How to Paint Plywood Furniture, With Primer, Sealer and Finishing With Sandpaper

Prepare the surface of the plywood for priming. Sand the plywood with 60-grit sand paper to remove surface impurities. Fill holes, dents and scratches with wood filler. Press the wood filler into the hole, dent or scratch with a putty knife.

Sand the plywood edges with 80-grit sand paper and an orbital sander. Fill the plywood ends with wood filler where there are gaps or voids. Round off edges and corners with the orbital sander.

Sand the plywood with a final sanding using 120-grit sand paper and an orbital sander. Smooth all wood filler and remove any sanding marks left by the 60- and 80-grit papers.

Apply three coats of primer to the plywood to seal off the plywood grain, especially at the edges. Force the primer into the plywood edges where the plywood layers are visible. Allow the primer to dry for one hour between coats and lightly sand the surface with 120-grit sand paper.

Paint the surface of the plywood with your choice of paint colors. Apply three coats of paint to the surface and edges of the plywood. Allow one hour drying time between coats and sand between coats lightly with 120-grit paper to remove raised grain, paint impurities or brush marks.

Allow the painted plywood to set for 24 hours before proceeding to seal the surface. Lightly sand the surface of the paint after 24 hours with 120-grit sand paper using the orbital sander. Do not hand sand as this will leave sanding marks in the paint, which will show up after the sealer is applied. Do not remove any paint with the sanding process, however.

Apply gloss sealer to the painted plywood using an electric sprayer or spray can. Spray on three coats, allowing one hour of drying time between coats. Rub the surface of the dried sealer between coats with 220-grit steel wool.