I tackled my first chalk paint project this week. I did plenty of research before I started and found many YouTube videos to watch. All the rage was over the big brand paint; but the price was so high! I started reading about the Art Minds brand at Michael's and found the reviews to be high and the price to be a fraction of the fancy brands. Most of the reviews that I read indicated that it performed equally to the national brands if the prep work was completed for the project.
So I watched for my Michaels coupons, chose my weapons, selected my project and V'OILA!!! My finished piece is BEAUTIFUL! Ready for the shop.
For this first piece I selected a small table about 23" tall; the top is 30" wide at the longest side being that it is oval. I didn't want to tackle anything too big on the first try. I chose "Sea Glass" Art Minds chalk paint for the bottom and "Onyx" Art Minds chalk paint for the top. The table had some obvious blemishes on the wood finish so there was no hope of maintaining the original design. After some light sanding and dusting away the debris I began with the first coat of the Sea Glass; with the light color it did take two coats even with the thick texture of the paint. The paint dries fast but 2 hours were recommended between coats; so I waited. The Onyx color was very easy to use and offered full coverage with one coat. I gave a few spots a second coat but it was really just touches.
After the paint dried overnight I hit all of the key areas with light sandpaper; 100 to 120 grit was recommended. I used 100 as I was not familiar with the affect and felt I could work with this and apply more pressure and additional applications to get my desired distressing. When I was happy with the highlights I began to add the "Slate" Wax by Art Minds. I chose this Slate color to sit well with the Onyx top. My test patch on the underside of the top revealed that the Slate Wax needed to be reduced in strength with some clear wax; I cut the potency of the Slate by a mixture of 2 Clear to 1 Slate in a plastic plate and began to apply it to the table base. It was applied in small sections with a soft brush and removed by rubbing it off with a scrap of old t-shirt. The effect was very nice and in the end I am very pleased with the overall appearance of the base of the table.
I applied three coats of wax to the top of the table knowing that this area will be most often used in the end leaving long gaps of time between coats of application. I used the Slate on the first application and Clear on the last two.
I cannot tell you how proud I am of my first project! The process was easy and the Art Minds Chalk paint and wax products performed to exceed my expectations.
Bittersweet! I am excited however was a little sad to see it go... Just one day after posting this table for sale, it is SOLD! For the asking price and no haggling. The buyer was very happy and even sent a message the next day to tell me again how much she liked the table.
I am now working on 4 more pieces! All with Art Minds Chalk Paint.