Paint Tips

When I first started this blog, I was all about chalked paint. I was convinced that latex paint required way too much work to prep my furniture, so chalked paint was the route I took.

If you haven't yet heard of chalk paint and all the reasons to use it, then let me catch you up to speed: You can paint it on any surface with no sanding prep required.

What most people don't tell you is how much work it is to wax your furniture after you paint it. Wax is like the "poly" of chalk paint so you really can't skip this step, as tempting as it is. I even made this cute little thing you can pin to remind yourself why you should use chalked paint. :)


In my experience, the chalked paint itself was fun and never a problem. It's the waxing process I hated, and I never thought the waxed finish was as durable as I wanted it to be. Sure, on the dresser drawer it was okay, but definitely not the top surface of a dresser or table. The amount of work that goes into waxing quickly became not worth it.

Now, I mostly use the Advance line by Benjamin Moore for my furniture revivals.

My local paint guy helped me discover this. In fact, he gave me a free gallon of two different kinds of paint to try and this is the one I fell in love with.

It is SO EASY to use in my new sprayer, and the finish it gives is professional, I really can't believe it. It's smooth, self leveling, and extremely durable. It doesn't even require a top-coat, though I still do this on table tops because of how much use they get.

Best of all the prep work is minimal! Advance paint is a latex that acts like an oil based paint and is designed to bond well with previously oil-based finishes. This means most wood furniture! I still thoroughly clean the wood, then I quickly scuff it up to create a deeper bond for the paint (as recommended by my paint guy) and then I paint!

The only downside to using this paint is it requires an extra long dry-time between coats. The can says 16 hours (who has time for that!). Here in Denver where it's dry, I can get away with less time between coats, especially with my sprayer because it lays down such thin coats. To me, this wait time is worth it to provide a professional finish that I am confident will hold up for my clients in their daily use of it.

My advice to you: Don't be afraid to experiment and try something new! Just because the world seems to be raving about chalked paint, doesn't mean it's right for you!




Still interested in chalked paint? Here's some links to help you out!


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