Painting

• 1). Move the chest to a well-ventilated area. Place it on top of a fabric drop cloth.
  
  
• 2). Promote surface adhesion by scuffing painted chests with 120- to 220-grit sandpaper. Skip this step if the chest is bare wood.
  
  
• 3). Wipe down the chest with a sticky tack cloth.
  
  
• 4). Cover portions of the chest you do not want painted with a low-tack painter's tape.
  
  
• 5). Coat the chest with an acrylic latex primer, using a paintbrush manufactured for use with water-based latex paints. Wait two hours for the primed chest to dry. Skip this step if the chest was previously painted.
  
  
• 6). Clean the brush with water.
  
  
• 7). Coat the chest with an acrylic latex paint, using the clean paintbrush. Wait two hours for the finished chest to dry. Coat the chest a second time if you have inadequate coverage.
  
  

Staining

• 1). Move the chest to a well-ventilated area. Place it on top of a fabric drop cloth.
  
  
• 2). Wipe down the chest with a tack cloth.
  
  
• 3). Cover portions of the chest you do not want stained with a low-tack painter's tape.
  
  
• 4). Coat the chest with an oil-based stain, using a paintbrush manufactured for use with oil paints. Wait two hours for the stained chest to dry. Apply additional coats of stain for darker results.
  
  
• 5). Clean the brush with mineral spirits.