the room is well ventilated and you cover your mouth and nose so as not to breath in the fumes. Latex and oil based paints are equally acceptable to use. The great thing about latex paint is that it dries very quickly, and the quality these days rivals or in some cases even betters that of oil based paints. When painting wooden shutters chose a semi-gloss paint, and try to find one that offers UV protection if you can as your wood will last much longer.

You will need to apply at least two coats of paint, more if you can. Watch out for drips, make sure you wipe them up right away while they are still wet and easy to remove. Be careful too not to apply so many coats of paints that it hinders the smooth operation of the louvers. There is no need to use any other finishing product if you are painting your wood plantation shutters or blinds.