{original publish date February 13, 2018}

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Update: All of the painting I did and have done since, using this technique has held upwardly to daily use and abuse by a family of half-dozen, with 4 pocket-sized children.

I finally finished the laundry room cabinets. Before, they were the mutual orange oak. Wood cabinets are cute, and typically I like them. Merely with our floors and color schemes, I did not similar the orange/honey oak cabinets. Because refinishing floors is as well big of an undertaking right now, I decided to paint the cabinets!

I did utilise a primer on the cabinets earlier chalk painting; I did it *just* to come across if the paint covered better, and to fill in some of the wood grain.

Before YOU CHALK PAINT

  • Bring together the CHALK AND MILK Pigment PROJECTS facebook group. They are full of data, not brand specific, and can tell y'all the *truths* about using chalk paint, that manufacturers/professionals may not. It isn't as uncomplicated equally we accept been made to believe. haha
  • Decide what await you are going for: Exercise you mind the wood grain showing through? I didn't mind it- I knew my cabinets would expect like painted wooden cabinets in a farm house. That doesn't bother me.BUT If y'all want a perfectly smooth finish with painted-from-the-manufacturer look, then youwill need to use a wood grain filler first, along with a few more than steps.
  • YOU Accept TO Prime number Forest. Catamenia.NO one tells y'all this, not blogs, not Pinterest posts, not the chalk painting industry, no one! And typically, brand-loyal reps volition say "such and such chalk paint brand doens't do this …" BUT if you are going to polyurethane OR polycrylic (and even wax sometimes) to seal your chalk painted wood you lot risk the tannins from the wood bleeding through the pigment and yellowing the poly! Trust me, iii projects an joining the above FB group later, I learned my lesson. Read below for WHY.
  • It needs to be an OIL based primer– water attracts tannins, which is why the h2o based poly shows tannin bleed through! (Actually, all this info credit goes to the ladies in the above FB group, I did not know these things!) The OIL based primer acts equally a "solid" barrier if you will, where every bit the water based primer nosotros all love to use, allows bleed through. Save yourself the problem after and just prime first.
  • Know your chalk paint- I have used but 2 different brands. Dutch Boy from Menard'southward and a chalk paint from a company online (purchased on Amazon). The chalk pigment from the shop on Amazon is superior to the Dutch Boy, in my opinion. I *think* what makes chalk paint special is the actual pigments that color it; I am unsure if chalk-style paint similar Dutch Male child uses pigments, or merely tinting like regular paints. This could be the difference I am seeing in my 2 paints? I should call and enquire Menard'southward what they use to color the Dutch Boy paint.
  • Ladies in the FB group really similar some of the DIY chalk paint recipes even BETTER than the BIG name brand chalk paint… I'yard telling, that grouping is awesome!
  • Gather everything you need-
    • painter's tape
    • chalk brushes (dissimilar sizes will exist helpful, trust me)
    • polyrcylic/urethane/wax
    • oil based primer- the brand I utilize is Zinnser Bulls Eye oil based primer, it is not on Amazon at this time. This one will piece of work also (it is too Zinnser and oil based), or wait for the other Zinnser at a home comeback store.
    • chalk paint
    • constructed brushes for primer
    • piece of work towel
    • dropcloth/towel/tarp
    • sanding sponges
    • tac cloth
    • stir sticks
    • Krud Kutter and quondam rags/T shirt

Chalk Painting My Laundry Hall Cabinets

  • Washed well with soapy h2o (using Dawn dish soap). Let dry
  • Clean well with Krud Kutter, wiped dry out, allowed to dry 10-15 minutes
  • Prime number using oil based primer and priming castor (synthetic bristles)
  • After drying thoroughly, pigment using chalk paint and chalk paint brush. Later on a few projects I discovered that YES, a chalk paint castor is necessary for chalk paint. The awarding and final coverage is amazing and much better than with a regular paint brush.
  • I applied each glaze of paint as soon as the beginning dried; chalk paint dries speedily, so this function goes speedily
  • afterwards thoroughly stale, apply polycrylic or crystal articulate polyurethane. The longer yous let the chalk paint cure, the better your poly application will wait. Lightly sand with a fine sanding sponge between coats of poly. The more coats of poly yous add, the shinier it will get-even if you choose flat poly… so if you're going for a flatter/chalk paint look, then only apply 2 coats of poly!

****Information technology is important to stir, stir, stir, SLOWLY, your paints and polys. Stir often considering you lot need to keep the particles in the medium suspended, slowly considering- bubbles.

Too, if your paint is too thick or left open a while, you can h2o it down using distilled water, no harm no foul. ** This often allows a improve application anyhow, prevents globbing, dripping, and it doesn't take much h2o.

That's pretty much it! I applied three coats of poly on my cabinet doors; information technology is a matte, but the 3rd glaze made them more "satin" or shiny than matte. I don't like the shine, I wanted a matte look, and so I am going to sand and try to become rid of the smoothen some. Next time I will employ two meridian coats instead of 3.

One day I promise to tackle our  kitchen cabinets in a similar way!

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