Hey all- Trish here. So, you painted a piece of furniture or your cabinets with Chalk Paint® by Annie Sloan a while back and now you need to do a touch up.
Here are some important questions to know the answer to:
How long ago was your original painting done? If it was painted recently- then the color matching is fine. If however, it was more than a year ago – you may want to consider repainting the whole side that needs a touch up. Keep in mind- that I painted my walls a year ago with Sherwin Williams wall paint and when I went to do a touch up on one wall recently, my touch up looked different and was an obvious touch up because the touch up was fresh and the rest of my walls had been exposed to airborne particles since it was in my kitchen from the last 2 years of living. Then, also take into account, between just normal wear and tear, UV rays and life with my two dogs – the original paint had a different appearance than the freshly applied paint. Ultimately- I repainted the entire wall.
If you literally, just recently painted and something happen where you need to do a touch up- you should be successful. You will want to account for what type of top coat and what sheen it was before doing the touch up. If going over a super shiney surface- sometimes – touch ups are noticeable.
If you painted your piece or cabinets with Chalk Paint® by Annie Sloan sometime prior to early 2019 and you purchased your paint from The Purple Painted Lady – you will want to call us and confirm if the Chalk Paint® was packaged in a litre or a quart container. This is important to know because Annie Sloan took over manufacturing and distribution here in North America at the end of 2018. The packaging changed from quart containers to litre containers. About a third of her colors, changed slightly. Some colors changed more than others though. Meaning- if doing a touch up or painting a new cabinet addition to a pre-existing kitchen row- the difference may be in some cases, totally noticeable.
If you need assistance trying to determine if your paint was packaged in a quart- call us and we will do our best to help you. 585.750.6056
So, you made the big purchase and splurged on some of the most amazing brushes for your Chalk Paint® by Annie Sloan, Congrats! Now, ……take good care of that investment. It is kind of like buying a brand new car. You don’t typically park it in a tight parking spot.
When it comes to brushes- don’t soak them overnight. Any brush that becomes waterlogged from soaking in water will break down over time, no matter what the cost or manufacturer. I guarantee it.
Chalk Paint® is so easy to wash out of a brush with warm water and a little patience to make sure you get all of the paint out. Once that water runs clean- you know you are done. Always wash them out right after painting and avoid any soaking. If you do soak your brushes often – they can end up looking like this poor little brush shown in the photo and this problem should never occur.
Here is a great tip: Periodically, condition your paint brush bristles by taking some hair conditioner or Murphy’s Oil Soap. This will help to lengthen the life of your beautiful brushes.
So you want to use Chalk Paint® by Annie Sloan your kitchen cabinets. 1,000’s of other homeowners have already done this using Annie’s paint. But you may be wondering where do you begin. Let us help you!
HOW MUCH PAINT WILL YOU NEED?
The largest container Annie Sloan Chalk Paint is packaged in is a litre – which is 33.8 ounces of paint. The paint tins state that Chalk Paint® will cover 140 sq ft. That is for one coat of paint. At The Purple Painted Lady- we will say to be safe, use a number more like 120 sq ft per can. Depending on the color of paint you chose- like a “white” you will need to apply three or four coats total. You will typically need two coats for other colors that have more pigment – like Annie’s color called Greek Blue (shown in some of the photos below) or Duck Egg or Chateau Grey. “White’s” always take more paint to get solid coverage. Another variable to consider is what the surface is that you are painting. If it is a very dark wood, you may need an additional coat of paint.
CALCULATING CABINET SQUARE FOOTAGE:
To determine how much paint you need, you will want to calculate your square footage . Chalk Paint® has great adherence ability and you will be surprised how far the paint goes.
Here are some things to keep in mind though:
Are you painting the back of the cabinet doors? I definitely recommend doing this so when you open your cabinet it looks cohesive. If you leave them unpainted, it will be a constant reminder of how they use to look.
Make sure to account for the end caps or the side sections of your built in cabinet.
What color are you choosing?Lighter colored paint will always require more coats of paint compared to other colors
HOW TO CALCULATE YOUR SQUARE FOOTAGE:
Personally, I like to draw out sections of the kitchen I am going to paint and break up the layout into vignettes. For example, I will draw a rectangle for the cabinets under the kitchen sink. See my drawing below.
CHOOSING YOUR CABINET COLOR?
If you come to The Purple Painted Lady and book your kitchen- we always do a sample door to bring to your home so you can live with it for a few days. Colors can be impacted by the amount of natural light or lack of natural light in your own home. Also, the color you see at our shop under our very bright lights – which I am pretty certain – you do not have at home. All of this may cause paint color to look differently. So, depending on the type of light you have in your own home – you will want to live with a color through all portions of a day and see how the color plays with your counter color, floor and wall color. Having a sample completed and being able to live with it for a few days going through morning, noon and night in your home is so important. If ordering paint on-line, I would definitely suggest ordering a painted color chart so you can see the color in your home.
Besides paint- you will want to consider purchasing:
PREP before painting: Use Krud Kutter – that is what we recommend and use to clean customer cabinets prior to painting.
HELPFUL TIPS WHEN IT COMES TO PAINTING CABINETS1. Personally, I prefer painting cabinets while they lay flat versus hung in place. To make the re-install smooth, take some paper and a pencil, pen, or heck, even a Crayola Crayon will do. (LOL) You will sketch out your kitchen cabinets. I like to draw out appliances because it makes it easy to identify what section in your kitchen this applies to. Use this template and number each door on the paper and then take a piece of painter’s tape and place the coinciding number on the physical door. Then, while working on the cabinet doors, move the painter’s tape to the opposite side of the door as you paint or wax. If you need to add a fresh piece of painter’s tape – do it. I promise when you go to rehang your beautiful painted doors back up, you will thank me because it will make the process so much easier! See my example of a numbered layout below.
PICK YOUR PAINT BRUSH:
At The Purple Painted Lady, we recommend using Annie Sloan’s ur favorite brush – which is the Annie’s 1 1/4″ Flat Small Brush. I know you may think this is a small brush- but we have painted a lot of cabinets….like a lot and the bigger the brush does not mean a better finish or a faster process. It just means you have more paint to manage and apply and quite frankly, most of us cannot manage that much paint.
USE A LAZY SUSAN TO SPIN YOUR CABINETS AROUND WHILE PAINTING
To begin painting your doors, it is helpful to place the cabinet door on top of a Lazy Susan. This will allow you to spin the doors around without having to physically move your body around a work surface area. It makes applying paint to all of the sides so much easier since most of the cabinet edge is exposed. You can also place some wooden spaces underneath door on the Lazy Susan to elevate the cabinet up from sitting flat on a surface – which will give you a clean edge. Remember- uniform and reasonably thin even coats are ideal for a smoother finish.
PAINT AROUND SEAMS WITH A LIGHT HAND
Another important tip is when painting the fronts of the cabinet doors that have either a raised panel or recessed panel on the front, try to dry brush that area where the rails and stiles sit on the front plate. Here in the north east, where it is dry and very cold in the winter and humid and hot in the summer, would like to expand and contract. We do not want to have a heavy application in these joint areas because it’ll just cause the paint to crack eventually. See image below.
PICK YOUR TOP COAT:
Not all top coats are made equally or will perform the same. Be
careful if painting your cabinets with a light colored
paint…especially white and you choose to go vogue using some poly top
coat you pick up at a hardware store. Many will eventually yellow –
even when they say they won’t. I recommend strongly- using one of the
top coats I have listed below.
Annie Sloan’s Clear Wax was formulated to work perfectly with Annie’s Chalk Paint®. You will need to apply a few coats. It is quick and relatively easy. The first coat may not look great, but the second coat will bring it all together. You do not need to wax every few months or year- so disregard that if you have read that somewhere online. I strongly recommend to purchase Annie’s Small Wax Brush if doing your cabinets and a roll of Scott Shop Towels
Annie Sloan’s Lacquer. Annie’s Lacquer comes in both a Matte and a Gloss. Do not use Matte Lacquer directly over dark colored Chalk Paint® because the flattening agents can create a white hazy effect. Make sure to read our post on best practices of Annie’s Lacquer HERE. It is important because Lacquer does not behave like paint.
Painting with “White” colored paints? Like Old White, Pure, Original? Top coats that yellow are a serious issue. Wax will never yellow. But another option is Artisan Enhancements Clear Finish. This will have a satin to shiney sheen and keep in mind, the more applications you apply, the shiner it will become. Make sure to purchase their varnish brush to apply it with.
When using Chalk Paint® by Annie Sloan and mixing water with the paint to thin it slightly and get a smoother finish – we recommend pouring out some of the Chalk Paint® into a separate container and then mixing water with it directly. Then, throughout your project, make sure to remix it to keep all the pigments incorporated because it can start to separate a bit. This is especially important with darker colors like Napoleonic Blue, Athenian Black,Amsterdam Green, Graphite.
What you should NOT do…..is just dip your brush into water and then into the paint or use a spray bottle- it can cause the end result to look streaky. Below is an example of what can happen.
Another suggestion is when painting, to paint the whole surface and not going back and feathering specific spots here or there. This is especially important when adding water to your paint.
Don’t always judge a Chalk Paint® color just by that tiny 1 inch square on the Color Chart.
When you look at painted swatches against the bright white card stock of the color chart – it could give you false perception. So does holding the card flat vs vertical …the amount of light bouncing off the swatch can effect how your eye perceives the color.
This kitchen project shown further down in this post is a perfect example of what I mean. The Chalk Paint® color Original – is a warm, slightly creamy, traditional white. When you look at the swatch, it has a slight ochre base to it, and may appear as if it is too creamy but once painted, it is a perfect soft warm white and seems much more neutral. Purchasing a sample pot of potential colors you are considering is always a great investment… especially if you are doing a large project like your kitchen cabinets. Paint one door and see how the color works with your wall paint color. Keep in mind other things like the amount of light you get in your home and your flooring and countertops can make a difference too.
**** Sorry- I interrupt this post quickly to insert a link to a video I made where we opened every LITRE container of Chalk Paint®, stirred it and described the color. There is a key to jump to a specific color too. CLICK HERE to watch the YOUTUBE Video.
If you are are considering of purchasing Chalk Paint® for a larger project- like a kitchen or a whole bedroom suite consider investing in a sample pot of chalk paint first. They are very affordable and really the only way to truly see how a color plays in your home with your lighting, other wall colors, etc. Sample Pots are 1/2 cup.
So, if you have any questions regarding the swatches on the Annie Sloan Color Chart – just contact us. You can reach Trish by phone or text at 585.750.6056.
