How do I paint and gloss wood furniture in a way that looks smooth, neat, and professional?

Are there any special tools? I'm very adamant that this should look like a store-bought furniture piece.How do I paint and gloss wood furniture in a way that looks smooth, neat, and professional?
You didn't say if you were talking a true paint or you meant varnish.





With paint, the only way to get a ';factory'; finish is to spray paint. This assumes you are starting with bare wood and not trying to paint over existing paint that was brushed on. Even with spray application, you will have to have a really smooth finish on the bare wood. That means sanding and sanding and sanding with various grits from at least 150 and 220. Anything finer is not necessary with most paint. Light sanding with 220 grit paper between coats is also necessary.





With varnish if you are starting from the bare wood then you can get a ';factory'; finish with wipe on polyurethane (Minwax makes a gloss and satin version). This is the finish I use the most. After sanding with 150 and 220 grit with extra attention to any end grain (you really need to burnish the end grain with 150 and 220 grit) I stain and then apply two coats. Then lightly rub with very fine steel wool (0000 grade) to remove any bits of dust trapped in the varnish. Finally a third coat of varnish. You have to be very careful if you have stain the wood to not cut through the varnish and remove any of the stain. You can continue to add coats of varnish but you should steel wool between coats to get rid of any dust particles.





Another way to get a ';factory'; finish with varnish is to use Bartley's gel varnish. The sanding rules are the same but with the gel varnish, you put it on like you were polishing shoes and then wipe off the excess and burnish with a clean soft cloth.





The true ';professional'; way is to sand between coats of regular varnish up to 600 grit or better and then use water with pumice power or rotten stone. This is the traditional hand rubbed finish that has been used for 100's of years.





Final comment: I have been finishing furniture for sometime and there is a lot of practice that goes into getting it right. I have tried to describe the various methods from the easiest to the most time consuming. If you have a piece of furniture that you really want to get right. Don't pactice on it. Get something else or some pieces of wood and practice until you have mastered the little things I can't begin to put down here.How do I paint and gloss wood furniture in a way that looks smooth, neat, and professional?
lightly sand between coats, both paint and finish.