Peony Lane Designs

How Long Does Chalk Paint Take to Dry?

June 17, 2021

You’ve heard chalk paint dries fast but exactly how long does chalk paint take to dry?

How long does it take for chalk paint to dry

Well that depends on what you mean by dry. Chalk paint is an amazing product. It’s no odor formula that you can use in your home without worrying about making your family ill. Yes the paint does dry quickly. That’s why people struggle with their chalk paint thickening up too quickly (you can read my blog post on what to do about that here), but is it really dry?

So How Long Does Chalk Paint Take to Dry?

Chalk paint is dry to the touch within minutes. Usually within a half an hour you can touch what you’re painting and not have any chalk paint transfer onto your hands. Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean it’s actually dry.

How Long Should it dry before a Second Coat?

I usually what a couple hours for my chalk paint to dry before I attempt a second coat. If you don’t you will pull the first coat off and have a hot mess on your hands (I speak from experience here). Even after a couple hours depending on your environment you could have a problem. Annie Sloan’s recommendation is 24 hours (they didn’t tell you that in the sales pitch did they).

How Long Should Chalk Paint Dry Before Adding a Topcoat?

Once you are happy with the paint coverage you are going to want to use a top coat to protect it. Most chalk paint stockist recommend waxing your piece. You don’t have to just use wax. I did a test of topcoats and found that you can use just about any top coat you want with varying results. If you want to see how each topcoat fairs check out this post here. What ever topcoat you choose you will want to wait for you paint to dry at least as long as you waited for the paint to dry between coats. So if that was 4 or 5 hours that’s how long you should wait. I usually wait overnight to be safe.

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So Is It dry?

Now you’re topcoat is dry so you’re all set right? Not exactly.

This is where the question of how long before it’s dry really gets people frustrated. It can take as long as two weeks before the paint is actually cured. Which just simply means before it’s stuck on their good and tight.

Again, they didn’t tell you that when they sold you this stuff did they! Nope.

I have had pieces I painted then stuck into my inventory only to have the paint easily scrape away when a customer has bumped up against it. You can put your pieces in you house but you will still want to be very gentle with them for two weeks at least.

I sincerely hope that this post has helped answer some of your questions about dry time. Let me know if you’ve run across any other difficulties in the comments below. Maybe I can help!

Once your project is dry you might be curious what kinds of top coats you can use to protect your finish besides wax. I tested a few commercially available top coats to find out if they work with chalk paint. You can see that post HERE.

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Are you looking for a new challenge? Check out one of my favorite new posts Trying Angelus Leather Paints.

Many blessings to you all!

Paint Upholstery with Jacquard Fabric Paint

May 22, 2021

I found the perfect office chair but the upholstery was dated and stained. Jacquard fabric paint to the rescue! Time to paint upholstery.

Let me say that I loved the farmhouse hoop back chair that I was using at my desk. I loved the look. I loved the size. I just didn’t love the way my back felt after sitting on the hard wooden chair for an extended period of time.

Enter my new chair. Isn’t it beautiful.

No! Not at all!

I picked it up from the thrift store for $8. It must have been a dinning room chair or a restaurant chair of kind. It has that look.

But it’s pretty right?

Again, no.

I mean just look at the stains on the upholstery.

Other than the stains the upholstery is in good condition. So in my world of rescue it don’t replace it, I decided to give it a paint job.

Let’s Paint Upholstery

I had previously used the Jacquard Lumiere paint when I painted an old purse with it to give the bag some upstyle. I was really impressed with the coverage and I knew at some point I would be painting upholstery using this paint.

Today was the day.

I decided to go with the Jacquard Lumiere in Rose Gold. I bought the 8 ounce pot of paint but I didn’t use more than half. You will have to determine how much you think you’ll need.

The Lumiere metallic colors are gorgeous but if that’s not the style you’re looking they have so many other colors. Including a bunch of neutral shades.

This paint goes on without any extra fan fair. You paint it on as you would any other paint. The first coat soaks in a little but not bad. Not as much as I assumed the first time I used it.

I have used other fabric paints that soaked in really bad so I’d been burned before by paints that claimed to cover fabric. They always seem to require you to either water it down or some other process before painting. With this it’s just paint and go.

Love it!

My chair needed a second coat. So after the first coat was dry to the touch I went back after it. This time the paint covered beautifully.

Once I gave the whole thing it was time to address the chair frame. Of course I wasn’t going to leave the dark frame on the newly updated chair seat. Oh no, no no!

I gave the whole frame a coat of Kilz Adhesion because I didn’t want to sand down the whole chair. The adhesion give’s the surface a good bonding coat.

The whole frame was painted white because my desk is white. Plus I thought it would coordinate well with the Rose Gold fabric.

Now she looks pretty! And it will be a nice cushioned seat for my desk. See you just have to look past the ugly.

In anticipation of the top question, not it’s not crunchy or sticky. It stayed flexible. It now feels a little like outdoor fabric. My understanding is if you iron the fabric it get’s softer but I’m okay with the texture so I didn’t iron it. I know from the purse project what the texture was going to be in advance so at least I knew what I was getting into.

When you sit on the chair it’s not uncomfortable. It feels fine.

Here’s a quick close up of the seat cushion so you can see it even covered the stain.

Even the back of the chair is now stain free! Well is it stain free or stain hidden? Either way it looks so much better now.

If you’re looking for a good way to improve your outdoor furniture check out the video below.

If you want you can check out all my other videos trying fabric paint too!

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Can You Paint Over Chalk Paint?

May 10, 2021

Maybe your paint yellowed, maybe you’re don’t like the finish, maybe you simply don’t like the color. So Can you paint over chalk paint?

When I started using Annie Sloan it was all hearts, stars, and rainbows. I painted everything with chalk paint. After all that’s what it’s known for being able to paint over anything.

Then I ran into my first problem with chalk paint. It yellowed really bad. That was before I figured out why my chalk paint was yellowing. So I either had to cover the yellowed paint or live with it, but can you paint over chalk paint?

How to Paint Over Chalk Paint

The good news is you can cover over chalk paint just like any latex product. And like any other paint you with need to know how to do it correctly.

Here’s what you need to know:

How Was the Paint Protected?

All paint has to have some type of protection or top coat. Some people use wax, some people use a polyacrylic clear coat.

If you’re dealing with a clear coat (you can tell because it will feel like a normal painted surface) then you only have to scuff the surface with sandpaper or a scuff pad and paint over the surface like you would normally paint any other surface.

If you’re looking at a piece that’s covered in wax buckle up because it’s about to get real. If you’re not sure if the surface is waxed or not not run your hand over the surface. Does it feel soft? Not like a normal surface but a little fuzy? When you scratch it with your fingers do you scrape away residue? That’s wax and it takes a little more effort. You will need to clean away all the wax.

To get rid of the wax use mineral spirits and a scuff pad to scrub it away. At least Klean Strip now makes and odorless mineral spirts. Then you will need to clean the whole surface to remove the mineral spirits.

This process is time consuming and a bit of a mess. Sorry it’s the only way to take care of the wax. If you don’t clean it all off you’ll end up with a wax resist which can be pretty if that’s what you’re looking for!

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Many blessings to you!

Update On Spray Painted Ceramic How Has It Held Up?

April 27, 2021

Last Spring I spray painted a ceramic angel for my garden. I thought I should circle back and let you guys know how it held up!

Remember this little guy! If not you can read the post HERE. Well I left him out all year in the wind, rain, and 20 below winter temps, so I wanted to give you a quick update to let you know how the paint job held up/

Spray Painted Ceramic 1 Year Later

As you can see, the paint held up beautifully. The ceramic however . . . Well that’s another story.

The back is still in perfect condition aside from the little chip on his toe. The poor little guy.

And his wing has a little chip now too.

I guess I should have brought him in from the cold. The paint is unaffected in it’s time out in the weather though. It’s as glossy and pretty as the day I painted it

In the end if I had put the angel in the garage during the winter months. Minnesota winters are brutal on things like flower pots and outdoor ornaments. The truth is I kinda forgot this little guy was still hanging out outside when winter came and buried him.

As long as I seal those chips with some clear coat, and remember to bring him in out of the cold, I think he will survive a few years more.

At this point I think I have spray painted everything.

So that’s my update. I will be filtering in a few other updates because I’ve had questions on a few other projects as well, so make sure you get signed up for my newsletter! That way you won’t miss a single post!

Many blessings to you!

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Thrift Store Flip Before & After

April 24, 2021

One my favorite parts of my job is thrift store flips. Shopping at thrift store makes home decor affordable. Even if what you find doesn’t quite fit your aesthetic like this “I Love Bears” tote I found at a local Goodwill.

Hmm. It has its charm, but it’s not the look I or my customers are looking for for their homes. I mean, I like bears but not that much.

The first thing you have to deal with on any thrift store flip are those sticky price tags. I know why they use such sticky tags (my customers remove mine all the time) but I’m always a little resentful when the tag is extra stubborn.

Lucky for me this tag wasn’t too much of a problem. I’ve had worse especially on raw wood like this piece where it leaves behind a ton of residue.

Once that was taken care of it was time to sand away the stenciling.

Kudos to whoever stenciled this piece because their lines were crisp! That’s extremely difficult on wood that’s not sealed so I had to take a moment to appreciate the artistry of whoever stenciled this.

I also sanded away all the rough edges.

I’m a little surprised that the previous owner didn’t take the time to do this step. The edges were extremely rough and there were splintery pieces over the entire piece. It’s a strange step to skip. You don’t want people injuring themselves on your tote, so I’m sanding the whole piece.

After I sanded the whole projects I used a tack cloth to clean all the dust and debris off the pieces.

Even when I think a piece is clean it seams these clothes can find all the dirt that escaped my first cleaning attempt. They are well worth the few dollars they cost to have some of these on hand.

Even after all that sanding there is still the ghostly shadow the bears left behind. Since I’m not in the mood to belt sand today I decided to leave it. I was planning to paint it anyway. If I was going to stain the piece I would have had to sand the wood past this shaddow.

Instead I decided to B-I-N it. This has to be my favorite primer. I’ve tried a bunch and this one just works. Every time.

If you’re going to paint a raw wood piece it’s always best to prime first. Otherwise your paint will soak in so you’ll have to use extra coats. And you run the risk of phantom stains leaching up through the paint from sap and tannins. You don’t want that!

Once the primer was dry I used a 220 grit sand paper and lightly sanded away where the grain had lifted. That happens any time you paint on unfinished wood. All you need is the weight on your hand (not pressing down) and a few quick swipes back and forth to get rid of that raised texture.

Shuttered cottage for this thrift store flip

I chose Shuttered Cottage a wonderful pale blue color that has the perfect beachy vibes.

Because I’m giving this tote a Shabby Chic feel, I’m not planning to paint a solid color over the entire piece. That means the amount in the cap after shaking up the pot is probably going to be more than enough.

I used a light, stuttering stroke to get the imperfect look I was going for in this thrift store flip! I didn’t want a solid color across the whole piece. Instead I wanted to see some of the primer peaking through.

Now it’s beachy and beautiful!

This project took only a few minutes and a tiny bit of product. it’s ready for a price tag and to be whisked away to my shop. I know someone will take this beauty home at the next sale.

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If you enjoyed this before and after don’t miss this

Many Blessings to you!

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