Hi everybody, I need help. I never painted any furniture in my life ever. This time I got old mahogany bblack brown finished cabinet from Craiglist which I wanted to paint White color. This cabinet has glass doors at the front. Inside of the cabinet I want to paint light blue or yellow color. Please suggest me how to paint, I have heard about chalkboard paint is good. Please tell me the steps. I have heard that if you use chalkboard paint you don't have to sand. Please give me guidelines how to paint mahogany cabinet White color. I am a beginner.

Make sure you read people's experiences with chalk paint because some stains come through the paint even after the second coat. Check out YouTube. There are lots of demonstrations. Just type "chalk paint" into the search bar. This kind of paint is good for a "French Country" look which to me means a piece that looks aged from layers and layers and layers of thick paint, with some of it chipped off. If you are not going to sand, at least apply some "liquid sand paper" sold at Lowes or most hardware stores. Good luck.

Mahogany can be a tricky one. It is prone to staining the paint, commonly referred to as bleed through. This applies to all water based paints. Personally I would use a coat of Zinsser Bin primer and sealer first. A shellac based product will also have the same effect. I don't know about chalkboard paint but certainly with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint there is no need to sand first. I normally try out an area which can't be seen first to see it there will be any bleed though i.e. on the back or underneath. But as it is mahogany I would definitely seal it first.

No idea if anyone is going to be able to make it to the bottom of the comments section to read this… But I've used Annie Sloan a few times on projects. My assessment: like the paint, not a fan of the wax. My experience: I recovered some plastic kitchen cabinets with ASCP (so ugly before) and they turned out beautifully. I also recovered some cabinets in my office: also turned out beautifully. Finally, I recovered a $5 thrifted piece and topped with a soft wax. Result: horrible. The truth of the matter is, I am probably terrible at using wax. The other two projects I'd finished with a polyurethane. The kitchen cabinets did not show brushstrokes, but already had a preprinted wood grain in the gross plasticky material, so that might be one reason why the brushstrokes remained hidden. The cabinets in my office, however, were MDF. While the paint stuck just fine, I needed to cover the project with a polyurethane in order to remove some of the look of the brushstrokes. My guess: if I'd use a foam roller I may have had a different result in the smoothness of the finish. Using a polyurethane instead of wax (I think) definitely works better and changes the look to more uniform coverage. ALSO: it always takes me 2 1/2 coats to finish anything, whether sanded and primed or not. I'm not sure if that's my lack of expertise in painting, or simply the nature of the product. The merchant I purchased the paint from told me outright it would likely take 2 1/2 coats. FINALLY, I cleaned all the pieces with a water/ distilled white vinegar solution first. That removed previous seen and unseen chemical gunk, and may helped with adhesion. That's my two cents. Happy painting!

I just did three small chests with chalk paint. I used a dark gray and light gray combination. One chest was unfinished, the second had very old paint and "antiquing" and the third had several coats of varing paints. I also purchased a chalk paint brush. Overall I am pleased with the results but I agree that it is not a mirror smooth finish. I have brush stokes but that doesn't concern me. I did two coats on each piece as I was putting a light gray over a dark green and a purple. It covered well with no bleed through. I did wax the pieces but I would not do that again. I would use a flat poly -urethane as the wax doesn't not hold up well to any use.

I definitely would not use this on any piece of furniture that's going to be used a lot. It stains, looks sloppy and doesn't clean well unless you keep putting wax on (and that builds up over time!) I love Old Village Paints or Benjamin Moore's satin oil-base paint. They go on smoothly, clean really well, and stay looking great over time.

I had the same problem with this paint, but once I put the lid back on and to shake the hell out of it everything was fine. Stirring just did not work for me.

I used this just yesterday on two beautiful leather chairs and I followed direction completely.When it dried it completely destroyed my beautiful chairs.

I complained to Ann Sloane on facebook as yet no response. I am going to the store that sold me the paint with the chairs. This stuff is garbage!!

A bit of a sweeping statement. You don"t actually say what the problem was which leads me to guess that perhaps there was a problem with the application. The important thing is to do a test patch somewhere inconspicuous first. Secondly remember to water down the paint. By how much depends on the fabric (hence the test area first). If you did not water it down or didn't add enough water, you may end up with a
crackled look. This may help you.....Try sanding the paint softly with
some 300 or 400 grit sandpaper. Make sure to be careful
not to sand the edges or corners since you may break through to the
actual leather. Again- stay away from the edges so you do not
accidentally get a distressed look by wearing through the paint. When have done this use a soft rag to wipe off any excess paint and pigment and then give it a light coat of wax.

Here is a link to a very goodtutorial on painting leather - hope it helps you.

Hi Tina, I got the directions from the store owner and followed her exact instructions. I have taken the chairs into her store and she asked me to bring in the paint I bought from her She says she has never seen this happen before and she has no idea what went wrong. It is not my first time using this paint so I have no idea. Anyway, she has promised to repaint them for me so I will give her an opportunity to correct it. I still would never use it again on leather or vinyl furniture after this experience.

Tina, I did watch that video and it was a good one I wish they had told me to water the paint down first as in the video.

Elizabeth I know it is off putting when things don't go right but it is really good to hear that she has offered to repaint them for you. I am sure they will turn out wonderful in the end.

Yes watering it down is very important. Easily corrected but I am surprised they didn't mention that to you.

No, I wish they had and I am sure that was the problem. Thank you for pointing that out. Yes, I was shocked and extremely upset but I am sure they will correct

it. They also need to tell customers that when you paint leather or vinyl that it needs to cure before you wax it. I am stuck with no chairs around my table and I happen to have guests in my home. Anway it could be worse thanks again for the information I have bookmarked it.

After reading all the good and bad comments on chalk paint I decided to try it myself. Now I have been painting furniture for 33 years with great success on the old ways sand prime paint and glass and seal well I decided to order Annie Sloan and those ridiculously expensive paint brushes thought it must be good stuff for the price. . Well I thought let's try it and find out. I HATED it . It's runny expensive and gritty I have only did 1 piece using that expensive chalk paint and went back to my old ways of doing furniture .I have been selling furniture and in the last 4 years sold over 3000 pieces and. not one complaint using the traditional primer ,sherwin Williams paint glaze and a sealer I hope I never do . So now I am stuck with all this chalk paint I can't give away so that's my take on Annie slogans chalk paint

Then no prep part just isn't true . i use a sherwin williams primer tinted in grey before i chalk paint . I tested annie sloan duck egg blue and it wipes right off a un primed surface .i have my favorite paints i mix to make chalk myself . And so far they are better than the big names in chalk paint .

Angel Arnett, you say you use SW primer. Do you prep before the primer? I think what excites most of us about the Annie Sloan claims is that you don't have to prep which turns out not to be true in so many cases. I'm surprised the stuff is still on the market from all the complaints. My guess is that if you like that "French Country" look where every owner has put on a new layer of paint, and now you want to apply your own, it's probably perfect. You'll get that chipped,cracked, aged, vintage look. But if you want that mat finish we see in furniture stores, there are no short cuts.

I shudder to think how many fine old pieces have been ruined with the AS paints !!

I agree Katrina. I have some chalk paint from Lowes sitting on a shelf unopened. After reading all the negative experiences people have had, I afraid of the disappointment. I'm a lazy painter and it wouldn't take much failure to steer me clear of Chalk Paint forever. Due to the popularity of that smoooooth mat finish on today's painted finishes I see some of the "bigger guns" in the paint industry taking up the cause. Think I'd be quicker to buy one of their products just because of their R&D.

After purchasing Chalk Paint and following the store instructions
To a tee. I completely destroyed two beautiful leather chairs. I ended up taking them to the store as they insisted I did it wrong. They
Ended up keeping my chairs two months. In the end my chairs got destroyed and they paid me less than half of what the chairs
Were worth.

Same here Martae . Used some of it ..did what we r supposed to...Really awful stuff. Luckily wasn't a "predcious" piece. Never again. !!

I have a feeling there are 2 different camps of chalk paint users. One camp likes the "French Country" vintage distressed look. The other camp is going for that smooth mat finish with no chips or cracks, maybe just the corners or high spots enhanced--in other words, they still want the piece to look new. I'm not saying either one is right or wrong, but the look you're going for dictates the amount of elbow grease you have to put into it. I could be wrong but reading all these posts leads me to that conclusion.

Tannan blocking PRIMER is needed... mahogany is the worst when it comes to bleed through, especially with white chalk paints, and that's to do with all the titanium that's in the white paints to make them white, it just makes them THIN and hard to work. White and light colors will take 2-3 coats if you're not using a primer. 1-2 with. Good luck!

That's good advice Primerone. Something to keep in mind. Better to put the time in with the Tannan Blocking Primer, than to have to fight that bleed through later. thanks for the tip!

Is there anyone out there that has used the chalk paint and gotten it smooth without spraying it on? I'm seeing some DIY'ers using rollers. Would you use sponge or a roller with a nap. Would you have to sand in between coats to keep it smooth? Anyone have a photo of a smooth chalk paint hand painted finish? and advice on how you got it that way? Thanks in advance.

Martae. I'm a newbie and I'm working on a piece now. I hand painted using a shorty Wooster brush. It's smooth so far, but I haven't put the wax on yet. If I can remember I'll show you once it's done

Thanks Q.B., I'd appreciate seeing it and welcome your comments about how you like it.

I'm not done yet. I've only put wax on the last three drawers and I think I'm going to do another coat of white. I also still have the painters tape on. Th finish isn't exactly a simultaneous color. There's texture there that I hadn't initially wanted, but it's starting to rub off on me. This is my first time painting furniture. They said that using ASCP was so easy a caveman could do it, so I went for it. I think it's really easy if you're going for that distressed look because the more you mess up the better, but trying to get a modern look has been hard for me at least. I used three coats of napoleonic blue and for the white I started with 123 bullseye primer and then did three coats of pure white so far. I really thought it would be ok to just throw the primer on and I've really messed up my white by doing that because the paint drops are still showing through and the chalk paint isn't hiding my mistakes. I might need stronger sand paper. I lightly sanded in between some coats and not others. Overall I'm happy with the piece, but if you want a completely smooth color I wouldn't recommend this paint (for a newbie like me at least). I used a 2 inch Purdy brush for the white and a shorty Wooster brush for the blue. I'll post my finished product whenever I'm done as well

Thanks Q.B. I really appreciate the feed back. I can see that spraying the chalk paint on is the only way to get that very smooth modern look. That's a downer! I'm a lazy painter and also a newbie to chalk paint. I've wondered if a flat paint with a crackle top coat and then a wax would look any good. Guess I'm going to have to take the plunge and ruin a piece to get the experience.

Rather than throwing out a complete bed set I decided to give chalk paint a try! I watched a YouTube video and went to home depot to buy my Annie Sloan paint and wax and found out it had to be special ordered so I settled for a well known brand of rustoleum chalk paint and a Minwax Wax called "natural." Even after watching the Annie Sloan videos claiming that 1 coat, I was quite sure that it would take 2-3 Coats to cover over heavily varnished dark wood and it did take 2 Coats no surprise there! 1st picture is the original furniture, the 2nd photo is after 2 Coats of chalk paint. Before starting the painting process, I removed all the hardware and also painted it twice. I used both a fine and extra fine Sandpaper flexible block which is easy to use and maneuver around corners and molding on furniture pieces! I wanted a shabby chic look as this is going into a beach condo bedroom. I let the 2nd coat of paint dry a few days and then started to distress the corners & Random areas and it was super easy and lots of fun. Next, use a soft rag and wipe out all of the chalk dust or use a vacuum cleaner with soft attachment as you want to be dust free before you wax! Run your finger over the furniture piece and if you he still had chalk dust on your finger you having dusted enough. Next, use a slightly damp soft rag and wipe the entire piece down said there is no chalked us remaining!Next, I used Minwax wax found at home depot in the color of natural which was the only one they had available. If you zoom in to picture you'll notice he gave it a slight antique look as it creates a slight golden yellow look. If they had a clear wax, I would have bought that, but will also finish the headboard using the same wax. Many of the comments from all different sites indicate the furniture paint had turned green, pink, yellow and most of that has to do with putting on too thick a layer of wax and not removing it within a few minutes. Remember wax on, wax off! One tip I read was to considerate waxing like your hair conditioner...you put hair conditioner on and when you rinse it off only what is needed stays on, so remember that your wax should go on but you should be putting on a thin coat and removing most of it only to put a thin layer of protection over your paint. Allow it to dry past tacky which for me was about an hour and then using soft T-shirt lightly buff. apply another coast next day of desired. I only did one coat. The more buffing you do the shinier it gets. I thought it was super easy for a first timer!

Pictures go with my recent post

Here's a photo of the rustoleum Chalk paint called white linen which I applied to the headboard and it did require 2 Coats and in some of the rounded pieces on the top of the head board required 3 Coats. It dries fast And by the time I finished one end of the bed I could go back and repaint the rounded parts again. I used a medium quality paint brush for all the angles and nooks and crannies and a 4" roller (with no texture as I did not want to create a texture with the paint) to roll the legs, wicker, and ALL flat areas.
The 2nd picture shows a before and when right side had one coat of paint. It ALWAYS needs a 2nd coat, unless you are painting over the same color. (Think of it just like painting a wall. If the current wall color is Brown and you're trying to change it to white, it's going to take 2 Coats no matter what type of chalk paint you buy!) The final picture is after 2 Coats of paint and distressing using a combination of fine and medium soft sanding blocks. Medium grit to go over all the wicker areas in center area as I wanted it heavily distressed and fine to slightly distress the corners on the posts. I still have to wax it which I'll do next week. Of course this project will take time, but in the end I'll save about $2000 not having to buy brand new furniture for our beach condo!

No matter what paint you use, always sand 120 grit , always primer. I’ve painted furniture for 35 years never had a problem

Hello guys! I want to renovate kitchen my parent's house. But I have a little problem - I always use Annie Sloan paints but it will be too expensive for large surfaces. What can you say about Renaissance Furniture Paint?

I read in this review that is it not bad. Have anyone tried it?

Steve, if you haven't bought the paint yet, I too have had good results with Rustoleum's Chalked. My project did need 2 coats (I gave it 3 to be sure). It's easy to judge how many coats just by looking at it. The Rustoleum Chalked goes a long way and it goes on very easy. One caution though. I lightly sanded, then started painting. I should have used a TSP or degreaser because my paint didn't stick well. In the first place Rustoleum doesn't make a finishing wax, so I bought a wax from DecoArt that resembles hand lotion in consistency. When I went to apply this liquidy wax, my paint lifted. I ended up having to start over. I sanded, and repainted. This time I used clear MINWAX. It applied over the chalk paint just fine and buffed nicely to give a professional looking finish. I added MIss Mustard Seed's liming wax on top of the clear wax then buffed and that went just fine too. I was told to let the surface harden for 30 days before putting anything on top of my table. So if anyone is wondering if you can mix manufacturers, the Rustoleum Chalk paint seems to be compatible with solid waxes from other companies, just stay away from any liquid/wet wax.

Chalk paint is GARBAGE at doing anything other than look the way you want it to for about 5 minutes before it starts to fail on you. Compared to other products on the market the adhesion, scratch resistance, color fastness, and sealing properties are terrible. Also, you will likely get stain and tannin bleed through from wood.

If you want a high quality finish that will last on wood furniture, the first thing you should be doing is getting a shellac primer to seal the wood + waterborne or true old fashioned oil paint, letting it cure, and then using a polishing grit + wax or glaze coats to obtain the flat finish and worn/distressed look you want.

Also there is no such thing as a paint that doesn't need a primer or any surface preparation if you want it to last. If someone told you that it is possible, even a manufacturer, they were lying and they know it. Obtaining a high quality and durable finish ALWAYS requires a separate primer. ALWAYS.

yeah that yellow bleed? TANNEN. You need a Tannen blocking primer pretty much good to use it on ALL WOOD, but def on Mahogany and Cherry woods cause they will BLEED!

I use: All in one primer

But even it says: Our brand new full hide and bonding primer is now available. Fast Drying, Self Levelling and industry standard full hide (3 wet mils on a drawdown card). Color: Gray Size: 32oz Quart (1 Liter) This FULL HIDE primer is great to use under whites and reds to add additional hide and improve coverage on colors that tend to require additional coats. This is ideal to put under your whites and reds! Note: This primer may not prevent wood tannin or nicotine bleed through. In those cases, a shellac type sealer may be required before your primer.

Those women who paint so much of their furniture with it must tiptoe around it all . THE PICS ARE ALL POSED. If you live a normal life , with kids , visitors , pets It just doesn't work. However if you have an item that is out of the way and not used . I say do it..BUT...wax it and then keep up the waxing. There are quite a few "bloggers" out there laughing all the way to their banks.

My favourite chalk paint brand is Autentico. I’ve used Annie Sloan and Rustoleum and found them both to get too thick and cloggy on the brush, even when watered down a bit, so those two brands leave very noticeable brush marks, which I don’t care for, as I prefer a less distressed finish too.
I also had a disaster with the Rustoleum Furniture lacquer, as it dried patchy, even after extensive mixing and very thins coats, it remained tacky for a long time and scratched off with my fingernail. It also says on the tin that it can go sticky in warm conditions, so obviously, Rustoleum know that it doesn’t even stay set or durable.
Since trying other products, I always use Autentico Versante Matt paint now.
It contains a protective ingredient, so there’s no finishing required, no waxing or buffing, and it’s waterproof and scrubbable too.
I used it on an upcycled antique pine school cupboard, to create a sink vanity unit in my downstairs cloakroom. Auntentico Versante can even be used outdoors on things like brick walls. It’s tough and doesn’t scratch or mark easily.
I’m posting a photo of a recently finished renovation of an old dresser base.
I used 2 coats of Versante Matt in Almond, over 1 coat of Autentico Primer, as the original wood was Jacobean dark oak, which was almost black, and I didn’t get any bleed through at all.
I also changed the original handles to beech knobs which I sealed with medium oak furniture wax.

Also, I only sanded lightly for a few minutes before the primer because it was advised on the tin. I didn’t sand between coats. So, there isn’t a lot of labour involved as no waxing or laquer is required after this tough paint.

I have used AS chalk paint in my bedroom furniture - 2 nightstands, a dresser, and armoire and had no problem. My first time using it. I went to a AS retailer in my area and she gave me very clear instructions verbally and on a hand out. I love my results.

I learned the hard way that some woods bleed through. Thankfully there is a quick and easy fix. Pick up some Bullseye Shellac at Home Depot and paint a thin coat over your pieces. This will prevent any bleeding and the chalk paint will come out as beautifully as you intended! PS-you can just paint the shellac over the pieces you already painted then start again with the chalk paint. This is why I love it because you really cant mess up.

Hi I have just used chalk paint for the first time on a large 1950s dressing table. I'm feeling disappointed but not defeated I too have a lot of heavy brush strokes but think I know why, I did shake the can and stir it a lot but I think the paint was still too thick and I over loaded my brush it also dries very fast so no time for messing about when painting. I also have a few bits showing where there were quit deep scratches and little bits of veneer missing which I was hoping would not show even sanded it al down to make sure. I think I'm going to sand it down again and maybe take a thin layer of veneer of the top of the dresser and hope for the best. if you are have trouble with brush strokes I think it's better to thin the paint a little and only paint with the edge of the brush gently and not laying the whole length of the brush down, that's also where I went wrong.

Jess B your cabinet looks great have you used a bit of silver with the grey it looks like it in the photo that's what I'm thinking of doing ?

I'm in the Uk and bought Annie Sloan paints a couple of year ago to paint some pieces of furniture. I attended a course run by the stockist and made a good job of a small tilt top table and a poor job of a mahogany coffee table (it was quite hot weather and I think that was the problem. However now I have a new one.

All of my Annie Sloan paints were purchased about 4 years ago. There are 8 cans of which 2 have been opened and part used. They are all stored in my 2nd bedroom, my craft room, which is warm and dry. I keep them in the plastic tubs that come with Ikea trofast units and saw that one had gone rogue and was sitting on another shelf in the room. When I picked it up & could see that the back of the can was full of holes along the seam and paint was leaking out. A can of Emilie, Chateau Grey and one of Olive were similarly affected (Chateau Grey had about 30% used and resealed. The other 2 cans hadn't even been opened.

I contacted AS UK and was told that they had changed their can supplier in 2016 (I wonder why!) and that the paint only had a shelf life of 12 months so, as a goodwill gesture, they would send me one can out. I've since checked the other 5 cans and even the previously unopened ones are rotting from the inside. The ones that are intact have what appears to be perfect paint in them.

I want my 3 cans replacing and 5 empty new cans sent out to decant the rest into. I've rung around several stockists and they all say things like the cans last for ever, no shelf life. oh they found a can that was 15 (or 25 according to who was telling the tails!) years, opened it and it was fine to use. AS won't budge on only replacing one can so thats £160 pounds worth of paint wasted. My own stockist is horrified at what I've told her and has said that she has had some of the cans for longer than a year and that no-one has ever said there's a shelf life of 12 month.

They say they've now put info on their cans stating it should be used within 12 month of purchase but your can might have been sitting on the shelf for some time. A bunch of liars and cheaters who wont admit to a problem. Buy something else.

Chalk Paint Issues https://youtu.be/lZ87BPyu_GQ   check this video out, the guy went through so many problems before getting it right, it looks beautiful once he got it right.

I don't understand the hype of chalk paint. I think its a trend that will vanish pretty soon. The best success I have had painting cabinets and furniture is with stix primer or zinsser spray primer and then Benjamin Moore Advance - the BEST paint for cabinets and furniture. My kitchen cabinets have held up ridiculously well, with no problems at all in like 5 years so far. I will never try anything but Advance going forward, as I have had so much success. And no, I don't work for BM and they are not paying me! Advance does not need a poly top coat, although I have used it on the top of a table just to dull the sheen a bit and it looks great. Why on earth would anyone in this day and age want to use WAX on top of a piece of furniture.? Stix, Advance, Poly. Done. Forever.

ASCP is NOT easy to use, no matter what anyone says. It's thick and needs to be watered down and to do that takes a lot of trial and error. No matter what paint you use, success will always be in the prep: you are not going to get a smooth surface unless it's cleaned and sanded. It's just paint, it's not magic! I have achieved a baby bum smooth surface but that was after A LOT of trial and error. The paint has to be thinned and then you can use that big, fat brush but really any good quality brush will do. When that first thin layer is REALLY dry, sand it with a 400. Then do another coat and sand again. The AS wax is a waste of time and not durable. I now use a water based matt poly.. The cans the paint come in are super cheap and if you use a rubber mallet to close them, they will crush! ASCP is not an easy paint to learn how to use but if you want that gloppy, brushstroke heavy look, then just open the can and have a go. But if you want a more refined look using this pain, it takes a ton of work1

I remember hearing Kacha talking about certain dark woods will bleed through - thats why she always uses a primer on the dark woods that bleed - sounds like thats what happened to you. check out Kachas page - I've learned a lot from her. Kachafurniture.com