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Chalk Painting for the Beginner

May 3, 2019 by Elizabeth 15 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. This means I may make a small commission from a sale used through a link in my blog. Please visit my Privacy Policy and Disclosure page to find out more.

Chalk painting is loads of fun! In fact, if you’re new to painting, chalk paint is one of the best paints to “start” with as it’s very forgiving, requires little prep work and is fairly easy to fix if you make a mistake.

However, there are still a few important steps you should take if you’re considering painting your first piece. There is no time like the present. If you’ve decided that there is a piece of furniture you know would look better painted, you might as well try it out.

Finding the Right Piece

As a newbie painter, I would suggest being a bit careful when picking out your first chalk painted masterpiece. Look for a piece of furniture that will be easy to paint, that way you’ll get the hang of painting before you take on any projects too big. You’ll want something that doesn’t have too many drawers, or pieces you need to take apart.

Related: How to Pick Out Furniture to Chalk Paint

The piece I chose was this gorgeous rocking chair. This is great starter piece because it doesn’t have any parts that need to be removed, sanded, stained or disassembled.

Rocking Chair Chalk Paint

Prepping your Furniture

What You’ll Need:

  • Mild soap and water
  • Wash cloth

Before you begin painting, you’ll need to do some prep work. When you’re chalk painting, the prep work is easy. All you have to do is wash your furniture down with mild soap and water. Allow the piece to air-dry

If you have any areas that need wood filler or parts of the furniture that are chipping or peeling, you’ll need to address that before painting. Hopefully, you picked a piece that won’t require that prep work, but if not, make sure your surface is dry and smooth before beginning. As with any paint job, prepping is key. Chalk paint is wonderful in that you don’t need a ton of prep work, but if you skip the required prep work, the final product can still come out poorly.

chalk paint coupon for country chic chalk paint

 

Chalk Painting

What You’ll Need:

  • Chalk Paint (I chose Country Chic for this project)
  • Chalk Painting Brush

Before dipping the brush into the paint, make sure to stir the paint.  If all the chalky goodness isn’t mixed together, the paint can be watery and won’t give you a chalky finish with good coverage. Treat it like you would any other paint.

I have to be honest, it hurt a little to paint this beautiful rocking chair. It was in great condition and simply a beautiful chair from afar. Up close this rocking chair was very beat-up. It needed to be refinished in some way. Sanding and re-staining with the beveled edges would have been too much for me. I came to the conclusion that painting would be the best option.

I chose to paint this in Country Chic’s All-in-One Simplicity because I thought it would look great in a classic white with heavy distressing and maybe a little antiquing dust.

Related: How to Get a Flawless Finish

You’ll want to use a round chalk painting brush, like the Country Chic’s Oval Brush and begin with the first layer of paint, painting very conservatively. You don’t want to have any dripping in hard to reach places, or pooling of paint in any of the crevices. The first coat of paint looked rough on my rocking chair, but I knew that as I moved forward, the rocking chair would look better and better. So, don’t get discouraged if your first coat looks rough too, it’ll get better with subsequent coats.

Allow the first coat of paint to dry before applying the next coat. This takes at least an hour of not a few.

Chalk Painting One Coat

Subsequent Coats of Paint

The second coat was probably my thickest coat of paint. It covered well. I was still rather conservative on the amount of paint I used. However, once dried, there was still a bit of bleed through. It took a total of three coats to finally cover the chair to a solid white. Even without distressing, the chair was beautiful.

With subsequent coats, wait 24 hours before applying additional coats of paint.

As you paint, you’ll want to apply as many coats as needed until you get full coverage on the piece you’ve chosen. Because I chose white, it automatically meant I would by applying more than two coats of paint. However, many other colors cover better and only need two coats. If this is your first piece, I would suggest using a darker color for better coverage.

Choosing to Distress

What You’ll Need:

  • Sandpaper (course – I chose 120 grit)
  • Damp Wash cloth

I chose to distress my rocking chair. Taking more coarse sand paper, 120 grit, I distressed all around the chair. The idea was to make it look really beat up. I had two reasons for this:

1) I thought it would add a lot of charm to the chair

2) it would hide any imperfections in the paint, due to all the nooks and crannies.

Distressing took much more time than anticipated, because, again, nooks and crannies. However, once all the distressing was done, I took a step back (covered in dust by the way), and looked at how truly beautiful the chair was.

If you choose to distress, use a coarse sandpaper and sand down the edges and areas normal wear should exist. This will most likely be corners or edges. On this chair, I chose to distress the seat as well to look like it had been worn out and well used.

This is an optional step and not necessary for every piece.

Chalk_Paint_Distressed

Waxing Your Furniture

What You’ll Need:

  • Waxing Brush
  • Natural Wax
  • Lint Free Rag

Waxing is pretty simple. You can find a waxing brush at any home improvement store these days, or you can find them online. There are many kinds of wax, I used Country Chic’s Natural Wax to seal the chair. With your brush, you apply the wax generously over every nook and cranny on the surface of your piece. Once it had been applied, wipe off excess with a lint-free rag/fabric and buff in a circular motion into the wood. This will really seal you piece and prevent any chipping or wear.

As you wax, you’ll notice the color from the paint really coming through. If you distressed your piece, the brown from the wood of the furniture will really come through. You will need to wait at least 24 hours before handling. Although, it takes about 30 days to fully cure.

The Final Product

Chalk Painting for the Beginner

Once the rocking chair was dry, I couldn’t believe how my labor of love turned out. The rocking chair was beautiful before, but now it was simply charming.

beginner's guide to chalk painting furniture

Related posts:

Caring for Your Chalk Painting Brushes
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Filed Under: Chalk Paint, DIY, Home Tagged With: chalk painting tips, Chalk painting transformation, Country Chic Chalk Paint, furniture painting, Furniture restoration, upcycling

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Ece Tig says

    August 10, 2019 at 10:39 pm

    Hello
    I am an interior designer from istanbul

    Reply
  2. Hollysbirdnest says

    August 13, 2019 at 4:51 pm

    Great step by step instructions!! I had never thought about doing this on my own, but this post makes it look like something I MIGHT be able to do! Thank you!

    Reply
  3. judean says

    August 13, 2019 at 5:47 pm

    I have never heard of chalk paint. Strange enough, I enjoyed the pics with only the 1 coat! It was so different and the close up pick just looked like I should be on a front porch in a beachy neighborhood. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
    • Julie says

      May 5, 2020 at 11:53 pm

      I have a chalk paint wall and to cure it I see different tutorials telling one to use chalk to cure it. My question is if you have a huge wall how do you do this efficiently. It would take boxes of chalk for me to do this.
      I can’t find bulk chalk like in powder format to do this
      What is your suggestion?? Please help I am at my wits end

      Reply
      • Elizabeth says

        May 6, 2020 at 12:52 am

        Do you mean a chalk board painted wall? If so, yes you need chalk to cure it/use it. I would probably buy a bunch of children’s sidewalk chalk and use it lengthwise to color the whole wall, then wipe it off with an eraser. You could always just cure the area you will be using to write. I hope this is helpful. Please let me know if I misunderstood.

        Reply
  4. Adrienne B Redelings says

    August 14, 2019 at 12:21 am

    That turned out great! I’d love to try this to bring some life back to some old pieces we have. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  5. Lisa says

    August 14, 2019 at 8:41 pm

    That looks amazing!

    Reply
  6. Rose Thomas says

    September 12, 2019 at 7:11 pm

    Love this! I’m sitting on a wood bar stool straight from the 90’s and was wondering how I could give this a new life! What a great tutorial!

    Reply
    • Elizabeth says

      September 13, 2019 at 2:59 pm

      Thank you! I’m so happy that this was helpful for you!

      Reply
  7. Suzanne says

    July 13, 2020 at 6:12 pm

    I’m learning so pls correct me if I’m wrong. I thought pieces like that, that would get used a lot should not be sealed with wax but a poly instead. I guess you would’ve had to use an oil based primer for that though? It’s a lot to learn lol.

    Reply
    • Elizabeth says

      July 19, 2020 at 6:37 pm

      You are correct in that high use pieces can get beat up with a wax finish. However, it’s really a preference. Wax does well if cured for 30 days, and every couple of years, wax needs to be re-applied. This chair has been in my children’s room since I painted it and I haven’t had any knicks or scratches on it, I also haven’t re-applied wax.

      Reply
  8. Shari says

    July 29, 2020 at 3:21 am

    Hi. What brand of chalk
    Pant?

    Reply
    • Elizabeth says

      August 2, 2020 at 10:07 pm

      I like to use Country Chic Paint (https://www.countrychicpaint.com/) they offer eco-friendly and high quality paint that lasts.

      Reply
  9. Brenda Berg says

    December 1, 2020 at 8:18 pm

    I’m working on my first chalk paint project and I’m not liking it. I don’t like all the brush marks the brush is leaving. How can I get those to go away?

    Thank you
    Brenda Berg

    Reply
    • Elizabeth says

      December 6, 2020 at 7:48 pm

      Hi Brenda,

      In order to remove brush strokes, there are a few tips: use a high quality synthetic round brush, use a high quality chalk paint, add a touch of warm water to thin out your paint if it’s cold or too thick, lightly sand with 400 grit in between coats to get rid of brush strokes. This should solve most of your problems. With lighter colors, it may take up to 3 coats before you get a beautiful and solid finish. With darker colors it should only take two. I hope this helps! 🙂

      Reply

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