How Baking Soda Can Change the Way You Paint—in Just 5 Minutes
$4
5 Minutes
Easy
Chalk paint is super trendy (still!) because it quickly gives your surface an aged, matte look that is easily distressed. But, oh boy, can it get super pricey! I've got the perfect 3 ingredient hack for turning any house paint into chalk paint in 5 minutes.
First, you'll need baking soda. This recipe will make a little over 1 cup of paint. For a quart of paint, quadruple the amount, but remember that it dries out quickly.
Mix 1/2 cup of baking soda with 1 cup of latex paint. Make sure to mix it well—you’ll need the consistency that my mixture had in the video. Lastly, add a few tbs of cold water.
Mix your ingredient until they create a thin, non-grainy texture. It takes a bit of time to dissolve all the baking soda, but, as you can see in the video, once it’s dissolved it will look just like the chalk paint you buy in stores.
This one cup of paint was more than enough to paint my end table and coffee table. I’m loving how genuinely chalky they look (and how little I spent)!
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Comments
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4 of 58 comments
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Yes I’ll be trying it Greg School’s way. Sounds faster, easier and less damage to the dried paint.
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WOW! I was ready to go paint and I kept reading these comments. Now I'm just baffled. Several other tutorials don't require the paint to be flat. They also don't add water. Their paint is much thicker than yours. I'm just going to do what my gut tells me!
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Thank you Greg! Your encouraging comment made me realize that I need to find one source and stay with that source and stop surfing the web! I appreciate your experience, your honesty and your willingness to share. So I'm sticking with you! I painted my first piece with the homemade chalk paint and it's beautiful!! STOP ME! I'm going to chalk paint everything! Thanks Greg!
Frequently asked questions
Have a question about this project?
I wish someone would detail the process of mixing and pouring paint for projects. It would be so helpful to see. Like do you mix entire can every time? Then how do you pour it without making a mess and it getting in the edges? Does everyone wear gloves? they are ubiquitous now so maybe but I still get paint all over. Do you wear an apron? Put down newspapers or dropcloth?
How long does it take to dry?
Can you clean this later by wiping with a damp cloth?