How to Chalk Paint Vintage Furniture

Megan
by Megan
5 Materials
$25
3 Hours
Medium

I promise you can make your vintage furniture look beautiful! Whether you found your vintage furniture at a garage sale, flea market or it is a family heirloom it is possible to bring it back to life with furniture paint!

French Provincial chest before

Begin with a clean surface. Lightly wipe any dust or debris from your vintage furniture. (I also had to lightly sand the edges of this piece where the paint was coming off.)Once surface is clean you are ready to paint! I applied a thin coat of Jolie Moroccan Clay to the top drawer to add highlights. I let the Moroccan Clay dry and then began to paint the entire piece in Dixie Belle Cotton.

Dixie Belle Cotton

I used a mist bottle to help blend the two paint colors together. I wanted them to look almost as if they were one. PRO TIP: After your first coat of paint as dried spray the mist bottle to help blend the first coat in with the second coat. (This is great for getting out brush marks. :))

Applying Dixie Belle Cotton

Once your first coat of paint has dried you are ready to apply a second coat of paint. Apply second coat in even thin layers. Using the spray bottle when necessary to remove brush marks (this will help soften up the paint and will make it easy to blend out any brush marks). You will need 2-3 coats of paint. Dixie Belle Cotton dries pretty fast. I recommend letting it sit for about 45 minutes to an hour depending on the weather. Once dry you are ready to seal your vintage furniture.I used Jolie Wax. I applied the wax with a wax brush being sure to not over work the wax. You do not want the wax to become rubbery (if wax becomes rubbery you know you have rubbed it in too much). PRO TIP: Wipe off excess wax with shop towels. Lightly buff with shop towels to create a shine. 

close up of painted vintage furniture

After your vintage furniture is sealed it is complete! Great job!Have you painted vintage furniture before? If so, how did you like it? What color did you paint your furniture? I am always curious! Leave a comment below!

Resources for this project:
See all materials
Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.
Hometalk may collect a small share of sales from the links on this page.More info
Megan
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
Go
Frequently asked questions
Have a question about this project?
  1 question
  • Cindy Rubin Cindy Rubin on Sep 21, 2019

    I'm just starting to learn about chalk paint... it looks fantastic and everyone makes it sound so easy to use. I'm struggling with it. Dries to fast... is the big round brush necessary? How do I get in all the creases and the curves on spindles?

    Almost ready to give up on it... so expensive too!


    I found it impossible not to have brush marks but will now try your spritzing technique

Comments
Join the conversation
4 of 18 comments
  • Val Val on Sep 20, 2019

    So beautiful, wonderful job.

    • Megan Megan on Sep 20, 2019

      Thank you so much! Glad you like it. :)

  • Maureen Maureen on Nov 18, 2019

    Beautiful makeover!! The dresser looks awesome. I've made my own chalk paint with plaster of Paris & paint that I already had.

    • Megan Megan on Nov 20, 2019

      Thank you!! Oh that's awesome! How was making your own paint? Did it go well? I bet your project turned out beautiful!

Next