My Chalk Paint Experiment

I keep reading about chalk paint, and seeing these amazing furniture redos using it.  It is pretty hard to find, since it's pricey and at this point, most paint vendors don't seem interested in carrying it.  I found a few "recipes" online for making your own, and I decided to try it out.  Some of the additives used are plaster of paris, baking soda, and calcium carbonate, which is actually chalk.  After reading some reviews, I decided to order some calcium carbonate, getting a one-pound bag on Amazon for less than ten bucks.  I found this gallon of paint at Home Depot for $7.  It was a "mistint"--something a customer asked to have mixed, then changed their mind.  You can usually find these at any store that sells paint, and it's always really cheap.  They just want to get rid of it.  I was planning to get a charcoal or slate gray, so finding this was just incredible.  

I have a vintage (mid-century) wood slat bench that is in good shape with some nicks, and most of the varnish worn off from sitting.  I've been trying to sell it, but no takers, so since I'm going to be keeping it, I decided to do something with it.  

I read on another blog that the ratio of paint to cc is 2:1, so I went with that.  My 16 oz of cc was weight rather than volume, so I improvised again.  I do that a lot.  I dumped the whole bag into a bucket and I figured that with a gallon of paint, being four quarts, I would pour my estimate of 1/4 of the can of paint into my bucket.  

After reading another blog, I realized that I probably had too much
chalk in my chalk paint.  Lesson learned. 

I poured the paint in without measuring.  I think I'll add a little
water to the leftovers. It's too thick, especially since it dries
so quickly.


Mixing was a little tough.  I kind of wanted to put more paint in because I felt it was a little too thick, but I didn't want to end up with half a gallon of leftover paint, so I went with what I had.  I tried the "100 strokes" method I use for cake batter, but it didn't seem to help much.  

A little, but not a lot.  I hoped that I could brush out the lumps with the paintbrush.  It ended up going on smoothly and the lumps were basically nonexistent.   I knew it!  The biggest claims for chalk paint are that it goes on smoothly, covers everything, dries quickly and doesn't need a second coat.  I found all to be true.  Lazy me, I didn't even clean the piece first. 




I started with the bottom so that I didn't have to turn it over on it's top once it was dry.  I only did one coat on the bottom, and really only needed one coat on the top, but I did two anyway.  By the time I got to about halfway through the second coat, the brush was saturated and heavy.  I rinsed it out before going on to finish the rest of the top. 

I still need to take a smaller brush to the areas in between.  Also, a product called wax which seems to be a lot like car wax, needs to be applied.  The finish of the chalk paint, especially in this color, is almost too matte.  It's rich, but very dry/dusty.  I'm guessing that the matte quality of the paint finish is perfect for the wax application, which is designed to penetrate the surface.  After allowing it to sit overnight, you buff it, just like you would your car.  This gives it a deep lustre and also makes it very water resistant.  At least that is what I read.  I also read that it's very expensive and easy to mess up.  I have to think about that.  Of course I can always paint on some polyurethane, but I really wanted to try the wax.  Something about rubbing it into the wood, rather than painting something on top of it, not to mention the absence of that varnish smell, is really appealing to me.  

One coat looks like it will do the job, but I'm going for two!

It dried quickly and smoothly.  No lumps, and no uneven finish even
though the bench had varying degrees of varnish on it. Some areas were
smooth and some were shiny.  They all looked the same in the end.

 I ended up with leftovers--three jars of what looks like mud.  The color wasn't what I expected and it really is the color of mud. But, I can work with pretty much anything.  I was toying with the idea of stenciling something on top of this piece and now, with the color being what it is, I am definitely going for some kind of adornment to break up the bland.  I hope to post pics of the finished product by the end of the week.  I've got a lot to do for the next few days, so I know I won't get back to it until then.



















It's looking good!  I think...I can't wait until it's finished!