Y’all know I like to keep it real over here, so I’m going to tell you a story before diving in to my latest DIY reveal. At the shop I work at, people were always coming in asking if we sold Annie Sloan chalk paint. I was so confused by this question and whenever they would start explaining what chalk paint was, I would get even more confused. Mainly why people would use chalk paint on all of their furniture. In my mind, I was picturing chalkboard paint.
I finally asked a friend about it after I saw her post an Instagram confessing her love for AS chalk paint. She explained it wasn’t chalkboard paint, but rather a paint that doesn’t require priming, sanding, or prep needed other than just wiping down the furniture. This peaked my interest because of my ladder back chairs. These chairs have been in my family for a long time, and they’ve seen their fair share of paint and dents. After moving into our house, I scraped off as much of that paint as I could, sanded them, and repainted them. It took one day before they were all dinged up. I thought, if this paint was really that great, then these chairs will be no problem.
Here’s how it went:
Can y’all see all the white marks? This is before I took the bottoms out and wiped them down.
Step one was taking the seats off. I was shocked at how well the paint had held up under the seats. I’m not exaggerating when I tell you that these chairs chipped so easy.
I used Dawn to wipe down my chairs, which is my go-to for a lot of my cleaning. You can also really see a lot of the chips in the chairs in this picture, too.
This spot on the back of the chair was one of the worst parts of the chairs. Look at what happened after one coat of paint.
I was pretty impressed.
My painting technique was pretty basic. I didn’t use a ton of paint on my brush and I painted back and forth, but always fnished brushing with the grain of the wood.
After one coat of paint, some of the white was still visible, but this was definitely easier than the last time I painted these bad boys.
After painting another coat of paint on the chairs, I let them dry for 48 hours. I’m not sure if you’re supposed to wait that long, but I did. Then, I used soft wax and a wax brush to seal the chairs. This was a pretty scary part for me, but it was so easy. However, my rookie mistake was using too much wax.
The wax is a weird texture. It’s almost like Crisco, but it goes on the chair sort of chunky (I tried to get close enough with this image for you to see it on the chair.) Then, use a cloth or an old t-shirt and rub it in. This is when I figured out I used too much. My chairs are still pretty waxy after almost a week. However, when I asked at the shop I bought it from, they told me it can take up to a month to set in. Local folks, I get my paint from Two Old Birds.
Okay, so that’s it. Annie Sloan Chalk Paint is all that it’s cracked up to be, and more. I am addicted. A project that literally took me three days took me 3 1/2 hours. The waxing part was similar to the polyurethane took less time and was less of a headache. The only “issue” I encountered was a user error. I was amazed at how fast the paint dries, how easy the wax was to apply, and how the chairs look.
Here’s what they look like now that there are no more white marks all over them.
And my chair that I used as my “worst” example? The white is completely gone and, while it is still raised, it’s not nearly as noticable. I can’t rave about this enough.
I have another few projects coming up where I’m using different colors, so stay tuned!
Have you ever used Annie Sloan Chalk Paint?
They look so good! I love chalk paint – you just can't go wrong with it! xo, Biana –BlovedBoston
They turned out so great, I love the color!! I keep hearing great things about this paint – I'll have to check it out!
They turned out amazing! I totally had no idea there was a difference between chalk paint and chalkboard paint! Whoops!
<3, Pamela
Sequins & Sea Breezes
My sister is OBSESSED with this paint! She uses it on everything! I've never used it before but if I ever have something I need to paint, I will for sure be using it. Chairs look amazing!!
Those turned out beautifully! I didn't really understand the beauty/simplicity of chalk paint either – so glad you explained it to all of us beginner DIYers.
They look awesome!! My friend swears by chalk paint for all of the furniture she redoes and it always looks great! I've been looking for an older dresser to try this technique with!
They look great! I totally thought it was some kind of chalkboard paint too. haha. I'm going to have to try it out!
I keep seeing Annie Sloan Chalkboard paint EVERYWHERE! I'm glad that it worked out so well for you! We recently just redid our kitchen cabinets- so much work, but it looks awesome!
Turned out great!
I want to paint everything in my house & the hubs refuses to give me a paint brush.
I never knew such a thing existed. It sounds great!
Oh how cool!! I am all about ease. Great post!
xo,
Sara Kate Styling
Love the color you chose for your chairs. You did a great job!
I must look into this chalk paint! I hate doing all of the prep work with painting and never really do it and it's really important to do so
liz @ sundays with sophie
I had no idea there was a difference between chalkboard paint and chalk paint! It looks great!
I haven't ever heard of this! I thought it was chalkboard paint too when you first said the name hahaha. It sounds amazing though, and your chairs turned out so great!
xo,
Angela
Love how these chairs turned out – beautiful <3
They came out great. I haven't used that paint before but I will try it out. The wax would be scary to me too.