Painting Furniture With a Lacquer Finish

Remove all hardware from the furniture by unscrewing screws with the screwdriver. Remove any drawers and other removable parts to work on them separately.

Saturate a cleaning cloth with mineral spirits. Wipe down every lacquered surface you wish to repaint with the mineral spirits to clean the wood surfaces. Work carefully to clean every surface. Allow the furniture surface to dry completely.

Sand the lacquered surfaces with the sandpaper to remove the gloss. Rub every inch of the furniture to create a scuffed and lightly sanded surface -- the new paint needs a scuffed surface for most effective adhesion.

Vacuum the furniture carefully with the crevice tool and the brush attachment of the vacuum cleaner. Take care to remove every particle of dust and sawdust.

Moisten a cleaning cloth with water and wipe down the surface lightly to ensure no dust remains on the wood surface.

Wipe the wood surface one final time with mineral spirits to ensure the furniture is impeccably clean. Allow the wood to dry for about 30 minutes.

Load the paintbrush with the oil-based paint to begin applying the paint in a thin and even layer. Work slowly and carefully to coat the furniture evenly with one coat of paint. Allow the first coat to dry completely.

Apply a second coat of paint after the first coat dries. Strive to apply the paint in a thin and even layer for the most attractive painting application. Allow the paint to dry completely.

Install any hardware you removed to finish the painting project.