🎙️ Episode #8: From Grime to Gorgeous — The Ultimate Cleaning Routine Before You Paint

If your paint ever peeled, bubbled, or just didn’t stick right… you’re not alone!

In this episode, Val shares her step-by-step cleaning routine for prepping furniture before painting — the routine that saves time, frustration, and your beautiful finish. 🧼✨

Val talks about:

• The cleaner she swears by (hello, Krud Kutter!)
• The right order for prepping — and why it matters
• A big mistake she made while painting her own walls that taught her a valuable lesson about prep
• How she uses a rotating scrubber brush to clean detailed or extra-grungy pieces
• Why even “no prep required” paint still needs prep (yep, sorry!)And a heartfelt faith connection you won’t forget — about restoration, transformation, and how we’re all made new 💛

Pro Tip: Even if you’re told you don’t have to prep, do it anyway! Clean → Repair → Sand → Clean again → Prime if needed (and why you don't sand BEFORE you clean).

🎧 Listen now to learn how to turn your next piece from grimy to gorgeous — and get results that last.

👉 Mentioned in this episode:

• Krud Kutter (Val’s favorite cleaner)
• Rotating Scrub Brush

💛 Faith Tie-In:

Just like furniture that’s been neglected and grimy can be restored to beauty, so can we. Val shares a moving story in a book she read, Chataine’s Guardian by Robin Hardy — a reminder that no matter how rough we start, transformation is always possible.

🔗 Connect with Val:

Pinterest (pinterest.com/valfrania)

Facebook Group (@furnitureflippingforum)

YouTube (YouTube.com/@furnitureflippingblueprint)

Hi there. This is Val Frania again back with a new episode of Flipping Furniture for Profit Podcast. I am glad you're here. We're gonna talk about the proper way to clean your furniture. I know, I know. Cleaning isn't the fun part for most, certainly not mine, and when DH took over a lot of my prep, oh, those are happy days because then I just get to create. But if you don't have someone there to do it for you or you need to train someone, or you need to make sure you're doing it right, take a listen, 'cause we're gonna talk about that today. We all wanna just skip straight to the painting and watch that transformation happen. Isn't that just so much fun? That's my happy place. But if your paint isn't sticking or you've ever seen it peel or bubble, this episode might just be the one you need.

So grab your coffee, settle in. Let's talk about how to take your furniture from grime to gorgeous. The first time I ever realized that I'd messed up my prep work wasn't even on furniture. It was when we bought the house that we're living in right now. Oh, it was in really bad shape. Oh my goodness. I could tell you a long story about that one, but I'll skip that for now. My husband was up, I call him DH, my husband was up on the roof putting on new shingles, so I had to take over the painting inside. He'd always done the painting inside the house before, but he just was not available. We had 30 days to get all the stuff done according to our loan. So I was put in the position that I had to do all the painting inside the house, and I was in a hurry.

Obviously. It was a big job. And I discovered later that I hadn't cleaned the walls well enough. I just wiped them down with a wet rag. When I went back later, I noticed that some of the paint wasn't adhering right. It was like blotchy. And even after a few weeks, it peeled in a few spots years later, you know, when I found out more about prep, I realized I hadn't prepared the surface the right way so the paint could stick properly. And at the time I thought it was just some bad paint. For years, I did not buy from that store, that brand, because I thought the paint wasn't any good. But I've since learned that in many ways that a surface can be affected, that would repel paint, like smoke grease, dirty hand prints, dog slobber, toddler snot, .

Life is lived inside those walls and some of that life ends up on the wall. So we have to be careful to prep properly. And that applies to furniture. Our subject for today. It was all new to me at the time. And the good thing came out that I realized I love painting. After all of that, I fell in love with painting walls, furniture, decor, my old Christmas village that sat for years and years that I never finished anything that doesn't move, I want to paint it. So good always does come out of tough situations. So remember that. Keep smiling even through the tough times. And here's another little lesson I learned the hard way. If you use wall paint like the latex, that is meant for drywall. If you use it on furniture, it might peel off in sheets. I've seen it.

Wall paint has elastic qualities, which is a good thing for walls that allows it to expand and contract with temperature changes. It's just not made for wood furniture. And you can bet I never made that mistake. Again, many furniture, flip flippers use, OOPS, paints, which is often the type of wall paint I just described. And yes, it's a touchy subject for those who do use it. But, just realize for those who do, because they can't bring themselves to think that the piece they sold might be flawed in some way, might not last, they really don't like hearing, "Don't use latex."

But to not realize that what you're using might not last. You have to consider that when you're making future choices. And that's something that would keep paint slappers up all night. But it, fortunately it doesn't. They throw that paint on and sell it. They want the money and they're not concerned about it lasting. I have a friend that I ran into a couple years ago at a builder show. She had bought a small end table from a store that sells, you know, furniture. Not like, not like a big box store, but like a little boutique type store. And she told me that she got it home and bumped it and paint chipped right off - poor prep! And I really felt for her, because she paid a decent price for it, she did go back and tell them, I need to call her and find out if they fixed it for her.

That is an awful phone call to receive. So make sure you prep properly so you don't get those phone calls, know your paint. Have a talk with a representative from the paint company and ask lots of questions about what paint would be best. I know there are a few paint companies that still use the word latex in their paint titles or descriptions, but it's a different kind of paint apparently than the typical wall paint. So ask questions. All I know is I'll never use wall paint on my furniture. The regret or fear of paint failure just isn't worth cutting corners. I would rather pay a little bit more to be able to sleep at night to know that I took care of my client.

So back to the subject of cleaning. Cleaning may not be glamorous, but it's what separates a flip that looks homemade from one that looks high-end. Every piece of furniture has a history. You know, the dust, the grime, the grease furniture, polish, smoke wax, that all can cause problems with your adhesion. And don't even get me started on Pledge. Now that's another subject. One day we'll discuss it. You don't know what pieces people have used Pledge on that can cause fisheye - look it up. So even if it looks clean, trust me, it isn't, you'd be amazed what comes off once you start wiping it down. Cleaning sets the stage for everything that follows. So here's my step-by-step cleaning routine. When you first get the piece, dust, dust it, you know, either use a vacuum or a cloth, whatever, dust it, and then disassemble first.

You're gonna remove the drawers, the knobs, the hardware, look around, look for cobwebs, look for dirt that has settled in cracks, etcetera. Give everything a dry dust off, or vacuum it with a brush attachment. That's a good idea too. But you don't want to be scrubbing over cobwebs. So get all that stuff off first. Years ago I was reading the website of very popular chalk paint company, and it said, no lie, you can even paint over cobwebs. Uh, no, just, NO. Okay, so you've dusted it off, wiped it down, you clean it, like really clean it and degrease it. So next I spray the whole piece down with Krud Kutter. Now call me an overachiever. But when it comes to my finish, I want it to last Krud Kutter is gentle enough. It doesn't leave a residue, but I do let it sit for a minute and then wipe it with a cloth.

Or use a rag from a Box of Rags. You know, those boxes that have the, the, it's like a heavy duty paper towel. Now, did you know that you can wash and rinse the rags from the box of rags? You know, wash them out, reuse 'em. I've been throwing 'em away after one use. And then after a couple years, I discovered, oh, these are tough enough to be washed out and reused. So go figure... the things we learn over years. Okay, so you're gonna spray it down with Krud Kutter or your favorite cleaner. You're going to wipe it down. And then you're going to do some detail cleaning. You know, if you've got nooks and crannies on there, you could grab an old toothbrush or a small brush to get into the corners, the edges, the trim details. And if the piece is extra grungy or it has a lot of carved areas I use, I bring out, my rotating scrubber brush.

I got it for a pretty decent price. It was around $14, $15. All the products that I mentioned, I will put in the show notes. I'll put a link in there for you so you can take a look at it. Okay, so after washing it down, whatever you use, Krud Kutter or water and vinegar, whatever, after cleaning, wipe everything down with a damp cloth and clean water. You don't want any cleaner residue left behind that could affect how your pain or your primer adheres. And make sure it's dry before moving forward. Now, here's a few pro tips for you. A few things that I've learned over the years that can save you a lot of headache for smokey or musty smells. Mix a bit of vinegar with water or use an odor blocking primer before cleaning. I'm sorry, after cleaning. . Definitely after cleaning. Okay.

And then some remind or some recommend Odoban for odors. I hear that's very effective. They use it not just on furniture, they use it on carpets and all sorts of things. I do have some, I haven't used it yet. Just I have it on hand in case I need it. And then here's the big one - even if someone tells you that you don't have to prep, whether it's from a friend or someone online or even the manufacturer of the paint, oh no, you have to prep - my basic steps never change. Clean. If it needs repair, do it, you know, clean and then repair it. And then I sand for tooth - and tooth just means that you're taking off the shine so the paint will adhere. And then I clean again. So you clean, repair, sand, clean again. If you sand before you clean,

and I've seen this mistake with many people that talk online, if you sand before you clean, you might be grinding that dirt and grease right into the wood fibers, and that can ruin your finish before you even begin. One day we'll talk about mold, and how to remove that, what to do, what not to do. That's, that's another podcast. Okay, so I need to parallel this to something I experienced this week. If you look, you can always find a spiritual application in the most ordinary moments. I was reading a book today, the Third in the Chatain's Guardian series by Robin Hardy, where the leading man, Roman, meets Christ for the first time. He's covered in dirt and wearing tattered clothes, and it reminded me of some of the pieces I brought home from the thrift store. They look hopeless, dirty, smelly, forgotten. But once you start cleaning and restoring, you can see the potential underneath.

That's what Christ did for Roman in the story. He cleaned him up, dressed him in a perfectly white robe and made him new again. I can't help it. That's just how my mind works. You can find so many spiritual parallels in the things that we do every day. Maybe that's why I like flipping so much. Bad to good. Ugly to beautiful. We were all destined for the dump until we were made new. Okay, so let's wrap this all up. To recap, don't skip your cleaning. It may seem like a minor part of flipping, but it isn't. It's huge. It's one of the main, the most important things. 1. Dust it off. 2. Clean. 3. Repair. 4. Clean again, rinse. 5. Make sure it's dry before moving forward. Take your time here because this step determines how professional your finished piece will look and how long it'll last.

It would be awful if you spent time after you know, so much time making this piece beautiful, and then it doesn't last. I would love to see your before and after photos, especially the ones right after cleaning. It's amazing how much of a difference that alone can make. So share them in our Facebook group. It used to be called, Forum used to be the last word in it, Furniture Flipping Forum. But I've changed it to Furniture Flipping Foundations because I want to focus more on the, the foundations of being a flipper. So if you're in that group Furniture Flipping Foundations or want to join, come join us and share your photos. We'd love to see them and any tips you might have, it's amazing how much of a difference the cleaning can make on a piece. So share them in our Facebook group or tag me on Instagram or message me.

And if you found this episode helpful, would you take a quick second to leave a rating or a review? It really would help others to find the show and join a community of faith-filled furniture flippers. If someone is looking for help, it's really tough to find it on just regular social media, because you'll get so many different opinions and there is a lot of bad information out there. So please do share. And you know, if you know of someone or if it's you that is feeling alone and frustrated over the different advice out there, you know, even the more experienced flippers feel that way too. You're not alone. That's why it's important to reach out and help. No one should ever feel alone or frustrated or spend hours online trying to find answers. That's why I am doing this podcast because I want to give you good sound advice to help you move forward. So thanks for spending some time with me today. I hope you're inspired to give your next piece the love and prep that it desires, that it deserves. Remember, the transformation starts long before the paint goes on just like ours does. So until next time, keep flipping, keep

Creating, keep letting God work through your hands. Grab my free PDF for new flippers ValFrania.com/flip4profit and I'll see you in the next episode. Blessings.