After a trip to Ace Hardware, I finally had all the supplies to begin. The first step was to sand the parts of the desk I wanted to paint with 80 grit sand paper and an electric sander. I did not sand any spots that wouldn't be seen, like the underside of the desk or the sides of the drawers.
Then I wiped everything down with a damp cloth to get all the dust off. The next step was to primer everything that was previously sanded. This was a LOT of work, but hopefully it will pay off in the end.
I decided to put 2 coats of primer on the tops of both desks since they are so heavily used. After a few hours of patiently waiting (which was SUPER hard!) I very lightly sanded the surfaces of the drawers to get rid of any drips and brush marks from the primer and started with the first coat of paint. The first drawer was painted with a crappy paint brush and I was very unhappy with the way it turned out. Referring to the trusty Pinterest article, it said to use something called Floetrol to help with brush streaks. So, off to Ace again to pick up a better quality brush and a bottle of Floetrol. :)
I painted the drawers the same color as the walls of my newly painted room since there was some left over paint. I was able to get 1 coat on all the drawers and desktop organizer before it got too dark and chilly. Tomorrow after work, I hope to put 1 coat of white paint on the desks and then 2nd coat of blue paint on the drawers. Can't wait!!
Here is the link to the tutorial I followed from Pinterest. Thanks Centastional Girl!! http://www.centsationalgirl.com/2011/04/how-to-paint-furniture/
