If there are chips or rough spots, you’ll want to use wood filler and sandpaper or a sanding block to smooth those out before painting on the faux stain.
Paint the piece of furniture completely in a base coat with the lightest paint color. I used the Behr enamel paint and only had to do 1 coat to cover the previously blue chair.
Once you’ve got it to your desired result then finish it off with a protective coat. Since my pieces were staying outside I used an outdoor polyurethane – clear spar urethane in satin.