Homemade Chalk Paint Without Tears

We all love chalk paint, and of course, I still highly recommend buying Annie Sloan's Chalk paint, unless you are on a tight budget or just want to save some money.  Then you can make it yourself.  But if you use the wrong recipe you will end up with a ball of goo that nothing can remedy, wasting both your time and money. 

My first attempt at homemade chalk paint was just such a disaster.  The resulting paint was completely unusable.  I had used plaster of Paris, since it was easy to find and inexpensive.  But I simply cannot recommend using the plaster of Paris, since it does not incorporate well into the paint.

My second attempt was again with Plaster of Paris, but I used a much smaller amount of POP this time.  It worked but still had some small lumps.  You can check out my table I nicknamed Lumpy here. 

Since Lumpy, I did some more research and found that most bloggers recommended using Calcium Carbonate instead.  So I found the cheapest source of Calcium Carbonate (CaCO3) I could find, which in my case was Amazon,  and ordered it.  I actually got the CaCO3 several months ago, but just had time to try it this last week. 

Here is a BEFORE pictures of my mirror.

RECIPE FOR HOMEMADE CHALK PAINT

I CUP OF LATEX PAINT
3 TABLESPOONS OF CALCIUM CARBONATE.  

 I stirred it up and it worked perfectly.  I did not have to constantly stir it and it incorporated very well into a smooth consistency with only a few small lumps.  I think from what I have read that you can add as much or little as you want, depending on how chalky you want the paint to be. 

I painted several things and the consistency was good even to the bottom of the can. 

One reader she she found the CaCO3 at Home Depot.



So that's my story.  And several other bloggers have confirmed that CaCO3 is what they recommend as well.  Some have had success with other additives, but this is the one I can recommend. 

I used Fiddes Antique Brown wax after the paint dried.  I purchased my wax here at John Millen Hardware.  I do not make any money if you buy from them; I am only passing along the resource in case you want to know.  I like using the Antique Brown when I am waxing something painted white.  The clear doesn't add any color and the other antiquing waxes are too dark for white paint.

I like the mirror on my brick wall, so much better than this small clock that was there previously.  BTW, I painted the clock too; I couldn't help myself.  I'll show you that later.

  

  

Have you made homemade chalk paint? What worked for you? 

Shared here