How to paint Particleboard furniture

Update March 11,2017:  My furniture is holding up great!  The paint has stayed on, no peeling or scratching.  I still need hardware!

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You probably will recognize some of these pictures my Big Reveal. My aunt gave us her entire bedroom set for free when we got married. It was old and beat up but it has worked. Once I realized it is possible to paint fake wood/laminate particle board furniture I jumped to it. It has taken a long time (I still need to finish my bed and do some minor touch ups) but it was totally worth it.

The befores

The afters-

You need:

sandpaper (120 and 220)
Primer (spray works best)
Paint and brushes
Clear lacquer (option but a good idea)

Here's how I did it.
-Start by taking all of the hardware off-If you are lucky like me half of yours will already be missing or falling off.

-Sand using 120 grit sandpaper (or something close to it.) You don't need to sand off all of the laminate just enough so its not shiny any more.-Prime-Spray primer works best. I used this kind.
-Sand lightly using your 220 sandpaper (just to make it smooth).

-Paint-I used at least 2 coats.

-Let it dry (It may take a few days don't rush it or it will feel sticky and you can ruin the paint)

-Add a coat of clear lacquer (it took away the sticky feeling)


A few extra tips I learned along the way:
-Use a power sander-I did mine all by hand and it would have gone a lot faster if I had just bought a sander.

-If you have chips like mine (one piece was really bad) you can use putty to fill it in. We used a spray on to cover the top of the long dresser-it was quick but make sure you give it plenty of time to dry.

-Also if possible keep the hardware-it is expensive. I couldn't because a lot of ours were missing and I still need to buy some.