TIPS FOR USING Chalk Paint® by Annie Sloan
This is a sponsored post by Annie Sloan-Unfolded. All opinions 100%on my own.
Have you heard of Chalk Paint® before? I have, and I couldn’t wait to try Chalk Paint® myself. I decided to try it on a modern piece of furniture. I had a coffee table that I purchased last year at a local thrift store. I bought it because I loved the modern lines of this coffee table, but I was never crazy about its color. It also had some wear that wasn’t pretty. When you hear about Chalk Paint® you think of distressed, farmhouse furniture, right? Or at least that was the first thing that came to my mind. I love farmhouse look and distressed furniture, but I don’t have a farmhouse style home. After watching Annie’s video on how to paint modern furniture with Chalk Paint®, I got super excited, and I could not wait to try.
So before I start to talk about my painting process, I want you to take a quick peek of this piece of furniture that I transformed. Ehhh… pretty ugly. If I look at the before and after now, I am shocked how different it is. It’s seriously amazing what a little paint can do:-)
Let’s dive into it..
WHAT I USED:
- Chalk Paint® by Annie Sloan – PURE WHITE
- Soft Wax by Annie Sloan
- Flat Brush by Annie Sloan
- Round Bush by Annie Sloan ( OPTIONAL)
- Painters tape
- Water
1.PREP YOUR WORK SURFACE
I picked a beautiful day to paint my table so I was able to work outside in my garage. Before you start painting be sure to cover your area where you are going to work as paint can be messy.
2.CLEAN YOUR FURNITURE
I cleaned my furniture with a wet cloth to make sure the dust and dirt were removed before I applied my first coat of paint. The best thing about Chalk Paint® is that you don’t need to sand your furniture before applying the paint on. Chalk Paint® sticks to any surfaces. How cool is that, right? It saves you so much time! So wit that said, I did not sand my table but I only removed dust and dirt.
3. APPLY THE FIRST COAT LIKE A PRO
My initial idea was to cover the table entirely with white paint. Then I set there and decided to leave the cubby and the legs with the original color. I love two toned types of furniture and in my head this table looked super fresh and stylish being two toned. I taped off the legs of the table and the cubby with painters tape, and then I applied my first coat of paint with nice and smooth brush strokes. I went lengthwise on the top of the table, trying to cover the whole table top with one brush stroke. Be sure to paint with light movements. If you push the brush too hard, you will apply too much paint on spots.
Here is a close up of the table after the first coat. Yes, there was some brushstrokes visible but it was OK.
Chalk Paint® by Annie Sloan is a water-based paint, so it’s fine to add a little bit of water to thin the paint. After applying the first coat, I sanded the surface just a tiny bit and went on with the second layer. As I said, I thinned the paint with water a bit before, and I applied it on the top of the first coat. You can go for the 3rd and 4th coat if needed. My table looked great with two layers.
4. APPLY CLEAR WAX
Waxing the furniture is the last step. Why is it important? The wax will protect the surface. Knowing that this coffee table will be in use, there will be cups and items sitting on the top of the table, waxing was crucial. I used Annie Sloan’s clear wax to seal the paint. Annie Sloan has a brush that she designed to apply wax to the surface, but I used an ol’ rug to cover my table with the wax. You only want to use a small amount of wax and work it into the paint beautifully. Don’t get scared when you go on with your wax. It will show a little darker color on your furniture first, but it’s OK:-)
5.CLEAN YOUR TOOLS
Cleaning your brushes right after the job is done is super important. If you leave your brush on the side for hours, it will dry, and it’s much harder to clean the brush later. Clean your brushes right away with warm water so you can use them for your next painting project as well.
6.STYLE YOUR FINISHED PROJECT
Oh, I am all about styling:-) I could not wait to move this lovely coffee table inside and work my magic. I added small decorative items to show off this gorgeous modern piece.
So what to you think! Yay or nay! I am in total Awe of how it turned out.
If you got inspired to try to paint your furniture with Chalk Paint® be sure to have fun with it! If you finish your project before September 30th, upload your project to the interactive gallery to win some awesome prizes.
Have you perhaps used Chalk Paint® by Annie Sloan on modern furniture before? I would love to hear your experience with it!
Cheers for a great day!
Aniko
I liked you on Facebook.
Gorgeous Aniko, as always!
Thanks for visiting, Katie! Have a great week!
Thank you Aniko – I want to use chalk paint on my bedroom furniture and this is so helpful.
Have a great weekend
Rose
Let me know how you like it! All my best:-)