Chalk painting furniture is one of the most popular ways to paint furniture DIY projects and crafts. It helps you to attain a shabby chic home décor or a farmhouse style look.

Chalk paint is used to avoid all the unwanted expenses of taking your furniture to the repair centre too often. It can be used to refurbish and refinish the old furniture at home easily and hassle-free. When chalk painting furniture, you can skip the sanding. Chalk paint is porous and has glue-like properties. The chalky finish on the furniture helps in covering stain, lacquer, shellac or polyurethane. You need not do much work and not worry about the finish of the furniture when the project is completed. Chalk paint is made of a binder that helps it stick to the surface and gives a gritty, or powdery texture. Homemade chalky paint can be made using plaster of Paris, baking soda and unsanded grout. It gives a specific shade and is pretty low on volatile organic compounds.

Chalkboard paint is different from chalky paint, where the former can be used to create a finish on the boards or any surface that you want to write using the chalk and erase with a duster when required. Chalkboard paint, as the name indicates, is used for creating a chalkboard surface for writing with a chalkboard.

Chalk paint comes in oil and latex finish and can be used in any surfaces. There are different chalk paints available in the market that has different formulations, of which the most common is the one which gives the matte finish and thick chalky consistency. It adheres extremely well on any furniture and crafts. 

The difference between chalk paint and regular paint

Chalk paint sticks well to any surface. Ensure to use a protectant coat on top of the chalk paint. The grit or chalkiness in the chalk paint helps in adhering to surfaces like raw wood. But the chalk paint will not provide a smooth, flawless finish.

Advantage of Chalk Paint

• There are many advantages of using the chalk paint on your DIY projects like – Chalk paint is easy to use after it is bought from the store
• You do not need to do any beforehand preparation of the surface like sanding when using the chalk paint.
• It is long-lasting
• It can be used to paint any desired surface
• There is no specific technique of application of the chalk paint that you might have to learn.

Disadvantages of Chalk Paint

Chalk paint also has some disadvantages. The advantages of chalk paint are:

• Cost of the chalk paint, wax and brush is high when compared with other paints
• You may have to use wax to seal chalk paint 

Even if the chalk paint is costly, it is much cheaper than taking the furniture to the repair centre every time you need a fresh coat to be applied. Even with the less or no knowledge on how to use the chalk paint, you can complete the mending of furniture like a pro!