Well, a few years back, I painted the frame of my bed. I had to sand all the finish off, and then it took quite a few coats, because the wood just sucked all the paint up like a sponge. I suggest getting some people to help you unless you wanna make it a week-long project like I did. As for brushes, I used a regular rolling brush for the flat surfaces, and a couple of smaller paintbrushes to get the hard-to-reach areas. Good luck!