Chalk Paint Brick Fireplace

www.hometalk.com/diy/living-room/fireplaces-mantels/ascp-on-a-brick-fireplace-559891

Chalk paint requires a little prep but not much. First, clean your brick area and tape off where it ends, so you don't get any on your walls. Tape off any metal fixtures also. Apply your chalk paint. You will need 3-4 coats probably so paint thin . It dries quickly so don't keep brushing over where you've painted. Let it dry (about 30-60 minutes) between coats. Then use a little medium to rough grade sandpaper to distress it in a few places to add character. Sealing it can be done with the wax they sell with chalk paint or some Minwax polycrylic sealant (try on a small spot to see if you like it first --different finish than the chalk paint alone). I would probably prefer to leave it unsealed.

Application depends on the effect you want to achieve. First, what Chrissie Long said about prep is an absolute must. Prep, prep, prep! It's the key to a good paint job. Then, if you want to completely cover the brick just brush on medium coats leaving a few hours in between until you have the coverage you're looking for. If you want to have some of the original brick showing there are multiple techniques you can use, just go to youtube and type in "faux finish brick fireplace" and there are dozens of different videos and you can choose whatever technique gives the look you like the most. As for sealing I agree with Chrissie again, I wouldn't bother sealing either as wax could get soft with the heat from the fireplace and polycrylic would make it a far worse pain in the butt to change up again later.

Don't necessarily need sand paper you could use a wet cloth to wipe in between painting the brick if you want that distressed look.