Chalk Paint Random Tips

~ One coat covered very well on the dresser project. I suppose because I was going from a medium color wood to gray. On my side table project I did 2 coats since I was painting Old White over dark wood. It covered the dark wood much better after 2 coats.

~ On large surfaces like the side or top of a dresser try to use brush strokes going in the same direction. I feel like this really helps with a smooth finish once the chalk paint dries.

~ Don't panic with the streaky look of the chalk paint when wet, it dries beautifully even.

~ I applied the clear wax with an Italian Wax brush.

I noticed when you apply the clear wax with this brush (and probably any other bristle brush) the bristles scrape the chalk paint ever so slightly to reveal the layer below. Maybe if I would've done 2 coats on the dresser this wouldn't have happened so much. In my opinion, it adds to the character of the piece but FYI: If you have a super nasty color underneath that you absolutely do not want to peek through, I would go ahead and hit your piece with 2 coats to minimize any chance of scratch thru. But it is very minor. For the dresser, I knew I was going to distress the edges any way so this wasn't too much of a concern. But just so you know....

~ The wax brush is a chunk of change at about $35 so I use it for my clear wax and use a cheap chip brush for the darker waxes like the Fiddes Jacobean and the Hannant's Rustic. That was a great tip from the man at the specialty store where I bought the paint. If you're going to invest in an italian wax brush use it exclusively for the clear since you'll probably be covering more surface area with that one.

~ Make sure you put the clear wax on before you put any dark wax on. If you haven't sealed the chalk paint with a clear wax, it will stain the chalk paint and you won't be able to wipe it off if you get it too dark

~ If you do get too much dark wax and the baby wipes won't clean it up sufficiently you can add clear wax over the dark wax and rub out the dark wax. It almost acts like an eraser. Isn't that wacky? It works....I tried it.

~ Lastly, this paint is extremely artistic which I love. I used to paint with oils and acrylics and I bet many of you out there who like to do this sort of thing are artsy as well. You can do all sorts of creative things so just dive in and experiment. The wonderful thing about these waxes and the chalk paint is that you can just paint over the "oops" area with the chalk paint and start over. So you really don't have much to lose except for a little time.

I hope that wasn't too much rambling about chalk paint. I hope you all who say you have some and haven't used it just go for it! Let me know if you paint something...I'd love to see it :)
Good luck and happy painting, friends!