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Why I Don’t Use Chalk Paint

Learn why I don’t use chalk paint, and the painting techniques I DO use when painting furniture and cabinets for our home.

Why I don't use chalk paint to paint wood furniture.

One of my most popular posts is How To Paint Furniture.  It’s a long post, with a lot of steps.  Every so often I will get asked by a reader, why I don’t use chalk paint instead of going through all of the steps of sanding, priming and using latex paint like I do whenever I paint furniture.

So, I thought I would address this question, because I do have strong opinions about chalk paint!  A lot of you may love it, and that’s OK.  These are only my opinions.  Do what works for you!

Why I Don’t Use Chalk Paint

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So, what is chalk paint?  It’s a paint that has a very matte finish.  Annie Sloan trademarked the name of their chalky paint – “chalk paint”.   There are a lot of other brands of chalky paint that you can buy.

Chalky paint is usually used for furniture and other home decor items like signs or frames.  The reason most people want to use chalky paint is because it’s supposed to be easier to use (less steps) than how I like to paint furniture.

You may be wondering why wouldn’t I use chalk paint if it’s easier to use than latex or oil paints?  I’m not a professional painter, but I’ve painted lots of furniture, trim and cabinets over the last few years.

Learn the many reasons why I don't use chalk paint, and the techniques I do like!

Because I love to research things, I did look into painting our furniture and cabinets with chalk paint, but decided against it.

Here are the reasons why I don’t use chalky paint:

1. I Don’t Like The Way Chalk Paint Looks –  My biggest reason for not using chalk paint is the look.    Chalk paint is a matte finish that makes it easy to look distressed.  I’m just not into distressed furniture.

I don’t mind furniture that’s very lightly distressed, so that it looks like it’s worn over time, I’m OK with that.

In fact, this white trunk sits in our living room, and came with some of the paint slightly sanded off.  The trunk is’t painted with chalk paint, but does have a slightly distressed look on some of the edges where you would normally see wear.

 

I don’t  like furniture that’s heavily distressed.  I don’t get why someone wants a piece of furniture that looks like it was laying in a landfill for 30 years and beaten with a hammer and chain.  Just not my thing.

2.  I Don’t Like The Cost Of Chalky Paint – Chalky paint is expensive.  A quart of chalky paint is about $34.95/quart.  The latex paint that I love to use costs $42.00/gallon, and comes in hundreds of colors.

 

If you use chalk paint, the recommendation is that you will need to apply a special wax with a special brush to help seal the chalk paint and make it more durable.  Both of these can be expensive.  When I paint with latex paint, I do have to prime the piece first but a gallon of primer goes a long way.  I can usually prime at least 4 or 5 pieces of furniture with one gallon of primer.  Also, I love my inexpensive Wooster paintbrush!

3.  I Don’t Like That Sanding And Priming Are Optional When Using Chalk Paint– One of the big selling features of chalky paint is that you don’t need to sand or prime your piece first before painting, so it’s supposed to save time.  What they don’t tell you is that you will be spending a lot of time after you paint with the waxing step.  So, I’m not sure how much time you’re actually going to save.

I’ve never waxed a piece of furniture before, but I’ve heard many times that it can be very hard to get the results you want, and hard to fix it if you make a mistake applying the wax.

Also, unless you want a heavily distressed look, you’ll probably want to sand your furniture first anyway.  For the same reason I sand my furniture before painting, it helps the paint adhere better and will help smooth the wood.

4.  I Don’t Like That Chalky Paint Isn’t Durable – When I was researching chalky paint a few years ago, I kept reading great things about it.  It’s so fast and easy.  People loved it.  But, I also started reading some stories about the paint coming off easily, even after it should have had time to cure.  Waxing is supposed to help with that, but I’ve read horror stories about the wax not curing even months after being applied.  Also, the matte finish can absorb stains.

I believe the multi-step process of sanding, priming and painting that I use when I paint furniture, cabinets and walls is the most durable, tried and true method.  Sometimes you have to bite the bullet and do things the hard way, because they work better!

I’ve used two different types of latex paints when painting our furniture:

  1. Benjamin Moore’s Advanced paint – This is the paint that I used when I painted our bedroom dressers.  It’s a very thick, slow-drying paint, which makes it easy to level out the brush strokes.  You can read my tutorial here – How To Paint Furniture.
  2. Pittsburgh Paint’s Breakthrough paint – After I painted our bedroom dressers, a professional painter that I hired to spray paint our cabinet doors told me about the Breakthrough paint.  I had wanted him to use the Advance paint in his sprayer, but he was afraid it wouldn’t work very well.  He recommended the Breakthrough paint, which I love.  It dries very fast, is very durable and still gives a nice smooth finish.  You can read my tutorials using the Breakthrough paint here – How To Paint Wood Furniture and How To Paint Cabinets.

The many reasons that I don't use chalk paint.

Again, these are just my opinions about chalky paint.  You may love it and that’s great, but it’s not for me.

Happy painting!

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Comments

  1. I agree with everything you’ve said. I’ve used chalky paint on a few small projects to experiment with it but it’s not really for me and my design style. For larger furniture pieces I will only trust latex acrylic/enamel paint. I want the finish to last a long time and I don’t want to have to reseal it (because it would never get resealed by me LOL). Like you, I like subtle distressing where it would naturally occur. I just can’t bring a heavily distressed or chipped piece into my house on purpose, although I do think it can look great in the right space, just not my space 😉

    Reply

  2. I have had some experience with Chalk paint and I agree with you. It is fast and easy, but it is not durable. I have experience with the dark colors (black), even when I seal the paint with the wax, if I run my hand over the piece it leaves a white chalky streak. If anything is set on the piece it leaves a mark. My friend painted an old table that was stained dark, and the dark stain bleed through the lighter gray chalk paint. She felt that it should have been primed first to stop the bleeding. I think latex paint would have been better. I agree with you Jann, Chalk Paint is OK for the distressed look on an item you are not going to use very much. In the long run the extra time you spend using latex is worth it!

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  3. I love chalk paint on some pieces. It does not have to be distressed at all if that is not the look you are going for but if you are into distressing it is easier to accomplish with chalk paint then latex. I have some pieces I have waxed and some that I have used polyurethane on. Polyurethane is preferable for pieces that are going to get a lot of use. The one mistake I made with chalk paint though is doing my kitchen cabinets! Totally regret it!! One year later and they need to be redone. When I get up the nerve and the stamina they will be done right. Sanded and painted with latex. Unless I come into a small windfall and then they will be replaced! LOL

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  4. I totally agree with you. I tried chalk paint on a few projects and I do not like the finish and wood furniture. I do a process where I sand with varying coarseness of sandpaper between coats so that I get a very smooth surface. Chalk paint is just so rough. Glad to know I am not the only one, I appreciate you speaking out about it.

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  5. I agree with you as well about not using chalk(y) paint anymore.
    I prepped well, primed and painted pieces with store bought and DIY chalky paints, but with very little activity, every piece that I chalk painted chipped easily- unless I put a top coat on it. I have a headboard that I made out of a piece of pier found on the beach that I primed with Zinsser Bullseye 1-2-3 and two coats of BEHR Cottage White latex paint and I didn’t use a top coat. I have moved the piece and I have scraped it hard with my fingernail and the paint will not budge. People talk about latex paint leaving a sticky finish, but my headboard is not sticky at all. There are other paints out there that are self-sealing and made for furniture, but they are way overpriced and the color palate is very limited; whereas, there is an almost endless variety of high quality latex paint and great colors out there and the tools are far less expensive. No more chalky paint or boutique paints for me.

    Reply

    • Jessica, I like two different paints for painting furniture. Both are very durable. I like Pittsburgh Paint’s Breakthrough paint, and Benjamin Moore’s Advance paint.

      Reply

  7. I agree with your thoughts completely. My husband and I were “gifted” with around 15 pieces of older, potentially junk furniture from his mother after his grandparents passed away. It’s a mix of cheaper 70’s-80’s chip board, Ethan Allen classic 40’s and 50’s pieces, a China hutch and buffet from his 4x great-grandparents around Civil War era, and an art deco desk that I hated initially, lol. I tried the chalk paint on a small side table and it looked nice for about a week. Then it started chipping and paint was literally falling off of it, and the paint showed stains so badly. After that, I learned my lesson. I properly prime and sand all my pieces now, and use Behr latex paint to paint with. Then use a clear sealant, and no more issues with excess damage. While the look that chalk paint gives can be neat, I can do the same with latex paint and at a fraction of the cost. Count me in as one of the ones who isn’t a fan of chalk paint.

    Reply

  8. Hi! If I knew then what I know now, I would have sanded and primed these built ins. I did a 3rd coat on a small section just to test it and I STILL dont have the coverage I need.
    If I’m going to give these a 3rd coat I was thinking i should get some latex paint and a roller at this point. I do not want to do a 4th coat.
    Do you think I could just paint on top of this chalk paint? No wax or sealer has been applied.

    Reply

    • Angelica, sorry you’re having trouble with your chalk paint. I don’t have any experience with painting over chalk paint. I would do a Google search for that topic.

      Reply

  9. I agree with a lot of what you have said. I sell my own chalk paint powder, which is a far cheaper way to have chalk paint. I never advise no prep, a logical person should sand their piece, paints need a surface to grip on to.. I don’t wax my pieces, unless it is a surface that might be exposed to liquids. My wax I rub in with the fingers, so only a little is used, and it is absorbed far better. I will give a light sand to create a smooth surface. on the finish. Chalk paint does go further than a normal water based paint.

    Reply

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