How to chalk paint furniture
by
Cheri
+11
I have an old hutch that I would love to redo. I love the chalk paint look. How hard is that to do?
8 answers
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No hard. You can buy your chalk paint or make it yourself. Wipe you hutch down good and get all dust and smears off of it. If there is glass in your piece tape it off with paint tape. Put 1 like coat of you paint on the piece and don't worry about paint stroke directions or making it perfect. Just slap that 1st very light coat on and let it dry over night. after completely drive apply your finally coat and let dry overnight. If you desire to distress it do so with light strokes of sand paper on places that would normally ware in long time use. After getting distressing to you liking apply a light coat of clear or tinted wax to produce the look you are after. The wax will take a few days to cure out. You can use Johnson&johnson paste wax, minwax or clear or tinted wax from your craft store. It will be beautiful when you finish.
Judy Ragsdill
on Dec 22, 2014
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Chalk painting is easy. It's important to thoroughly stir the paint since the solids in it will have sunk to the bottom of the can while in storage. Clean your piece well with a de-glosser (best option, found in the paint dept) or any cleaner safe for wood. Once dry, tape off any areas you need to protect and apply the chalk paint as you would a primer with light, even strokes. While you don't have to be perfect you will get a better result if you take a little time to make sure you don't have any runs. The first coat will likely be dry in a few hours unless it's very humid. You now have a few options, depending on what you want your piece to look like. You can brush the next coat on haphazardly for a rougher look or you can paint conventionally, moving your brush with the wood grain in long, even strokes. Some people do a combination of these methods and there is no 'right' way, there is only 'your' way. You can experiment with the look you want. Once the second coat is dry take a good look at your project and fix any issues you aren't happy with. You may need to add a third coat depending on the coverage you need as some paint colors cover better than others. When the piece has dried overnight you can sand any areas you want to age, then protect it with wax (clear and/or dark) or my favorite, General Finishes High Performance topcoat in their Flat finish. It will give a low lustre to your piece, does not need to be renewed, and is easier than dealing with wax application. If you use the topcoat apply the first coat and when dry, lightly sand with 400 grit sandpaper before applying the second coat. This will give you a butter-soft finish, even smoother than wax. If you do decide on using wax and you're intrigued with dark wax make sure that you apply a coat of clear wax first. This is essential as the dark wax will glop and stain your new paint without the slick surface the clear wax will provide. Each coat of wax needs to be applied and then thoroughly buffed. It's an arm workout. :) I hope this helps. I love chalk paint but as with anything, the care you take in your application will affect the final result. Best of luck to you!
MaryStLouis
on Dec 22, 2014
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I've painted a lot of my older furniture with the chalk paint and I love it. FYI I did not like the Anne Sloan paint that much and switched to the Vintage Market and Design paint and I like that much better.
Janice
on Dec 22, 2014
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Not hard. If I can do it anyone can do it.!
Diana Wright
on Dec 22, 2014
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Do you need to sand down old paint?
Milknhoneycreations
on Dec 23, 2014
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There is a lot of debate about to sand or not to sand. I either sand or prime. If the piece has any laminate or veneer surfaces, I would prime it with zinnser 123 primer. You can buy that at Lowes or probably walmart. I make my own chalk paint using 2 tablespoons of plaster of paris to one cup or flat latex paint. You can buy the samples to go at Sherwin Williams for around $6.00. There are lots of recipes online for making your own chalk paint. It's pretty simple to paint, remove all hardware, clean well, sand or prime and then a couple of coats of paint, then wax or poly for your finish.
Liz Stevens
on Dec 23, 2014
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I have tried all the recipes for chalk paint. My favorite by far is two parts paint to one part calcium carbonate. I bought the calcium carbonate off Amazon. Check the prices, some are too expensive. There are cheaper suppliers on Amazon. I also like to use polyacrylic on pieces for inside the house, as a finish. There are several videos on Youtube to help.
Jacque
on Dec 23, 2014
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My daughter just repainted her husband's old 70s dresser with white chalk paint to use as a changing table/tabletop/clothes storage for their new baby. She was pregnant, I was undergoing chemo for breast cancer; so we purchased premixed CeCe Caldwell's from a local store. We would possibly try mixing our own at a different time. It was super easy. Cleaned surface, but did no sanding. The paint goes a long way & covers really good! Thought about leaving the top natural, but not nice enough so painted it all. To tie in with other colors she painted knobs/handles white & highlighted with acrylics & added pink crystal to middle door. Painted the fronts of inner drawers but then covered with black & white tissue paper to make them pop. have a little touch up & top coat [not wax] but, baby came about 10 days earlier than predicted & we had to move fast. We absolutely love the look, the ease of use with just directions from the salesperson & online, & can't wait to try another piece. Wish I had known of this option 38 years ago when I repainted a wardrobe for my daughter. Everybody needs to try this at least once on something just because it is so easy.
Linda Jowers
on Dec 24, 2014
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