Quote:
Originally Posted by FETCHER.
I have acquired 2 bedside tables that I’m going to paint and do up 
One has a chip on the top surface and is a looks like it’s a little bit swollen from a bit of water damage, is there anything I can do to fix that? I feel like sanding it down would make it worse. |
If something pokes up, break off or sand down so it's removed. You now have a hole or dent which you put filler in. You let that sit until it's dried, which will make the filler shrink a little so you now have a new dent. Put more filler in, don't mind so much if you get the tiniest of bumps. Let dry.
Get some fine sand paper and roughen the texture of the table a little so the paint will stick. If the filler bumps up, sand that down too while you're at it so table surface is even.
Paint with a small roller. Let dry, coarsen with fine sand paper, remove paint dust and then paint a second layer. Possibly also a third time. You're done!
Edit:
It doesn't matter much since you'll paint it, but you can get fillers that have the hue and colour of various types of wood. Typically, they're used to fix holes in wooden floors.