Chalk Paint – Where have you been all my life??!!

Over the last few decades, I have painted many, many, many things….walls, cabinets, trim, furniture, shutters, deck railing, storage shed, garage doors, exterior trim, finger nails, toe nails  🙂  ….so I am well-versed in paint, both interior and exterior. I’ve used oil based paint but my go-to is water based because it’s so easy to clean your paint brushes.

Most all of my painting projects come out good, sometimes even great!  The challenge, though, is that some of the surfaces that ‘need’ painting are tough to paint; specifically laminate furniture.  While I prefer real wood for most of my furniture pieces, it’s not always an economical option so I do have some pieces that are laminate, a couple with the faux wood look.  

Last year, I heard about Annie Sloan chalk paint and decided to repaint the wall unit in the living room which consists of two entertainment units and a coffee table that we’ve been using as a bench. I also wanted to paint a little cabinet that I use to hold wine glasses and such. Both the ‘bench and the main part of the wall unit are made of laminate; the shelving on top each of the sides was made by a friend – this was before I got comfortable using a skill saw – and that section is wood. The little cabinet is also laminate and came pre-painted white.

When I first bought the coffee table (at a thrift store) two entertainment units which together would become our ‘wall unit’, I used interior latex white paint to paint them.  I used two thin coats and it looked pretty good, except, if you were too rough with them, the paint scratched.  I wondered if the same thing would happen with the chalk paint.

There are many brands of chalk paint now but I chose to start with the one that started it all and bought Annie Sloan from a local home interior store.  The sales people there were great in helping me decide on a color combination and guided me in selecting the right tools. I knew I wanted to use a red color on the outside of the piece and thought about using a creamy color for the inside as contrast.  The sales gal asked me to bring something from home like a curtain or pillow to show her my color scheme in the room.  I took in a pillow and she suggested Primer Red and Versilles.

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A quart of the paint cost as much as I usually pay for a gallon of my Behr from Home Depot (about $35/qt)  so I really hoped it would work on the laminate!  The paintbrush, Clear wax, Dark wax & wax brush were quite an investment, so I only bought the paint, waxes, a small paint roller, and a paintbrush, choosing to buy the waxing brush at Michaels.  Although I was taken aback at the price of the paint and supplies, I quickly discovered that the old adage rang true for Annie Sloan products – ‘you get what you pay for’.  Her products are of the highest quality.  The off-brand waxing brush did end up falling apart after my chalk paint fest, so when I find inspiration to paint more things, I’ll buy an Annie Sloan waxing brush. 

From the research I did on chalk paint, one coat should cover just about any surface. Unfortunately, that didn’t hold true for the laminate wall unit or cabinet and that’s probably because I was using Red to go over White so I was forced to paint everything twice.  You know how you start a project and think ‘oh, this will be so fast and easy’ ? No? Just me? Well, that was my thought when I began this new chalk paint adventure.  To be honest, that always is  my thought when I begin a new project and it’s usually an adventure. Partway through the 2nd coat, I realized this would not be one of those super quick weekend projects so I settled into trying to enjoy the journey and not focus on the destination.

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Before painting the 2nd unit, I had to close in the back where the TV used to sit.  I found some left over bead board in the garage – two different styles. Since I was going to add a shelf in the opening, I decided to just use both – I didn’t have enough of one style for the opening anyway and didn’t want to buy more.  I used wood glue and my nail gun to attach the pieces then added trim to give it a finished look.

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Once both coats of paint were dry, it was time to apply the wax.  The instructions said I would only need a little bit and not to apply too much.  While I knew that to be true, afterall, they should know, I ended up applying too much. The reason they tell you to apply just a little is that a little goes a long way. When you use a heavy hand, like I did, it takes a LOT of elbow grease to buff the wax to the pretty sheen you are supposed to end up with.  Since I was going for an antiqued look, I first applied their Dark wax and buffed it out as best I could, considering the amount I used, then applied a top coat with their Clear wax which also needs buffed. Since I don’t take the time to exercise while in the middle of a project, I viewed all the buffing as a great way to tone the arms!

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After painting the wall unit and wine cabinet, I went on to paint a few more items…..Boy, now that I look at the list below, it appears that I was quite on a chalk paint roll !!!

• Steamer truck coffee table
• Electric fireplace
• Antique magazine rack
• Legs to an antique kitchen work table & home made table
• Downstairs bathroom vanity
• 2 file cabinets
• CD rack
• Antique wrought iron footboard
• Small bathroom cabinet
• Small shelving unit
• Occasional table

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