Oh friends, I’ve been a painting machine for the last few days! It rained almost the entire weekend {I can’t even remember the last time that happened} so I had lots of time to spend in the garage on my epic quest to conquer my secondhand dining table and eight mismatched chairs with the mythical Annie Sloan Chalk Paint {that was a mouthful!} I bet you couldn’t even sleep this weekend, wondering how this whole thing was going to turn out. I know. Here’s what I learned: Chairs are harder to paint than tables. The first four were old ladderbacks with rush seats. When Brian saw me painting them, he told me it wasn’t even worth it because they’re so old and kind of falling apart…and I can see his point. But, they were the chairs in my parents’ kitchen when we were growing up, so I wanted to see how they would respond to a little “fluffing,” since they have sentimental value and everything. I thought I did a pretty good job, but the combination of constantly missing spots and some bleed-through of the brown wood required me to go over them. And over them. And over them. And… {you get it, right?} I was hoping to avoid two overall coats, but I couldn’t. Luckily, the quart of chalk paint seems to be bottomless. I finally took some pictures that captured the first coat. Very chalky in appearance and to the touch: The second set of four chairs actually matches the table. They were in great condition, but since I’m putting them on my screened-in porch, they were way too formal. I’ve only finished one coat on these, but let me give a HUGE shout out to the best paintbrush ever, the Purdy Nylox. I was able to get into the tiny grooves, and the brush retained its shape and lost no bristles at all! I’ve only applied one coat {and I’ll definitely have to do two}, but so far I love how they’re turning out.
I can tell the clock is ticking on my garage-squatting, so I’d better get moving and finish these chairs! I also need to apply another coat of wax {maybe two} to the table, because I set the paint can on it and it left a mark on the finish. I’m still not sure how the paint will hold up to the abuse of our family, not to mention the elements since it will be on the porch. However, I noticed that ASCP can be used on floors {really, Annie? You're such a showoff} so it should definitely hold up against some measly Beyblades. And if you know what Beyblades are, you probably have little boys. :-) Thanks for sticking with me on this epic journey. It's 6:00 a.m. so I'm going to try to get some chair-waxing in before the kids wake up! {Yes...this is what my life has become.}
30 Comments
7/23/2012 11:14:33 pm
Oh Aimee - this was so timely! I too have been under a rock apparently with the Chalk Paint craze. I'm almost afraid to admit it here but I'll just throw it all out there - I'm not sure I really like it. I know, I'm going to be blackballed from the blogging world! BUT, I'm going to give it a try. I have a few pieces that need something so I thought I'd start with that. But I'm going to admit, the price is just too steep for me to pay for something I'm not really crazy about. So, I'm going to make my own. Dozens of recipes out there so we'll see. Don't tell Annie. And while we're on the topic of painted tables, I would SO appreciate it if you popped over to my house and take a look at my post "Score". I REALLY need some design advice for that table. I posted it on Hometalk and have gotten everything from BRIGHT YELLOW (uh, no) to off white. And let me just say, I missed the boat on the gray craze. I LOVE it, but nothing in my house is grey (except my roots every few weeks!)
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Thanks Jaye! I just went over and checked out your table; what a steal for thirty bucks! I totally understand what you're saying about the cost of the paint vs. not really liking it. I'm already plotting my next paint purchase, but I now have a better understanding of what ASCP is {rustic, patina, aged} vs. what it's not {even with perfect coverage}. And if you have a recipe that will work just as well, I say go for it!
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7/24/2012 04:24:26 am
you are making great progress! its going to look awesome when you have it all put together. can't wait to see the finished product!
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I think you are doing a great job so far! Can't wait to see the finished product. I too am new to chalk paint, and since I can't find it up here I had to make my own. Soooo much cheaper and I am using leftover paint we have lying around. How about that for recycling?? lol Going to read your first two parts to this story.
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7/25/2012 11:47:35 pm
Aimee...We had those same chairs in our kitchen growing up!!!!! That is a lot of painting...I gotta hand it to you :) They look great.
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7/26/2012 08:42:40 pm
I have those same exact chairs (the ladder back ones) in my kitchen that I got from my mom too! I paired two of them with two woven chairs from World Market...to kinda mix it up, you know? I made little slipcovers for the backs and stenciled on the dates of our birthdays, sounds crazy but they look good.
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Judy, your chairs sound awesome! I'd love to see a picture. I was actually thinking of doing something similar with the stenciling: this is probably crazy too but I'd like to stencil four zip codes where the chairs have lived, in NY, NJ, NC, and VA. Did you see Annie's response about spray painting below? Try it!!! Come to the dark side! ;-)
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7/28/2012 09:23:32 am
Aimee,
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7/28/2012 10:57:25 pm
Those are my mother in law's chairs! I sat in them many a meal while dating my husband. Can the Annie Sloan paint be spraypainted??? It would sure make the chair process faster. Love your blue fabric with the gray!
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7/29/2012 06:46:25 pm
You guys are very funny with your don't tell Annie! I love what you have been doing although maybe I can give you a few pointers about using my paint. One of the things is that you can add water to the paint as you go if you find it dries out and thickens up. If it does thicken up you can use it for making really textured paint. You can also really thin he paint down and make washes. I always wax and then sand rather then sand before I wax so t makes it less dusty. The paint goes a very long way - you really can paint a lot of furniture with it. The other thing you can do is use clear and then dark wax. then wipe off the excess with clear wax. Do it all in the same time rather than allowing the wax to dry out and you'll find it rather good especially on textured paint. Have lots of clean cloths to wipe away. Oh and yes you can spray my paint by adding 20% water.
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Annie!!! Thank you so much for leaving a comment. Your tips are very helpful {especially the ones about sanding after you wax and adding 20% water for spray paint}. I'm almost finished with the table, and I was able to do almost the whole project {table, 2 leaves, and 8 chairs} with one quart of paint. I did run out of clear wax pretty quickly, though. One question if you're still around: How many coats of wax should I put on the dining table top? Thanks again for stopping by. xoxo
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Barbara Detwiler
1/28/2015 03:35:16 pm
Hi Annie I purchased a small set of drawers that were painted with your paint and I love it I am contemplating giving it a try my
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7/30/2012 07:49:50 am
Waxing chairs at 6 am - you go girl! I on the other hand will be in dreamland (while my kids are at camp)!!
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7/31/2012 09:46:09 am
Your chalk paint did wonders to those gals! They look 10 years younger (I heard they were going clubbing tonight)!
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8/1/2012 05:43:32 am
Aimee,
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8/2/2012 11:31:12 am
Thank you so much for all of the info. I'm just starting to use the paint myself. So fun to try something new!!! Thank you so much for linking up to our party! :)
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8/5/2012 03:58:44 am
I love how they turned out ... and if you give them a bit of distressing they'll hold up much better to the family!
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1/18/2013 12:32:42 pm
Aimee,
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Connie Ross
11/17/2017 08:23:10 pm
The rush ladder back chairs are from S Bent & Bros of Garner Massachusettes. The model is Miles Pond and we're probably manufactured in the early 70s. I own 6 of them & 2 have arms & have held up very well for as old as they are.
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