Furniture paint questions, answered.

Kacha furniture paint is a chalk-style paint made for furniture. It is highly pigmented and self-leveling, so brush strokes settle out as it dries, and it is made for blending, layering and dry brushing without thinning it with water. It dries to a soft matte finish.

Kacha paint is made in the USA. Kacha Furniture is based in Oakland, Maine, where our store is.

There are 20 signature colors, from Khaleesi (our purest white) to Eclipse (a true black), with bold shades like Kacha Pink, Purple Emperor and Maine Forest Green. Café con Leche is our 20th color, added in 2026. See all 20 colors.

Most colors come in 4 oz, 8 oz, pint (16 oz) and quart (32 oz). Kacha Pink comes in 8 oz, pint and quart. The 4 oz size is a good way to try a color or paint a small piece.

A little goes a long way. With most colors, one quart covers a nine-drawer dresser in two coats. It depends on the color and the piece: a light color going over dark wood can need a third coat, so plan a little extra paint for those projects.

Yes. All 20 colors mix with each other. Try the Kacha Color Mixer to blend colors on screen and get a recipe before you open a can.

On most furniture, no. Clean the piece well and paint. There are three exceptions:

• Laminate and shiny furniture (like many IKEA and flat-pack pieces): sand or prime first. Either one works, and it gives you a finish that lasts.
• Dark woods like cherry, walnut and mahogany: these bleed through paint. You don't need to sand, but you do need shellac. We recommend a shellac-based primer, which blocks the bleed and primes in one step.
• A finish that is flaking or chipping: sand it off first. Never paint over a finish that is already coming loose.

Use a degreaser to remove the buildup of grease, polish and grime that furniture collects. Katarina's favorite is Krud Kutter, but any good degreaser works. Don't just spray and wipe: wash the piece thoroughly with a bucket of clean water to rinse it, then let it dry for 24 hours before you paint. Moisture trapped under paint can make it crack later, so the 24-hour wait matters most in humid places and in summer.

Plan on three coats to be safe. Many darker colors cover beautifully in two, but lighter colors, especially over dark wood, usually need three. If you're not sure, three coats is the safest bet.

• Second coat: about an hour. In a dry climate it can be ready in 20 to 30 minutes; in humid weather give it longer.
• Before wax, topcoat or transfers: wait 24 hours.
• Full cure: about 21 days. You can use the piece before then, but treat it gently for the first two to three weeks: don't slide things across it or scrub it.

Almost anything: wood, metal and glass. Laminate works too once it is primed or sanded (see the sanding question above). It also holds up well outdoors. Katarina has used it outside, even without protection.

You can, if the old paint is in good condition with nothing peeling. But your new finish will only be as strong as the bond of the paint underneath it. If you're not sure what's under there, or how well it's holding, remove it and start fresh with Kacha paint.

The Kacha Signature Paint Brush is made for smooth coats, blending and detail work. Premium Chip Brushes are handy for dry brushing and quick jobs.

Yes. Kacha paint is a chalk-style paint, so it should be protected. Unsealed, darker colors especially will show fingerprints. Seal it with Clear Finishing Wax or with a topcoat, Clear Matte or Clear Satin. Wait 24 hours after your last coat of paint before sealing.

Wax deepens and enriches the color and leaves a soft matte finish: the traditional chalk-paint look. One to two coats of Clear Finishing Wax is enough for most decorative pieces.

A topcoat gives you the most protection and can be wiped clean. For pieces that get a lot of use, like dressers, buffets, tables, coffee tables, bathroom vanities and kitchen cabinets, use three coats of Clear Satin or Clear Matte Topcoat.

No. Choose one or the other: never a topcoat over clear wax, and never clear wax over a topcoat. The one exception is decorative waxes. Black and Brown Decorative Wax, and gilding waxes, can go over a finished topcoat for aging and detail. Decorative and gilding waxes always go on last.

No. Kacha Gold Leaf is a premium imitation gold leaf. It gives the look of gilding on edges, carvings and accents at a fraction of the cost of real gold.

Lay it down with Kacha Gilding Glue. Then always seal it: unsealed gold leaf tarnishes over time and can turn green.

Seal with Clear Finishing Wax or Clear Satin Topcoat. Use satin, not matte: a matte topcoat dulls the shine. Katarina tested many topcoats on gold leaf, and several turned it green. Kacha Clear Satin keeps it gold and shiny.

1. Let the paint dry for 24 hours. Transfers won't stick to paint that isn't fully dry. Apply the transfer straight onto the paint, before any wax or topcoat.
2. Plan the placement. Keep the backing sheet on, then measure or eyeball exactly where the design will go. Make any cuts now.
3. Peel off the backing and place it. This is the most important step: once the transfer touches the surface, it's on.
4. Rub it on. Use the small wooden tool that comes in the pack, or our larger Transfer Tool, which makes the job easier. Start at one corner and work across, lifting the top sheet slowly to check.
5. Don't remove the top sheet until everything is on. If you miss a spot, lay the sheet back down and rub that area again.
6. Seal it with Clear Finishing Wax or a Kacha topcoat. Kacha topcoat works great over Redesign with Prima transfers.

Gold, rose gold and silver foil transfers go on the same way as a regular transfer, with three differences:

• The 24-hour paint dry is a must. Don't rush it. On paint that isn't fully dry, the foil sticks everywhere, and you get the whole sheet, including the area around the design, stuck to the surface.
• Rub only the design. When you use the transfer tool, go over the foil design itself, not the empty areas of the sheet around it.
• Buff before you seal. When the transfer is on, wipe it with a microfiber cloth to remove any tiny loose flakes of foil. Leftover flakes cause problems when you apply your wax or topcoat.

1. Flatten the paper first. Papers come folded in the pack, so give them a little steam (best) or warm air from a hair dryer, and the folds relax.
2. Glue it down with Redesign with Prima Decoupage Gel (matte or shine). Lately Katarina also uses a generous coat of Kacha Clear Satin Topcoat as the glue.
3. Smooth it with kitchen plastic wrap. Lay the plastic over the paper and work slowly from the top down, section by section, pressing everything flat. Take your time.
4. Seal it with another coat of decoupage gel or Clear Satin Topcoat once you like how it looks.

Placed it crooked? Rice paper and fiber papers can be lifted and repositioned. Traditional paper decoupage can't, so place it carefully. Our decoupage fiber and tissue papers are made to resist wrinkling, so once they're steamed flat, wrinkles are rarely a problem.

We ship within the United States with USPS. We can't ship internationally at this time. International orders are canceled and refunded.

Orders over $100 ship free within the US. Furniture pieces ship free within the lower 48 states.

Orders placed before 4pm on a weekday ship the same day (not counting federal holidays). Orders placed after hours or on weekends ship the next business day. You'll get tracking by email.

All sales are final. If something arrives damaged, contact us and we'll help with a replacement using a prepaid return label. Dents in paint cans aren't counted as damage. Read the full shipping and returns policy.

Kacha paint is sold only here at kachafurniture.com and at our store at 58 Church St, Oakland, Maine, open Monday to Friday, 9am to 4pm. We're usually closed on weekends, except in summer. We don't have other retailers right now.

Kacha is furniture artist Katarina Hernandez. She founded Kacha Furniture in 2016, starting out by selling hand-painted pieces on Facebook Marketplace. Her husband Carlos joined full-time in 2019, and together they built Kacha into a paint and furniture art brand followed by millions of people. The Kacha paint line launched in 2024. Read our story.

Katarina shares makeovers and techniques on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok and Facebook.