We often get questions from readers about using chalk paint, and a few questions come up more frequently than others. We decided to take our top 7 most frequently asked questions about using chalk paint, and put the answers right here in one post for you.
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First, let’s go ahead and get this one out of the way…
Can I write on it with chalk?
Chalk paint is not the same as chalkboard paint. They’re two completely different products. If you want to write on it with chalk, you’re looking for chalkboard paint.
Do I need to sand and/or use a primer first?
Usually, no. You can use chalk paint to paint right over bare wood or existing finishes. There are some instances, however, when I use primer and/or sand before painting, so you really have to look at each piece individually.
Some examples of when I would sand first: The existing paint job is sloppy with drip marks that I want to remove. The existing paint is chipping. There are scratches or imperfections in the wood that I want to smooth out before painting. The existing finish is extremely shiny and slick (sometimes I like to rough it up with a quick run over it with my sander if it’s super shiny, even though it’s probably not always necessary). This is my favorite sander.
Some examples of when I would prime first: I’m painting over a wood that’s prone to bleeding, like cherry. I’ve noticed my paint seems to be easily scratched off and isn’t fully adhering to the piece. I love all the Zinsser products, including the Bulls Eye 1-2-3, and Bulls Eye Shellac.
Just remember your paint job is only going to be as good as your base, so don’t get hung up on the “no prep”
Can I thin out the paint?
Yes. Chalk paint is pretty thick, and I almost always thin it with a bit of water. I do one of two things… I pour some paint into a cup and add water until it’s the consistency I need. Or sometimes I do it the lazy way and have a small cup of water next to my paint can, dip the tip of my brush into water then into the paint. There’s no right or wrong amount of water to use, but you really only need a little. The advantage of adding water is it makes the paint easier to brush on, and your finish will be smoother.
Do I have to seal my piece with wax?
No. You can choose to seal your piece with something else instead, and I often do. I absolutely love the look of a waxed piece. But in my opinion, wax is just not as durable as a poly. Plus, wax doesn’t last forever. Technically, you’re supposed to reapply it every so often and the truth is I have no desire to go back a few months, or even a year later, and reapply wax to pieces I’m finished with. I often use a water-based poly to seal my pieces. General Finishes Water-Based Top Coat is one of my favorites, and I love that you can get it in a flat finish. If you decide to go with a poly, I always choose a water-based rather than an oil-based for sealing chalk paint. Oil based will yellow over time, and water-based is a million times easier to clean up. So again, there’s nothing wrong with wax. I just don’t want you to think it’s your only option because it’s not. Use what works best for you and suits your piece. Most chalk paint brands say you can choose to leave it unsealed too, but I don’t recommend it. Chalk paint is very porous and will pick up stains and look a mess in no time if you don’t seal it with something.
I already put my first coat of paint down and now the stain is bleeding through the paint. What do I do now?
Just apply your primer right over the first coat of paint. Then when it’s dry, continue with your second coat of paint. If it’s just a tiny spot that’s bleeding, I usually just spray the spot with a couple coats of Shellac, but if you’re getting bleeding in several areas, it’s best to just brush on a couple coats of primer on the whole piece before you continue painting. Again, I like the Zinsser primers mentioned above.
Do I have to distress it?
Absolutely not. Chalk paint distresses beautifully, and it’s my favorite paint to use if I plan to scuff it up. But you definitely don’t have to distress it and I’ve done lots of pieces that I didn’t distress.
If I am distressing, do I sand before or after I apply my top coat?
First, it depends on what your topcoat is. If you’re using a poly, you definitely want to distress first. If you’re using wax, then technically you can distress before or after waxing. My personal preference is to always distress before waxing, and here’s a few of my reasons why. First, I do a lot of graphics and multiple colors on pieces. I’ve noticed that when I sand after waxing, some of the paint color gets caught up in the wax. So let’s say I paint a piece that’s blue and white. I’ve noticed that some of the blue flakes of paint will get caught up in the wax and smear onto the white part, and because the color is inside of the wax it’s pretty much impossible to remove. Secondly, I just can’t wrap my head around the idea of applying a top coat then sanding it off. How can the piece be protected if I just sanded off the top coat? And lastly, it’s just easier. I feel like I have more control over the distressing when I’m not trying to go through the wax layer. Oh, and I almost forgot, the wax completely gunks up your sandpaper. Just trust me, distressing before wax is the way to go.
I hope you’ve found this helpful, and as always, feel free to send us a message if you have other questions.
Happy Painting!
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Amy – this is a great tip list! You are so smart to collect all of your facts in one post. We’ve already Pinned it! Have a great day!
These are such great tips, Amy! I wish I would have had these tips when I first started painting, they would have saved me so much time and probably a few gray hairs too. Hugs, CoCo
SO many great tips! Thanks so much for sharing Amy!
Great tips for Chalk DIYs Thanks for sharing at my party Dream Create and Inspire.. Lots of Hugs Maria
Thanks, Maria :).
I did a tea cot , I love it.
I am finishing my dinning room table . I used a primer first, then 3 coats of chalk paint, after a couple days I started to apply the clear wax and noticed the paint is cracking. What can I do ? FYI I did wash the table good before applying the primer coat. Thank you for any help you can give me !!
Hi Dorene! It’s hard to know exactly what happened but a couple guesses.. temperature can cause the paint to crack. If you’re painting in an environment that really hot/cold/humid, it can cause the paint to crack. Another cause could be if your paint didn’t have time to fully dry between coats. It doesn’t sound like it could be something on the surface since you cleaned and primed it. To fix.. is the paint cracking in just a few places or all over? If it’s just a couple small places, I would sand that area, prime it with zinsser spray shellac, paint that area then give the entire surface another coat to even it out and cover the touched up areas. I’ve actually had to do this before due to cracking paint and it worked beautifully. If it’s all over and you have no clue what the cause is, I would sand the entire piece to smooth out the cracked areas then re-prime and paint. Hope that helps and good luck with your table!
Can you use chalk paint on faux leather furniture?
Hi Tammra. I’ve never tried it but you absolutely can. You’ll probably need to thin it with a little water for it to work best.
I am planning to paint stairs,( treads & risers). After pulling up the carpet several years ago, I lightly sanded & did nothing beyond that. The baluster’s & rail still has the old varnish from many years ago (probably about 50) .Want to paint black & white.I purchased a black tinted primer for the black parts, & want to top with chalk paint. Suggestions?
Hi Jackie! That sounds really pretty. Have you chosen your black chalk paint yet? Most “black” chalk paints are more of a really dark charcoal gray color and not a true black so you might have to shop around a bit. Other than that my only advice is to seal it with something suitable for floors, like Varathane floor finish or maybe Waterlox. Hope that helps and good luck with your project!
Great tips here for Chalk Paint. I needed a brush up~ Stopping by to let you know you are being featured on Friday’s P3 Party post! Have a great week! Thanks for pinning!
Best,
Kim
Hey Kim! Thanks so much for letting me know. I really appreciate it!!
Thank you for sharing all this! It’s super helpful. I just finished my first piece and am very excited. I used two coats of Annie Sloan Old White on a coffee table. I distressed it and then applied two coats of Annie Sloan clear soft wax. I thought I did a good job of buffing the wax after applying it, but two days later, I’m realizing several spots are tacky. Do you have any suggestions for what I should do to it at this point?
Hey Chrissy! Congrats on finishing your first piece! It definitely sounds like you used too much wax. It’s an easy mistake to make and one I made myself when starting out. Instead of explaining how to fix it I’m going to send you to this fantastic article that gives extremely thorough instructions. She explains it way better than I could in a comment. Wishing you luck and I’m so glad you found our site! http://www.thepurplepaintedlady.com/2012/07/i-applied-the-wax-days-ago-and-it-is-still-tacky/
Great tips that I actually need right now! Sharing today on the #P3Party! Thanks for pinning!
Kim
Can I use dark wax after applying a poly finish?
Hi Karen! Yes, you can apply wax over poly.
I have painted a large dining table with Annie Sloan and I didn’t water down the paint, so now it looks brush-streaked. Will the brush streaks disappear with the poly coat on top or do I need to sand them down first?
You’ll have to sand it. After sanding if it’s still not quite as smooth as you like try adding another coat on top that’s thinned down.
Hi – I purchased a dresser that I will paint with chalk paint but it already has some on and I don’t necessarily want to sand the whole piece down to start fresh. Is there any non-abrasive chemical I can use to tone it down before I put my chalk paint on? It also has been waxed.
Hi Nancy! You don’t have to remove the existing chalk paint to repaint it. Unless it’s peeling or has an uneven finish that needs to be smoothed out, you can paint over it without sanding or stripping.
You will probably need to remove the wax, though. You can use mineral spirits to strip the wax off. There are some brands, such as Annie Sloan, that say you can paint over wax without stripping it if both the paint and wax are their brand. I would personally lean towards stripping the wax regardless of brand just to ensure you’re starting with a nice, stable base. Hope that helps and good luck with your project!!
Hi. I’m just getting started as a homeowner and addicted to diy! Thanks for these tips. 1) Wondering if these tips can apply to regular paint as well to some extent! We just painted our house interior and I’ve been using some of those matching paints on projects.
2) also can u mix paint (chalk or indoor water based paint) with wax and rub onto an already painted piece to distress it? I’m thinking adding white to the wax.
Thanks again!
Hey Jacqueline! Definitely some of those tips can apply to regular paint. And yes, you can mix either of those types of paint with wax and apply it to your piece. Mixing wax with white paint is exactly how you make your own homemade liming wax. I would apply clear wax first then colored wax. You’ll have a little more control of the colored wax if you do a layer of clear first.
Thanks for all the great tips! I do have a question for you tho. Why every time I paint something does it does it come out bumpy looking like not smooth surface at all. I know you have to sand it down a bit but I find I have to sand a lot. All the paint is new and I use Annie Solans Paints and brushes and rollers. Is there any advice you can give me. Thanks so much!!
Hey Ashlee! About the bumpy looking paint- you have to thin it with water! I thin my chalk paint almost every time I use it. The paint is really thick and made to show brush marks unless it’s thinned. Funny you ask this because I’m working on a post for next week with tips for getting a smooth finish with chalk paint! 🙂
I think I want to poly instead of wax as final coat but I wanted to apply dark wax for effect in some areas of my piece. Do you think it’s OK to poly over dark wax?
Hi Karen! Unfortunately you can’t poly over wax. It just won’t stick properly. You can use a dark glaze in place of the dark wax, you’ll get a similar look and you can poly over it.
I used the clear wax after painting several pieces of furniture and distressing it with the dark wax. Does it ever absorb into the paint? It feels tacky and and leaves oil prints if u touch it with fingers.
Hi Effie! If the wax is still tacky you probably applied too much. Wax is pretty finicky and it’s easy to do. When you go over it with a clean cloth does any of the wax come up? You can try buffing more. Or try adding another thin layer of clear wax then buffing that well. That will remove the fresh wax and help pull up some of the old wax too. If all else fails you can use mineral spirits and a lot of clean rags to strip the wax. Water based poly is a great option for sealing chalk paint if you’re up for trying something other than wax on your next piece!
I can’t seem to finish a chalk painted piece! I cleaned my piece with TSP. Painted the first coat and had lots of bleed through. So then I primed some of the piece. Repainted. Seemed like the paint kept chipping off every time I looked at it. Touched up those parts. Applied Aspire’s Final Finish and more paint came off when I lightly sanded before another coat of Final Finish. Then I touched up those parts but now they look like a different colour. So then I repainted the top of this table and now there are blotches and discolourations again. Help! I feel like crying. And this seems to happen with everything I paint. I could keep working on it for years and never get a nice finished piece.
I’m sorry this is happening, Elizabeth! It’s so frustrating when a piece keeps giving you trouble. It’s definitely not normal for the paint to be coming off, so there is something on your piece that’s resisting the paint and not allowing it to adhere properly. You say this happens often, which is making me wonder if you’re getting all the residual TSP off the pieces when you clean them? If you’re not cleaning the TSP off the piece with clean water or denatured alcohol it could be causing the adhesion problems. I don’t use TSP to clean my pieces and don’t think it’s necessary, so maybe eliminating that step will help. If a piece doesn’t need sanding, I clean with soapy water and rinse with plain water. For bleeders or pieces that need a primer, I use one of the Zinsser primers. I really like the bullseye shellac in a spray can for quick application and touch ups, and I like the multipurpose 123 if I need to paint the whole piece. Zinsser BIN works best for stubborn bleeders. To fix this piece of the paint is still coming off, I really think you need to take it back down to the base, and the easiest way would be to sand it all off. Then give it a few coats of primer to seal in the tannins and paint. If you do this I don’t think you’re having any problems. I really think your starting with a bad base which is causing all kinds of headaches and my guess is if you lose the TSP you’ll have a better experience. Hope this helps a bit! I’m typing this out on my phone so if anything doesn’t make sense or you have more questions don’t hesitate to send me an email! Wishing you luck!!
I used black chalk paint for a dresser but noticed after painting it when you touch it there are finger prints on the paint it looks greasey. what can we do is there a gloss we can put on it
Hi Terrie! Chalk paint is extremely porous and if you don’t seal it it will pick up dirt and fingerprints. You can seal it with any type of top coat suitable for chalk paint. Many people use wax but I prefer a water based poly. The one I use most often is General Finishes high performance top coat. Hope that helps!
I agree with you using the sander on drip marks – one way or another they have to be dealt with.
I AM thinking of painting my cupboards in my CARAVAN they are wooden with a shiny look on them will the chalk paint stay on the cupboards & do I wax them after painting them
Hi Mary! It’s possible the chalk paint will adhere properly but I would probably prime them first. I typically use one of the Zinsser brand primers, but any primer should do. I also would recommend using a water based poly to seal the cabinets with rather than wax. I like general finishes high performance top coat.
I just painted a wooden dresser with chalk paint. But when I applied the wax finish, it scratched the pain right of in some spots with my cloth, like scratch lines. I tried using a different cloth, and the same thing happened, all the way down to the wood. I can just take my nail and scratch the paint right off with it. Did I not dry the layers of paint long enough in between or before I applied the wax? Is it the wood? it wasn’t a very slippery wood or oily or dirty. The next day I tried to smudge out a paint spot and the paint came right off even though the wax had been on it for at least 18 hours. what am I doing wrong?
Hi Robin! I’m sorry you’re having that problem! It’s happened to me more than once so you’re not alone. There is something on the wood that’s resisting the paint and it’s usually hard to tell exactly what it is that’s causing it. Unfortunately there’s not an easy fix. You’ll need to remove all the paint (sanding would be the easiest way to do this), then thoroughly clean the piece, prime it, then paint again. But this time when you paint just do a small area, let it dry then scratch it with your fingernail to make sure it’s good. I’ve never had a piece still give me trouble after a good sand/clean/prime though. If you try to just seal it in with something stronger, it may work for a short time but eventually it will start peeling again because everything is laying on top of that first layer of paint that’s not sticking if that makes sense. I hope that helps and so sorry you have more work when you were so close to being done!
Hello,
I want to use chalk paint to paint over a large box made in plywood but with a mdf top. This will be my first large project. I am planning on doing a coat of wood primer and sanding it down before I use chalk paint . Will that be ok? I want to stencil using gold emulsion, will the emulsion adhere to the chalk paint? Looking forward to hearing from you
Love your tips and tricks for furniture. I am planning on painting our 20+ year old builder grade flat panel white laminate bathroom cabinets.Do you have any tips for prepping or painting laminate cabinets? I am assuming a poly for final step since they will be in a bathroom…???
Jeanette, I’m guessing you might already be done with this project but if not, I would probably prime them and definitely seal with something like a poly. Stay away from wax in your bathroom for sure. Sorry for the late response and I hope you have a great Thanksgiving!
I have googled and searched and you-tubed for hours. I found you and in 10 minutes I found our more than I have the last 2 days. Thank you sooooo much for all your information. You answered all the questions I had. Back to destressing and waxing. Which I never could understand why I should wax first. Now I know, don’t….. makes much more sense.
Pam, thank you so much for this sweet comment. Made my day!
How do you apply the water based topcoat? Just with a brush? I just chalk painted my dresser and it scratches if you look at it too hard. Thanks so much!
I use a foam brush
I love using chalk paint. Have painted books, Easter eggs, and frames so far. Can chalk paint be used on an item that will be outdoors?
Do you sand before applying wax coat ?
I WOULD LIKE TO THANK YOU FOR ALL OF YOUR HELPFUL HINTS & YOUR KNOWLEDGE OF BLOGGING WHICH I HOPEFULLY WILL START UP SOON AS RECRUPERATE FROM SURGERY & MY DAUGHTER’S WEDDING AT THE END OF OCTOBER ! SINC ERILY YOURS ! HAVE A GREAT ARTIFUL DAY !
Hey Gerri! Thank you so much for your sweet comment. I’m wishing you a speedy recovery from surgery and congratulations on your daughter’s wedding. Best of luck with your future painting projects! ~Amy
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Have fun and enjoy how simple it is to change your furniture!