How to Prevent Chalk Paint Cracking

Chalk paint cracking is one of the problems if you use chalk paint. You can fix them, or you may even want to create crack effect to create aging effect. It’s your choice.

Crack in the furniture, especially wood is usual if you have old furniture. Before painting you must prevent further chalk paint cracking. You can use wood glue like Gorilla Glue to fill the cracks and coat them with wood filler. After dry, you can sand the furniture before apply the chalk paint. You need to clean the surface also. The crack can also happen after second layer of coating. The paint will peel off and crack.

To avoid the cracking in chalk paint you can rub the furniture with abrasive pad like Scotch Brite and Tri Sodium Phosphate Cleaner. After that, you can wipe use soft cloth and Denatured Alcohol to remove any cleaner residue. You can sand the furniture use 150 grit sandpaper and directly clean with pad and TSP before painting. If the furniture still feel sticky, you can coat with Shellac on the sticky areas only or even entire surface.

Other Chalk Paint Problems

Besides chalk paint cracking, after first coating dry; you can also see stains. For this problem you can use shellac too or water or oil based lacquer depend on the stain type. After dry, you can apply the second coating of paint before waxing. Another problem may also occur after second coating after waxing. After the first coat of wax, your furniture suddenly looks streaky or shows some wood under. It usually happens in the light colors like Old White or Country Grey.

If that happen, don’t be panic to soon. You must let the wax dry first to see if it can back to normal. If not, just apply paint in the areas that imperfect then wax again. It will make the wax uneven, but you can dry it and apply the second coating. Other chalk paint problem is you may apply too much wax. You can fix that by rubbing it with a synthetic green pot scrubber. If the wax is too much wax, you can use 280 to 350 grit sandpaper gently without peel the paint.

After the wax look good, smooth with wax brush and polish it. Another problem in chalk paint is after clear wax, you may want to apply dark wax, but it is uneven and blotchy. You can use green pot scrubber again and sandpaper too. But, you may need to repaint your furniture. Next, because the chalk paint usually dry fast, and even faster in summer; when the second coating make the first coat to peel off, you must pause the work and give another two hours rest before start to coat again.

Creating Chalk Paint Cracking

Some people want to avoid chalk paint cracking, but others want to create cracking effect for more aging look. To do this, you can apply thick layer of the paint that is hard to dry; and then dry it with a hair dryer, so the paint will immediately dry and crack. After that, you can apply the clear wax first before applying dark soft wax. Prevent the crack or create the crack is all up to you.

Best Chalk Paint Companies

Chalk paint companies can offer different result each. You must do comparison before deciding on which want you want to buy.

We already know that Chalk Paint® is actually a trademark for Annie Sloan. But, there are other chalk paint companies or to be exact, companies produce similar products. This article tries to give comparison for several well-known brands found in the markets. Here, of course we can’t leave the pioneer Annie Sloan. Others to be reviewed are Maison Blanche Paint Company, Vintage Market Furniture Paint, CeCe Caldwell's, American Paint Company, Websters Chalk Paint Powder, and Valspar’s.

Comparison on Chalk Paint Companies

First companies of chalk paint are Annie Sloan and Maison Blanche Paint Company. Annie Sloan the pioneer to the chalk paint that is based in the UK. It has 30 colors in French colors pallet. One of the most used colors by the customers is Duck Egg Blue. It is considered as the most expensive chalk paint, since the 4oz sample package costs around $11.95 and $38.95 per quart Next is Maison Blanche Paint Company. The price is little lower than Annie Sloan, and very thick. You can add some water though.

Further on the Chalk Paint Companies Comparison

Both of Annie Sloan and Maison Blanche dry quickly. But, Maison Blanche is less chalky than Annie Sloan. It also has 5 different types of wax at least, unlike Annie Sloan that has only two. Other chalk paint manufacturers are Vintage Market Furniture Paint and CeCe Caldwell’s. Vintage Market Furniture Paint offers 4 different sizes. The price per quart is about $28.00. Actually they have been established for around 40 years ago, but they renew the formula.

Next is CeCe Caldwell's. The company claimed their product is eco-friendly, no VOC, and non-toxic chalk and clay paint. The package is also made from materials that are recycled. The price for 4oz sample is about $8.95 and $34.95 per quart. The colors pallet is on earth tone. Compare to Annie Sloan, CeCe is thinner. Next chalk paint companies are American Paint Company and Websters Chalk Paint Powder. American Paint Company is mineral-based with no VOC, solvent free, all natural, and ecofriendly.

American Paint color names are very American like 'Born on the 4th', 'Blue Jeans', 'Liberty', 'First Lady', or 'Spacious Skies'. It has 33 pallet colors in soft and neutral earthy, but more vibrant than Annie Sloan. The price for 4oz sample is $9.95 and a quart is $34.95. The company recommends little sanding for shiny pieces unlike other companies that claim no sanding or priming. The American paint is also a bit thicker, rougher, and drier than Annie Sloan. It has vintage antiquing wax that can be applied without clear wax first.

Next we have Websters Chalk Paint Powder. As the name suggest, it has different form than any other brands. It has powder form that you can mix with water and any latex paint that you choose. To make a quart of paint, you only need a bag of 4 oz powder with the price around $13.95. It seems as the most economical product, but remembers that you still need to buy latex paint. Tough latex paint is cheaper than chalk paint; you should consider the paint quality too. Other and the last chalk paint brand to be reviewed is Valspar.

A 40z of Valspar’s sample jar can cover 25 feet of surface in only at $2. It has a large range variety of colors also. You don’t need to sand before and wax after. It can be the most economical and easiest to apply. But, it doesn’t have “matte” or chalky finish like others tough. That all for the chalk paint companies review. You can determine your choice based on the finish you want to get, the color choice, and of course, your budget.