Lucy Collins
If you’ve been debating painting furniture and you’ve spent any time browsing DIY blogs or Pinterest, then you’ve likely heard of Chalk Paint®, one of the most popular paints worldwide for creating beautiful finishes on furniture, decor – even walls and floors. In full disclosure: I am not an Annie Sloan Chalk Paint retailer, nor have I been professionally trained.
For specific questions related to your unique situation, I recommend contacting your local Chalk Paint stockist where they can give you one-on-one advice and you can take hands-on classes.
And in case you were wondering, I don’t use ASCP exclusively – but I talk about it so much that some may refer to me as “one of those crazy Chalk Painters!”. I have been using it since 2013 (see the first project I used it on Here if you want to giggle at my photos) on most of my furniture makeovers (and in 24 of the 25 projects in my published book Amazing Furniture Makeovers), but there are a few other brands that I’ve tried and do like to use occasionally. Finally, this post contains some affiliate links so you can easily find the products I use and recommend.
Learn about all my favorite DIY products and tools for doing furniture makeovers Here. Annie Sloan developed the recipe in 1990 and named it Chalk Paint because of it’s soft, matte (chalky) finish.
In recent years, many other companies have created their own “chalk-finish” paint lines.
Chalk Paint is low prep, nontoxic, easy to cleanup, and works very well with the lightly distressed vintage/farmhouse style decor that is so popular.
Annie Sloan’s Chalk Paint colors and techniques are inspired by Europe and places she’s visited in her worldwide travels, so it also works well for creating timeless, worldly finishes on furniture. If you’re planning to flip furniture for profit, you want to use the most highly-rated products so that your work lasts for years.
Sometimes people ask “Is Chalk Paint really no prep?” And the answer isn’t always simple. (Read this post to learn all about how to prep furniture for painting like a pro.) Lightly sand surfaces by hand to smooth bumps and so the paint sticks better.
Apply shellac primer: To avoid bleed through on very dark, red, or orange surfaces (mahogany, cherry, maple, dark stain) – probably not necessary if using a dark paint color On very shiny pieces, after lightly sanding To cover wood knots or damaged areas such as water rings Over ink stains or markers To contain odors Almost any time you’re going to paint wood white You can search and find worldwide retailers for Annie Sloan products Here – buy in person or order online. To clean chalk painted furniture, lightly buff with a damp microfiber cloth.
Use heat pads and coasters to protect from hot temperatures and water. If you use Annie Sloan’s wax as a topcoat, it may need to be reapplied every so often for high-usage surfaces. Chalk Paint adheres really well to masonry like brick, concrete, stone, etc. However I’ve spilled some drops on my kitchen floor, in my hair, on my hands, arms, etc.
Paint brushes also clean up quickly with just soap and water. You can also use the four different waxes (clear, white, dark/brown, black) to create stunning finishes.
Learn more about some of the Chalk Paint colors and see examples here: Pure White I’ve heard that some people like to use really cheap chip brushes, but in my experience those lose a ton of bristles and just make me really frustrated. Once you’ve found your piece and any necessary prep work is finished, choose your Chalk Paint color(s) and grab a brush!
You may want to put down cardboard or a drop cloth under the furniture in case you’re a messy painter (like me). You can use sandpaper to smooth the finish and distress it once the paint is dry. This will help minimize the texture and make your furniture more smooth and soft to the touch.
Also, after you’ve waxed your piece and let it dry (read more about that below), buffing it with a lint-free cloth is another way to make it feel softer. Wax helps protect your refinished furniture and add durability.
Some other topcoats bring out the natural tannins in wood and you may end up with yellow, orange, or pink eventually peeking through your painted furniture. There are four different “colors” of waxes: clear, white, dark (brown), and black.
Clear is most commonly used because it gives a crisp look close to your freshly painted piece (but with a more saturated hue). I also have clean lint-free cloths nearby to wipe away excess wax.
Work in small sections, brushing it on and then wiping away the excess with a lint-free cloth. If you don’t use the clear first, you won’t have that flexibility to control the final look of the colored wax. After each coat dries you can buff the surface with a lint-free cloth to get a slight shine and smoothness.
Wax takes up to 30 days to fully cure, so be careful with the piece for the first month or so. High-traffic pieces like dining tables will need to have wax reapplied every so often whenever the finish begins to wear down. (Dining tables and kitchen cabinets are two places where you might want to consider using a different topcoat meant for high-traffic areas.)
Lastly, don’t apply wax to outdoor pieces or anything that will be near extreme temperatures or weather. It might help to watch a video on How to Apply Wax Over Chalk Paint or visit your local Annie Sloan Chalk Paint retailer to get some one-on-one instruction.
You can use wax as a topcoat, but since kitchens are very high traffic you might want to use a different heavy duty sealer that you won’t need to reapply every few years. I’ve found that if the can is mostly empty and I don’t put the lid back on properly, I may not be able to save that last bottom inch of paint no matter how much water I add.
Milk paint often comes in powder form and you need to add water and mix it yourself. Learn more in this post: French Provincial Dresser Makeover with Fusion Mineral Paint
I included an in-depth tutorial in my book Amazing Furniture Makeovers about how to get a faux stain look with Chalk Paint. For the farmhouse-style bench makeover below I used Old Ochre and heavy distressing for a weathered wood finish. Can I use Chalk Paint to achieve a faux industrial metal finish? Read through the steps and see more closeup photos by visiting the linked tutorial below. *You can also learn tons of tips and techniques for how to prep, repair, customize, and paint furniture in my book Amazing Furniture Makeovers: Easy DIY Projects to Transform Thrifted Finds into Beautiful Custom Pieces.
