Painting - painting unfinished furniture

I am painting some unfinished furniture, cheap pine, using latex interior paint. Any special tips on primers, techniques to avoid brush strokes or streaking? Any advice would be helpful.

ursa55,

To properly paint bare wood I first use carpenters wood filler to fix any imperfections, sand smooth and prime with a bare wood undercoater/primer, oil based for best results, sand lightly with 220 grit sandpaper, remove dust and paint.

To help reduce brush marks takes practice, thinning the paint a little helps (don't thin all the paint, just what you will use at a time), always paint with the grain and flow 'into' the previously applied still wet paint. By far, the best way to illiminate brush marks is to spray, I personally can tell if something has been brushed or sprayed no matter who paints it, depending on the surface(textured, rough wood will not show as much) But with practice, a person can get very good with a brush, practically hiding any brush marks.

Hope this helps, Happy Holidays :) ,

Thanks, Chip! appreciate your help and suggestions.