2 SECRETS TO PAINTING GLASS OR CHALKBOARDS WITH CHALK PAINT

I've been painting my own Chalkboards and painting on glass such as old windows, long before it became all the rage. In that time, I developed my own secrets and techniques to make them super smooth and to keep the paint from scratching, even with harsch kids chalk writing and extreme wear.

So, here I go, sharing 2 of my trade secrets to painting glass or chalkboards with Chalk Paint! And as usual, when I say Chalk Paint, I mean the one and only, trademarked name "Chalk Paint", which is Annie Sloan paint. I don't recommend other brands of paint that claim to be "Chalky" or "chalk type" because they do not contain the same patented ingredient combination that Annie Sloan trademarked over 20 years ago that is proven to stand up with wear and time.

The first step to painting on glass (for this post, we'll say an old window) or to create a chalkboard is to make sure your surface is bump free and dirt free. Because you'll be writing on it, the tiniest little bump or indention can create problems.

I clean the glass initially with a window cleaner and then follow with alcohol to ensure removal of any trace chemicals that can ruin the consistency and adhesion of your paint.

Wood surfaces, such as the cabinet door samples I show here, I simply sand lightly with a very fine grit paper.

Once you know you are working with a smooth, clean product, it's really not as simple as painting on the Chalk Paint and all of a sudden having a chalkboard. Not if you want it to have the look of an aged chalkboard and to last for years to come.

Here are the steps! Follow closely and I assure you that your quality outcome will be that like example I showed above that was used at a wedding and then kept to be reused many times over.

Supplies You Will Need:

Glass Cleaner, Alcohol, 220 grit/Fine Sanding Pad or Paper

1 Can Aerosol Chalkboard Spray (THIS IS NOT FOR YOUR FINISH, but used as a prime spray to get a smooth coat before you apply your Chalk Paint, instead of using an extra coat of Chalk Paint. It is easier to get that smooth base finish by spraying and it is cheaper! If a dual sided glass such as a window, I also spray the back just to darken the base color coat and in case of the tiniest knicks showing through. This step is the first of my 2 secrets to painting on glass after many years of adjusting my process.

Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in color GRAPHITE

1 Clean, Even/Smooth paint brush of your choice. (See my recommendations HERE)

Clear Paste Wax (Learn more about this HERE) This is secret #2, as chalkboards DO NOT get sealed, but we are going to seal in a bottom coat, and then chalk on top of it for use.

Clean Dry towel (think cloth baby diaper!) to apply wax. No need to buff.

Your Project piece - an old window, a frame with the glass in it, or any object you want to transform into a chalkboard

Chalk to season your board (learn more below) BEFORE you ever write on it .
Now that you have all your items, you're ready to get started!

1: clean
2: spray/prime
3: paint
4: seal - remember, no need to buff as you'll be painting over this coat. You are just applying the wax to lock in this coat.

You'll want to then let this completely cure overnight or for a good 24 hours.

Next, apply a thicker yet uniform coat of Graphite. Because you have the base spray coat, you can avoid problem edges by going just up to them instead of needing to coat inner corners and edges fully and risking overflow onto the wood,etc. Once it dries, you will not notice because of the base spray. NOTE..... You DO NOT seal it this time.

Let it dry for another 24 hours

Now you are ready to season your chalkboard. If you write on your chalkboard without doing this first, whatever you write will be forever etched into it. You MUST season the board first! Do this by laying a piece of chalk on it's side and wiping over the entire board in all directions. Wipe off with a dry, clean towel and repeat.

Your new chalkboard is now ready for anything you like, as fancy or functional as you want it to be!

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DISCLOSURE: ThriftyLittleThings.net is a PR Friendly personal blog written and edited by Wendy Kohn. The majority of what I post is based on my own ideas, thoughts and projects, for the sole purpose of sharing my passion. However, at times I do accept various forms of compensation such as paid topic insertions and/or products, monetary sponsorship, coupons and other forms of incentives from companies and organizations that I feel compliment the blog, and offer value to my readers. Compensation will never influence the content or posts made in this blog. All advertising is in the form of advertisements generated by a third party ad network. As the owner of this blog, I am sometimes compensated to provide opinion on products, services, websites and various other topics. Even though I may receive compensation for posts or advertisements, I always give my honest opinions, findings, beliefs, or experiences on those topics or products. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely my own and will NEVER be influenced by any form of compensation.