Using Annie Sloan Chalk Paint & Soft Wax

Dudes and dudettes, I at last tried chalk paint. And yes, I simply broke out dudettes. Gutsy move for 2013, eh? Anyway, many of you folks have asked if I have given Annie Sloane chalk paint a go, and now that I have, here are the details. First of all, here is how we used it:

John and I brainstormed a few possibilities for the table that we cut down and the two thrift store chairs that we found in West Virginia (they were $8 each) for a while. Here are a few alternatives that we tossed out there:

• red chairs with a white table
• red table with white chairs
• navy table with red chairs
• navy table with white chairs
• one red chair, one navy chair, and a red table

And then we at last landed on something that we thought was interesting sufficient to make us pull the trigger: wood chairs with red backs and a white table. Of course it was John’s idea (as he is the brains of this operation), although a reader later suggested exactly the same thing, which was a fairly funny “jinx!” moment.

We had a hunch that adding a table and chairs would be something that we’d get some good use out of in there. Sure sufficient, the day we dragged them into the room to test our theory, this happened.

And this:

And I realized that I even enjoyed Clara’s pj’s layered into the room’s palette. #crazyfabriclady

So after establishing that the table and chairs were a good addition to the room, it was simply about getting those chair-backs painted bright red. Our first instinct was to run to the hardware store and grab a $4 test pot of red paint, and get to work sanding and priming. But then I remembered that we had a little sample pot of Annie Sloane chalk paint (everyone at last year’s Haven conference got a bag with a few little pamphlets and samples, one of which was this guy in “Emperor’s Silk”). So I chose to give it a try. I mean I have heard it is truly convenient since you do not have to prep the surface at all (no sanding, no priming, etc).

Update: Chalk paint, although it sounds similar, is not the same thing as chalkboard paint (chalk paint is simply a flat chalky type of paint, sort of like milk paint or clay paint).

So I brought the chairs out into the sunroom, wiped them down with a liquid deglosser simply to be sure they were not coated with something weird like oil (you never know with thrift store stuff) and cracked open the red paint. Then I got down to painting the backs of each chair, which took about ten minutes each for each coat.

I used a short handled angled brush (more control) and free-handed things, being careful around the edges to keep them pleasant and clean (for those who are worried about shaky hands, you can tape off the edges if you’d like). It went on fairly thick even though I did my best not to pile it on (it is fairly viscous stuff) so there was strong coverage and it only took two coats to be fully done. Then I let them dry in the sunroom for a while (it was kinda smelly, so I would not recommend doing it anywhere that is not closed off and ventilated – I had the slider wide open in the sunroom while I painted).

But here is the rub. While chalk paint does not call for any prep before you paint, there is a step after you paint. I did not even realize this going into it, but after a few days of letting them dry in the sunroom I went in to check on them and they felt truly dry and chalky. I dragged my finger across the back of one and it in fact made a white line (yes, that likely means I left skin cells on the chair, which skeeves me to no end, but the point is that the freshly painted chairs were crazy chalky and dry – not sealed and ready to use at all).

That is when I learned that Annie Sloane paint gets sealed after the paint dries by applying a coat of Annie Sloane wax over the painted area to seal it and gloss it up for everyday use. Duh. $herdog was not even in on that little fact. The good news is that a friend of mine named Lori (who happens to be Clara’s school friend’s momma) had used Annie Sloane paint and wax on some bookcases in her daughter’s room, so she offered me a few dabs of her wax so I did not have to buy a whole tin for two compact chair backs. Literally, I only needed two dabs, and I used a sock to apply a pleasant thin coat of wax. Pointer: you do not want to go especially thick with the wax or it can have a hard time curing and may stay tacky over time.

It was not truly hard or anything, but the thing I still sort of think about is this: if the whole selling point to chalk paint is that there is no sanding or primer needed, but you have to apply another product afterwards (and buy that as well, unless you have a crafty friend with leftovers) is not it sort of the same difference?

I certainly recommend giving it a try if it beckons you, and it did not crack and peel or make me hate it or anything, but I am not convinced that it is much harder to degloss, prime, and paint (which is what I would have done) instead of deglossing, chalk painting, and waxing. Does that make sense? So my quite quite honest review is this: I liked chalk paint, but it did not change my life. That being said I know there are especially crazy chalk paint lovers out there and I totally respect that. Who knows, perhaps I will use it again and that is when it’ll change my life. Haha. Ya never know…

In the meantime, there is one thing I cannot deny. We enjoy our red-backed chairs and we cannot lie.

One more chair pic, simply for kicks:

Oh and as for the table, it was stained…

… and peeling down below.

So we gave him a swift sanding…

… followed by a swift primer + paint job. As for the paint specifics, we used semi gloss Benjamin Moore Decorators White in their Advance paint, which is extra durable (we used it on the cabinets in our office when we painted them over a year and a half ago and they are still taking a licking and ticking like crazy).

As for the placement of the table, we go back and forth between putting it against the wall under the window and pulling it out onto the rug. So we are living with it both ways to see what ends up being the most functional. We will report back as we trial and error our way to a decision. Ha!

This little playroom/big girl room is starting to shape up, right? I mean, we are only about 35% there, so there is a ton left on the agenda, but it is certainly an excellent change to see this room go from Crazy Chaotic Storage Explosion to a room that we can in fact all hang out in. Hootie hoo.

What are you folks painting? Have you ever painted simply the top or the back of something? Did you eye it or tape it off? Have you tried chalk paint? Did it sweep you off your feet? Does it take a few tries for it to truly make you swoon? Or are you a stodgy old traditionalist like me who does not mind primer before instead of waxing after?