Go to youtube and search refinishing furniture. You will have to sand the pieces really good to take the finish off it so paint will adhere to it.

Chalk paint -- excellent idea!

http://www.remodelandolacasa.com/2013/04/my-first-experience-with-chalk-paint.html
Look here! I just looked at this last night .

Yes, I would recommend polyurethane with chalk paint too, rather than the Annie Sloane wax.

@deb3667 -- excellent link. Thanks!

Chalk paint, poly acrylic because it doesn't yellow

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/dated-dining-room-help-dsvw-vd~1132972

Here's another chalk paint project just completed for a friend.

Scroll down the page a little to see pics.

By which means did you try to sell this 1920's dining room set?
i am curious, I hope you don't mind my asking/

I'm wondering the same thing Ann Dee is. If this is from the 1920s and is in as good shape as it appears in the photo, it would be a shame to ruin it with chalk paint. It's a beautiful set. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for chalk painting over beat up or cheap imported furniture, but not this.

Sorry, should have been anne dee.

Anne Dee and Depo SD, we tried Craig's list and 2 local estate appraisers. We were told the resale market for expensive furniture is very limited right now. We had it listed on and off for two years for a lower price than what it was appraised for. We figured it's better to keep a nice set and paint it rather than sell it for dirt cheap and then buy something inferior.

I agree with Depo Sd. It's a beautiful Art Nouveau set, don't paint it. I guess you live in the US otherwise I would have bought it.
These items are rare here in Europe; so many things were destroyed in WW2 or used as firewood. Seriously, try to contact a museum or auction. You can always paint it when you're still stuck with it.

So far, so good with the project. It just might take a while...

I know that I am not answering your specific question here, but as someone who has tried taking OFF paint from what had been gorgeous period furniture in the past, with varying degrees of luck (although I DID rescue an amazing dining room suite from the late 1940s that had been painted in the "French Provincial" style and it's now an extraordinary looking "traditional" deep cherry; done by a professional furniture refinisher. But now I LOVE it vs. putting up with it for the first 15 years after being given it by its original owners!), I am BEGGING you to NOT paint this! It is AMAZING looking and I am POSITIVE that there are people out there who would LOVE to buy it from you, AS IS; even a collector of this period furniture that would give you enough to then buy another suite, with a LOT less design integrity, that you could then refinish OR it would be exactly what YOU envision and want for YOUR space!! Another person's trash.......... and all that ;-)!! PLEASE reconsider trying to sell it again! ARE you in the USA? If so, what region?? THANKS!

SORRY; I only NOW see that I am too late in my convincing you to reconsider painting over the Art Deco pieces! Well, now that you have started the project I wish you well! As I said in my first post , the refinishing job that I had done on my suite (petite size 2 piece breakfront, side buffet, oval table with one leaf, two armchairs and four side chairs) came out breathtakingly beautiful (I also removed the six seat cushions and had them professionally reupholstered). As I also said, I had it all done by a local professional after first attempting to do it myself but realizing that it was WAY more than I was capable of handling! But, it's one of the most extraordinary pieces of furniture now in our home and the craftsmanship evident in the pieces is so far superior to anything that we could have found to buy new today, that there's NO regret now in my decision to refinish. However, as I'd said, we were sorta doing the reverse of your plan; taking furniture that had been painted in the then popular French Provincial "style" of the late 1940s-early 1960s and turning it into a more traditional, classic look of rich, deep cherry. But my kids, after growing up with this dining room furniture, came into the house to visit after it had been delivered post-project, wanting to know where the "beautiful, new dining room has come from?". So, a great job will make your enjoyment all the more richer. I just wish I had seen your post a lot earlier ;-)! Good luck!

hopsprings, we are in Maryland, outside of Washington, DC. It's taken us years to finally decide to paint this set and are doing so only because we were unable to sell it. Though it may not seem like it, we do value the integrity of the original pieces and did not take lightly our decision to paint the set. Thanks for your input.

My friend had the same problem with her dining room set before we painted it.
Couldn't sell it for love nor money - so decided to keep and paint.