Over Distressing
One of the most common mistakes people make is over-distressing your piece. Chalk paint is designed to look older and rustic, but overdoing it makes it look messy and unfinished. The best way to distress a chalk piece is to run sandpaper over the edges and areas where there is a natural texture.
Wax is like the forgotten sister of chalk paint, too many people get excited about chalk paint and completely forget about the wax. This is an important part of the process to seal the piece. You can use dark, light, or translucent chalk wax, but you must use a wax of some time.
You will also need to reapply wax to your piece every 9-12 months.
Skip Prep Work
To prep or not-to-prep, that is the question. There are passionate painters on both sides of this issue. Some say that the beauty of chalk paint is that you don’t have to prep your piece at all! Others say that while you don’t HAVE to prep, it’s still recommended.
The best thing to remember is that your bond is only as good as your base. No, you don’t have to strip off old paint or finishes, but if you have dents, scratches, and dings, they will show through chalk paint.
If you’re going for a rustic finish, this might not be a big deal, but at least clean the surface first.
Skip Cure Time
We know that when you finally finish your project you’ll be super excited to show it off and put it to use, but resist the urge and let it sit. Paint may seem dry to the touch, but it should be left to “cure” for at least 3-5 days.
If you use a piece of furniture before it’s adequately cured, it can lead to chipping and peeling paint almost immediately.
Too Much Paint
One of the benefits of chalk paint is that it is easy to work with and very forgiving, but it still requires a little patience and methodical application. A common issue with chalk paint is overloading the brush.
Because the paint goes on easy and smooth, too many painters load up their brush with as much paint as they can and slap it on the piece.