How to remove varnish from a wooden bed for painting?

[NAHHA]

I have an old wooden queen size bed frame, that has either a stained varnished or lacquered finish to it, which I would like to paint in white to give it a new lease of life. What is the best/easiest way to prepare the wood so that it can be painted (and kindest to the environment)?

Thank you for your advice.

[JacobZ]

Hi @NAHHA,

Thank you for your question.

I'd suggest sanding the frame back to bare timber using heavy grit sandpaper. Something around 60-80 grit will be great to remove the varnish, with 120-180 grit being perfect for smoothing and finishing.

It will be a fair bit of sanding, so a Powered Sander will greatly speed things up. You might like to have a look at Tools 101: How To Use Power Sanders and How To Choose A Sander for some guidance.

Let me know what you think and if you have further questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

Jacob