DIY Chalk Paint Follow Up

Boy have I been a busy little bee over the weekend.  Last week I decided to pick up unsanded tile grout and Plaster of Paris for my DIY chalk paint.  If you remember a few posts back I'd only tried the baking soda recipe, but still really wanted to find one that would crackle.  I knew my crafting table would be coming home from my dads workshop and would be ready to paint, so I wanted to try these others out before deciding which recipe for chalk paint I like best.

On this first piece I had already sanded it a while ago, but it was waiting for me to decide what I wanted to do with it.  I thought it would make a great candidate!  I used unsanded tile grout mixed with my latex paint (recipe: 1 cup paint to 1 tbsp grout).  My first impression was that it covered well and seemed to go on and dry relatively smooth.  I painted two coats and allowed to sit overnight, then I sanded it the next afternoon.  I started out using 100 grit, but quickly changed to a finer grit (220).  This stuff comes off way to easily for my taste.  I have to wonder how well it's going to adhere to the surface over time (and I sanded this one too!) However of the three, this chalk paint recipe had the smoothest finish with little to no brush strokes.  So If your wanting a super smooth finish, this one's for you.  I would strongly recommend sanding well before painting though.  And follow up with a wipe on poly finish or two good coats of wax.  I did test a few patches of paint on scrap wood I had, I was unable to get this recipe to crackle, bummer.

For the last chalk paint recipe, I decided some ugly gold wall sconces would be my next volunteers.  I didn't want to see the gold too much underneath so I gave them a quick spray in black.  All I had on hand was a high gloss black and thought this would be perfect to see how well it would stick.  I used Plaster of Paris which I found at Home Depot in the paint section (took me forever to find).  I found two different sites using this same recipe except one calls for 2 parts paint to one part plaster, while the other calls for 3 parts paint to 1 parts plaster.  I opted for the thicker mix.  I used 2/3 cup of paint to 1/3 cup of plaster and mixed really well.  I gave the sconces two coats and again allowed them to dry overnight.  I was put off a little at first with this mix due to some tiny bits that did not dissolve well.  But they sanded off easy enough. (I don't think I mixed this very well the first time.  I had no lumps the second time around with my craft table.) 

Overall, there were a few brush strokes showing after it dried and took a bit more sanding to remove them and smooth out.  I also had to work quickly, otherwise the section I was painting would start to dry and show more brush strokes.  The edges and detailing on the sconces distressed relatively easy, but on the flatter surfaces it took some elbow grease to get down to my base coat.  In other words this adheres great!  I feel this one will last the longest of the three recipes.  I followed up with two coats of natural min wax.

After all that, I decided I was going to stick with the Plaster of Paris chalk paint recipe.  So...... I did get my craft table painted and put together.  Here is a sneak peak at the top!

 

I will be posting this repurposed table soon, so check back to see what she looks like!  I personally LOVE it, and so glad it's finally finished too.