Annie Sloan Chalk Paint Part One

                                                                                                                                                    First let me begin by saying the stain on this desk was not a friend of mine….I think it would have bled through concrete!  Not sure what it was …but it WAS tough as nails……So I ended up using a primer with this project-which will happen from time to time when you are dealing with furniture  pieces that have had  previous lives…following that  I applied 2 coats of Annie Sloan’s Old White Chalk Paint……It goes on so smooth and is designed to fit your painting needs…..if you feel it is too thick -just add water and if  it is too thin just leave the lid off for awhile and it will thicken.   This paint was designed by Annie Sloan for painting furniture to achieve the weathered and distressed look….and believe me it hits the mark…..
It dries quickly and has a matte finish-but once you add the wax the color deepens and takes on a natural worn look…Here is a picture of one of the drawers painted and finished with a coat of 2 different colors of wax….first a light wax and then a darker color…..I worked the light wax over small areas at a time, being sure to wipe off  the excess …then I took my brush with just a little of the darker wax and trimmed out the edges of the drawer…wiped with a soft cloth and then sanded back some of the paint to expose the wood….the look so far is perfect-very smooth…..
 
This picture give you a better idea of the color difference once the wax is added to the paint….

One great feature I found was if you add too much of the dark wax in an area—NO PROBLEM…..just wipe on some of the lighter  wax with a rag until you achieve your desired color..ALWAYS apply your clear wax first.  The dark will stain the paint if applied first and you will not be able to get back to the original color.   This paint distresses with sand paper VERY easily so apply LIGHT pressure to begin with until you get a feel for the paint…So up to this point I have painted, covered with light wax, wiped off excess and then added some darker wax around the edges…wiped off excess and then sanded….then I returned to an area i did not like the look of-looked a little streaked-but after wiping with light wax it blended right in and looks natural…..back to work & tomorrow I will post more pictures –with better quality to show off this project!