After reading the many wonderful reviews and watching a couple of great video tutorials on Annie Sloan Chalk Paint, I just had to place an order! I purchased two colors - Duck Egg and Old Ochre. I also purchased the dark wax and a special wax brush.
I'm not gonna lie - the price tag (including shipping) had me second guessing my decision to try it! I must admit though - I was giddy when the package arrived at my front door!
I have painted four pieces so far.
I will echo must of the points made by other bloggers: no primer is required, it dries incredibly fast, it goes on great with both brush and roller, it sands remarkably well, the colors can be altered pretty drastically with wax, it cleans up easily and it thickens if the lid is left off.
I did not, however, find that it goes farther than latex paint as many others have stated.
Now on to the wax. The dark wax is very soft - it looks almost like pudding. The instructions on the can say to use a clear wax first and then to apply the dark wax. Now, I'm actually pretty anal - a planner - a rule follower - but I just simply cannot take the time to apply clear and then dark wax on all of my pieces. So I turned the directions around out of sight and just applied that dark wax right on top of the paint. (I love the wax brush by the way). I wiped it off with a clean soft cloth and was shocked at the color change.
It turned the Duck Egg blue this great green color. I love the options that exist with just one color. But, I also really liked the blue color and knew the straight dark wax couldn't be used on everything.
So, my next experiment was to mix plain Minwax clear wax with a little of the dark wax. I used an airtight tupperware- type container so it would keep.
This was the ticket my friends! It's econmical and it worked like a charm!
Overall, I ADORE this paint! I must say that nothing gives you the aged-look quite as well. It will be my go to choice for any piece that has a lot of poly, any surface that is not solid wood...basically opportunities to skip the primer step. But, I won't be throwing out my latex paints just yet...
E-mail me or comment with any questions!
2 comments:
I'm pretty new to using Annie Sloan's paint and wax but one question that is hardly asked is what the finished product should feel like. I'm worried about the durabity of the wax finish on surfaces that will get a lot of use, like a coffee table in a house with children. It seems to me that the wax finish is too soft for these kinds of jobs, but people don't seem to really be holding back on using it on everything. So, my question is if you think it should be only used on furniture that won't be subject to a lot of wear and tear or if you think it can withstand everything?
Does the wax ever really harden and no longer feel waxy? Does it always show smudges?
I am wondering the same thing about the durability of the wax. How long does it need to dry? And when you buff it, is it supposed to get a little shiny...because mine isn't..it is still matte looking.
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