Chalk Paint: a “how to guide” with tips, tricks, before and afters

 

Adventures in Chalk Paint – After so many years of wear and tear on the bathroom cabinets, it was time to do something.  I had experimented with the girl’s bathroom cabinets and it wasn’t great.  Regular paint is hard to get smooth, especially if you’re using a brush. I decided to give chalk paint a try, which I had heard was a great alternative for cabinets and furniture.  The main benefit of this method is that you do not have to sand the surface prior to painting.

Steps to follow:

1.)  Decide on color of chalk paint and style (two tone vintage looks are an option, all  my pictures are one color with no antiquing)

2.)  Also, consider if you will paint the inside of your drawers or use contact paper.  Contact paper has come a long way, some brands are very durable and really stay in place.  I bought this at Home Depot for around $6/per roll.

3.)  Chalk paint is very forgiving, meaning it doesn’t leave a lot of brush strokes but you do need to watch out for drips – so take your time and apply thinner coats that will not drip.  If you do get any drips, they can be easily sanded off and repainted.

4.)  I applied two coats chalk paint and two coats of the wax for extra protection from chipping.  Be careful with the cabinets prior to getting the wax on, because they will chip fairly easy.

 

A few additional items…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After several years, all of the cabinets and furniture that I’ve painted with chalk paint has held up very well and has very few chips.  Here are a few other examples where I’ve used chalk paint.