my chalk paint experience

Apr 15, 2018

Sure wish I had a better photo to share of my recent project, but this is as good as it gets…

chalk paint experience

After a divorce about (oh my gosh!) 30 years ago, I came home to find I had nothing. (PSA: If you get a divorce, don’t tell the spouse/ex-spouse to get their stuff while you’re at work because they might think EVERYTHING is their stuff.)  My clothes were removed from drawers and thrown on the floor and I had no bed.  First stop was Wal-mart for plates, silverware and food. He took every single lightbulb and roll of toilet paper in the house — along with cleaning out every food item — so furniture wasn’t a priority. That was until I slept on the floor a few nights — THEN it was a priority.

The only item I still have from that required bedroom furniture shopping spree is the dresser pictured above (before and after chalk paint). I almost set it out for trash pick-up last week, but instead, it underwent rehab.

  • When people say you don’t have to sand before painting furniture, they aren’t lying.
  • When paint boasts “one coat coverage,” THAT is a lie.

Annie Sloan paint is supposed to be the best out there and Magnolia has some extraordinarily expensive options in a ton of colors I love. Neither sold locally, I opted for whatever Home Depot carried for paint and wax. I chose gray because they don’t sell any of the fancy colors or names and I didn’t want to wait… my options were gray or white.

I found the wax used is by far what’s most important, and the Home Depot version is really, really bad. It was the consistency of hand lotion (sort of runny), and left a yellowing that I had to sand off. Again, I thought about Annie Sloan and Magnolia — but opted instead to put my Amazon Prime membership to use and ordered a brand I’d never heard of, Renaissance.  This stuff is like car wax… a paste… and it is amazing! Brush it on and buff it off. I did 2 coats.

I ordered the hardware from Wayfair. Not terribly expensive and I like the look — even though Ben says the handles look like mustaches.

If not for the first wax mishap, rehabbing this piece took only a few hours time, and the cost was less than $100 bucks with enough paint and wax leftover to do another dresser and mirror. Totally worth it.