More Annie Sloan Chalk Paint

So far I have blogged 6 tips for painting with chalk paint, as well as multi-color chalk painting.

Since I have continued chalk painting more pieces, I thought I would share a few more thoughts and reiterate how important certain techniques were for me!

On the Annie Sloan Chalk Paint cans, it explains that you don't need to do any prep before painting a piece.  So on the twin bed head boards I am working on, all I did was make sure they were clean and began to paint. 

Since these beds were originally darker, and I didn't realize how THICK chalk paint will become as it's exposed to air, my first coat was VERY STREAKY!

When you let your chalk paint get thick, it can only smooth itself out so much.  So I did add a second coat and watered down the paint a lot.  I panicked at first because I probably put as much as 1 part water to 3 parts paint.  It was pretty thin, but of course, the longer I painted, the thicker it got.  It was amazingly thick once again, by the time I was done with the two headboards.  But the outcome with the second coat, was so much better!

My next step will be to sand.  The nice thing about lightly sanding chalk paint is, because it gets thicker as you paint, at times it's hard to avoid build up on the edges, or even a little extra thickness in textured places.  Chalk paint sands so easily, that all is forgiven if you sand gently.  Those ridges and thick areas are easily smoothed.  That's the beauty of chalk paint, the soft, smooth, vintage look.

I chose to use a fine sand paper block to add some light aging to this piece.  Just enough to bring out all the beautiful lines.

My Thoughts Thus Far:

Keep your paint covered;

Don't be afraid to add a decent amount of water to thin the paint;

Use less brush strokes and two light coats; and

Sand gently with fine sand paper once your second coat is dry.

Hope my experience is helpful.  Chalk paint is fun, but can be tricky.  If you're not intimidated, you will get it figured out!  Have fun! PS... the white paint pictured is Annie Sloan Old White (a warmer white).

Sweet & Simple.