DIY Chalkpaint Recipe

It’s late and I’m headed to bed, but I had to share with you a quick glimpse of the project I tackled tonight using my own homemade chalk paint.

If this stuff is as good as it seems tonight, I could get very, VERY excited.

Here’s the piece I’m working on:

After removing all the hardware, washing it down well, and sanding only to smooth spots that were damaged from unidentifed sticky goo or chipped areas, I removed the free standing top from its lower cabinet & I went straight to painting over the shiny, stained surface with my chalk paint mixture.

No primer or nuttin’.

I don’t know off the top of my head what this color is (the can is still in my garage and I’m too tired to retrieve it) but it’s a deep yellow my sister used on her library table.  She gave me the leftovers and I knew I wanted to try the color on this piece.  It’s a great hue.

Let me just say, I’ve painted quite a few pieces of furniture, and I LOVED how this paint went on.  Kinda thick, great coverage, extremely easy to apply.  It was weird, though: because of the Calcium Carbonate, which looks like ground up chalk, all these little sandy grains are in the paint when you first brush it on.

But never fear.  Literally, within seconds, they completely disappear.

I don’t know why – go ask your Pop (any Red Fish, Blue Fish fans?)

So here’s the very simple recipe I used:

1 1/2 cup latex paint
1/2 cup Calcium Carbonate (I found mine at our health food store)
1/8 cup water (original recipe called for 1/2 cup, but I could tell right away 1/2 cup would make it too thin (and thanks to Jody for the heads up), so I only added enough water to get the paint to the consistency that seemed right. To me.  Maybe not to you, but in that case, add more water.  Add water last so you’re not committed.)

I just mixed all this up in a glass measuring cup and went to work.

My big concern at this point is whether or not it will actually “stick to anything” as ASCP claims to do.  I just don’t know yet. I plan to add a layer of wax tomorrow, so will report back after that.

I had a crazy idea just as I was finishing, and the more I pondered and stared at the two pieces side by side, the crazier I got.  I won’t tell you what my idea is, but it’s way different from anything I’ve done before.

And it just….might….work.

Good night, ya’ll,

Jaimee