Have decided to upcycle an old pine wardrobe will I need to treat the knots before I paint over the top with two coats of eggshell?

I’m clearly no decorating expert but can say the Pine has a honey glaze rather than bare wood, i’ll sand and sugar soap that first. Any advice/pointers much appreciated – cheers

Yes you do, otherwise over time the knot discolours the top coat.

Knotting solution to seal the knot first. Then paint away.

You may want to fill and sand first, but put the sealant of the top and it’ll stop any staining from the knot coming through the paint.

Is the knotting treatment thin, will that need a light sand too (never used it before)?

Or Zinsser BIN shellac based primer will seal the knots, and you’ll have plenty left for other projects – knotting solution is overpriced for the little tin you get.

I’m clearly no decorating expert but can say the Pine has a honey glaze

It may be that it’s varnished already in that case, so I would have thought it’s sealed enough/already?

If it’s a bought piece of furniture and has varnish on it, I’d have thought it’d already been dealt with.

Just key it and paint*

*I’m not a decoratorist.

Yebbut it’s not a lot of money, it comes from beetle wings (shellac) and you’ll regret not knotting for the rest of the time you own the piece.

Aye true, to not knot if the knot is ‘bare’ is not good, but not knotting varnish is ok I’d have thought.
Not?

Or Zinsser BIN shellac based primer will seal the knots, and you’ll have plenty left for other projects – knotting solution is overpriced for the little tin you get.

True, but then you’ve got a £21 tin of that primer that you may or may not use again, rather than a £7 tin of knotting solution, even if it is the same stuff you’ve still spent 3x as much on it. The small tins last ages anyway, I did 2x garage doors with it, and they were really cheap knotty wood!

OTOH, if you want the shabby-chic, fench-country-chic, absolutely-ruined-by-some-mummy-on-facebook-and-sold-for-too-much-on-etsy-chic* look. Just mix chalk in with the paint (about 15% by weight). The high build, matt finish and sticks to anything powers will transform your MFI cast offs and the occasional actual antique into designer items Kirsty Alsop, mumsy facebook users and people who have “eat laugh love” printed on a bit of faux driftwood hanging in their living room could be proud of.

*you may get the impression I hate this look. I suspect in 20 years time there’ll be a procession of people taking furniture to the antiques roadshow to be told it would be worth a fortune if only it wasn’t covered in six layers of pastel coloured chalk paint.

I’d quickly check to see if the pant you’re using will work OK over the laquer / varnish. If in doubt, paint it with the above Zinsser BIN and then chuck any old paint over the top – it’ll stick like shit to a blanket and no knotting / sanding required!

Use white knotting if you’re worried about the colour.

Just to add a little variety, I’ve used aluminium primer on knotty pine. First just the knots with feathered edges, then a second coat complete. The next paint coat goes on nicely. That was about ten years ago and the knots don’t show on a window cill in sunlight.

Of course it could all go wrong after eleven.

I painted a pine table with Ronseal Knotblock primer/undercoat & eggshell top coat. Needed 2/3 coats of undercoat & 2 of eggshell but the knots haven’t bled through after 2 years.

http://www.diy.com/departments/ronseal-knot-block-white-primer-undercoat-750ml/109468_BQ.prd?ecamp=Seapla&ppc_type=shopping&ds_kids=92700016006839062&gclid=CNKAi97kzNECFVRsGwodlK0Bvg&dclid=CPreqd7kzNECFTQw0wodTIUKSQ