Learn about the best metallic gold paint for furniture with four different paints and which one works best for different surfaces.
What are your options if you want to give a piece of furniture a metallic finish? What’s the best metallic finish for accessories vs. an entire piece of furniture?
There are a handful of paints and products on the market today that will give a piece of furniture that beautiful metallic finish. That being said not all of them work great on every surface.
I’ve got four different gold metallic paint products WITH real life reviews that I’m going to share with you today.
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Table of Contents
Best Metallic gold paint for furniture
DecoArt Elegant Finish Metallic Paint
This metallic paint has a beautiful iridescent sheen that will transform any piece of furniture. It is a water based acrylic paint that only needs soap and water for cleanup. It’s a great wood furniture metallic paint. The only thing you need to watch out for is that it takes quite a few coats of paint to show up, especially on darker colors. If you are wanting to take a dark wood or dark painted piece of furniture and transform it with this, I would suggest a coat of primer first.
PROS: non toxic, water based, affordable, easy application, quick drying
CONS: shows brush strokes easily, takes multiple coats to cover a dark surface
I painted this (previously painted) black mirror with three coats of DecoArt Elegant Finish in the color Champagne Gold. I think it turned out nice. Hindsight I wish I had used a white primer coat first.
I used a foam brush to transform this mirror to more my style. I barely used any of the paint too because it makes a really thin coat. This stuff will last forever. I could easily see myself using this paint to transform many other picture frames around our house too.
That being said, the first coat doesn’t show up really well on a dark surface (I wish I had used a white primer first). It took three light coats to get the finish I was looking for.
My purpose in this mirror makeover is to match my newly refinished painted dresser. I think I was successful! What do you think?
Final thoughts; This paint is perfect if you want a translucent finish or you are painting a large piece of furniture and don’t want to spend the extra money on Fusion Mineral Paint Metallics or Rub n’ Buff. This paint is super affordable and covers a lot of surface area in one small can.
If you are looking for a super smooth and even finish, I wouldn’t choose this paint. It does show all different directions of brush strokes if you aren’t careful.
Fusion Mineral Paint Metallics
Fusion mineral paints are one my favorite paints made directly for furniture projects. They have a line of metallics in nine different shades that make the best gold paint options.
PROS: non toxic, water based cleanup, easy to apply, good coverage with just one coat
CONS: expensive, paint doesn’t go very far, not many color options
I recently refinished a buffet and added a few metallic gold accents with fusion mineral paint.
You can see in the detail shot above where I used a small paint brush to highlight the curves in this furniture piece.
Final thoughts; Fusion mineral paint is easy to use but fair warning; it’s not cheap. One coat of this paint will show up better than the DecoArt will, but you will end up spending a lot more money too.
This paint is the most eco friendly of all of them and has an easy cleanup.
I would choose this paint if you want to highlight certain aspects of a furniture piece or paint a gold accent on a piece of furniture. If you aren’t worried about the cost, this is a great gold paint with many different color options.
Rub n’ Buff Metallic Finishes
Rub n’ Buff is a wax metallic finish that comes in a small tube. You can apply it to virtually any surface. Even though it’s not a real paint product per se, it still creates a real gold look to any surface. I think it creates more of a liquid gold leaf paint look. This is also an awesome product to use on accessories and not just furniture.
PROS: will cover virtually any surface, good coverage with just one application
CONS: mineral spirits cleanup (not as easy as water cleanup), doesn’t go far, expensive
Normally my go to gold finish is with Rub n’ Buff. It’s kind of like gold magic in a tube. It’s great to transform small accent pieces and hardware with, but not a good option if you want to cover an entire piece of furniture.
I updated a few lamps years ago with gold Rub n’ Buff and it was so easy! I needed some gold accents in my daughters room and didn’t want to purchase new, so the Rub n’ Buff transformed them beautifully.
Final thoughts; Rub n’ Buff is a wax product that applies very easily but does not come off easily. It’s great to use on accessories and small accent pieces like lamps, fan hardware, and especially surfaces that don’t get touched a lot.
The few times I’ve used Rub n’ Buff on hardware it hasn’t held up well. I would imagine that after being touched a handful of times the wax eventually comes off. If you do use it for hardware (or a surface that gets touched), I would apply a spray sealer on the top.
Just like with the Fusion Mineral Paint, this small tube of wax would not be cost effective to cover an entire furniture piece. It should be used for small projects and highlighting different areas.
Rust-Oleum Metallic Spray Paint
Honestly, this is the best gold spray paint product I’ve found on the market. This metallic gold spray paint will cover virtually any surface. It is an oil based formula with excellent adhesion properties (great for slick surfaces). It comes in over 20 metallic colors and different finishes too. If you are looking for a more matte gold, softer gold or even a shiny finish, this spray paint has the most options.
PROS: Great coverage, adheres to any surface, even finish, affordable, lots of color options, fast drying, great for outdoor surfaces too
CONS: Toxic (oil based), cleanup with mineral spirits
My favorite gold spray paint is Rust-Oleum Pure Gold. I’ve painted countless things with it like this chair base below for a modern vintage chair makeover.
I also spray painted these hooks with it in our coastal style mudroom. The gold metallic spray paint finish has held up beautifully for over three years and going strong.
Spray paint is great for creating a smooth, even finish on any surface. You don’t have to worry about brush strokes, score!
Final thoughts; If you are looking to cover a large surface area, especially a metal or plastic material, metallic spray paint should be what you use. Spray paint gives a high quality, even and smooth finish that should last a long time.
The Rust-Oleum metallic spray paint even has rust and corrosion prevention capabilities. This is great for painting outdoor furniture. It’s also fast drying and has really good coverage. Most surfaces will require 1-2 coats.
If you are looking to transform a smaller accessory or highlight a certain area in a piece of furniture, I would NOT suggest using spray paint.
Check out more of my Paint reviews below:
Best White Paint Products for Kitchen Cabinets
Valspar Cabinet and Furniture Paint Review
Heirloom Traditions All-in-One paint review
Valspar One-Coat Exterior stain and sealer in solid review
I hope I’ve shared a little insight about my favorite metallic gold paints to use when painting furniture.
Happy painting!