Well, I’m not back today with a new DIY but the good news is that it is coming along. Just some fine tuning to do! 🙂 I do have a chair makeover to share today as well as a review!
A few months ago as I was reading over at Decorating Delirium I was enlightened by the news that the Americana brand had come out with their version of chalk paint and that it was available at the ever so convenient Home Depot (I have also seen at Michael’s).
If you are unfamiliar with chalk paint it is a type of paint that has become quite popular in the DIY world for painting furniture and cabinetry. One feature people love about it is that it requires NO sanding or priming. You can just start painting.
Well, I have to be frank (not Sally), I had never tried chalk paint until last night! Most chalk paint (such as Annie Sloan chalk paint) seemed to be expensive and since it could only be bought in extremely selective locations or online I just never bothered.
I had heard many people rave about it but I was plenty happy with the process and results of using normal paints and the price and inconvenience of purchasing it was just too unattractive.
So when I heard that Americana was now selling chalk paint for much less and in nearby stores my interest was perked. I asked my friend, Cindy (who actually has a side job painting furniture for people) if she had heard of the news. She hadn’t but quickly went to Home Depot to try it. Unfortunately, Home Depot didn’t have many of the colors she wanted in stock. However, she was able to order them and were shipped to the store for free.
She has been very happy with the paints and she ordered so many that she let me have one of the paints she had left over so I could try it (super sweet of her).
I have had the chair below hanging out in my garage for the past couple of years. It came to me free (in a set of 6) from a woman at church who was moving and needed to get rid of them. I had just moved into our house and was needing more chairs for my dining room table. I only ended up needing 5 which I painted white.
I hung on to the extra chair just in case and I’m glad I did because I’ve finally made time to confront an awkward corner in my upstairs hallway and I’ve realized the corner is calling for a chair.
I used 56 cent foam brush to paint the chair and I was in a very lazy mood so I just slapped on the paint focusing on coverage rather than perfection. My goal was to get’er done as fast as I could. So basically my kids (all 8 yrs. old and under) probably could have done about the same paint job as I did. Here are the results in below.
After the third coat I decided it was covered enough for me. Many people use chalk paint waxes to protect and further beautify their work. At this point I did not have any on hand so I just used my normal finishing coat which is the spray enamel below.
And Here is the After
So what is my review?
-For the lack of effort I put into it I am impressed there aren’t many(if any) noticeable brush strokes.
– It seems like if I would have used regular paint then a primer and 2 coats would have been sufficient meaning the same amount of total coats to apply.
-It was nice not to have to have a primer and extra paint brushes though.
-An 8oz container cost around $8-$9 (I used half the container) so it would have cost about $4 to paint the chair.
-The cost is more than latex but still reasonable I think.
-I do love how it looks and was overall happy with the product.
Has anyone else tried the Americana brand of chalk paint?
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I just painted six pieces with Americana purchased at HD. I am new to the chalking world, so I don’t really have anything to compare it to — but, I am happy with the end result. I used a bristle brush and have very little, if any brush strokes, but each piece required at least two coats. I would like to try the DIY chalk paint made with CC, but can’t find it on the shelf anywhere locally. I hope HD continues to carry the paint, as I was told the samples were only shelved to see whether or not there was an interest. Your chair looks great! :>)
Hi Lorie! Thanks so much for your input! It sounds like we had a pretty similar experience with it! I read somewhere that you can order calcium carbonate through your pharmacy or online at this link http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000ZL1XUK/salvageinspir-20. If you end up DIY-ing it let me know how it turns out! Thanks, Lorie!
Your chair turned out great Tamara! This post is timely, as I am in the process of trying out the Americana chalk paint on an armoire. I think it is comparable to Annie Sloan. I am using white and am going to do at least 3 coats total. I had a similar experience with Annie Sloan white paint. I feel that the lighter the color the more coats you need, especially if you are working with a dark color underneath and you don’t sand or prime at all. You can’t beat it for the price!
Thanks, Jennifer! I love a white armoire! Can’t wait to see it!
I just tried the Americana yesterday. I have been waiting for the blogging world to jump on this product & have been surprised at the lack of blogs on this topic. I found the Americana brand to be not quite as thick as the Annie Sloan. I found 3 coats a necessity with the Americana whereas the ASCP would have covered in two. However, at Home Depot the Americana is less than half the price of ASPC, not to mention it is in a convenient location with no shipping charges or long trips to specialty stores. I like primer plus latex for some projects, especially if I am going for a more modern or streamlined look. But the chalk paint is better for a project that I want to distress or one where I want to go light on the paint so a little of the wood or underneath paint will show thru. Latex paint ends up with a little of a rubbery feel and look (duh—it’s the latex), and on some projects I just want a more natural finish that the chalk paint gives. I will definitely be purchasing Americana instead of ASCP from now on due to convenience of buying it and the substantial price savings. A lot of people do use the wax over chalk paint, but I just use wipe-on poly or spray poly—–for me it is easier and it is probably more durable. Would love to see more posts if you do any more chalk paint projects 🙂
I loved hearing your experience with it, MK! Especially since you have used other chalk paints before. I haven’t so I didn’t really have anything to compare to except my experience with oil and latex paints. Thank you so much for taking the time to share your insights!! I will definitely be using the Americana chalk paint again in the future!:-)
Just bought the AMericana chalk paint tonight and used it to start a project on a cherry dinning table I bought off craiglist…I only started with the middle leaf to try it out– I love it – It covered well, I didn’t sand at all- I bought all the stuff to strip the table down to the wood, but then thought why? I just wanted to try and see if the chalk paint would cover it and it did… I used white… Plan to finish the rest tomorrow… This is my first time with chalk paint, but I did a lot of research on different bran and the prices, .
How exciting, Deborah!! Thanks so much for sharing your experience with it! 🙂
I love making my own chalk paint with plaster. I covered dark brown wood paneling in two coats. It covered well with one coat. I didn’t use wax or a sealer. I like the matte finish.
Good to know, Peggy! Thanks for commenting! I hope to try that someday!!
Love my baby blue desk and chair I just painted using the Americana brand paint ,just $8 at home depot! I have a very ugly dresser from lthe 80,s that I cant wait to make beautiful with a bold co!or or I might do a warm cream color.
Saw a demonstration at an antique store but they were selling it for $42 a can. Chalk paint has given me lots of ideas
To do in the future so I’m glad I saw the demo. Still need to apply the wax but the chair and desk already look charming,
They were over 60 years old and had been painted a very dark brown.
Pam, your painted desk and chair sound super cute! $42 and $8 is a huge difference! Thanks for sharing your experience! I would love to hear what color you end up doing with the dresser!:-)
You can grind ordinary calcium tablets from CVS in a coffee grinder. Just grind to a powder like espresso and sieve through a strainer to remove any large pieces. I have a dedicated coffee grinder exclusively for calcium carbonate. Dissolve in warm water before adding to your paint. CC is safe for sanding without a mask whereas plaster of Paris isn’t.
Great info, Judy! Thanks for sharing!!
I’m currently in the process of painting a solid wood hutch and I’m using Americana Decor in lace. I am not impressed. I just finished my 3rd coat and it’s going to need at least one more. I don’t know what’s going on. I used a high quality natural bristle brush and it’s incredibly streaky. Then I used a foam roller for the third and it still shows brush marks through but it’s a little better. I’m going to need to sand it when I’m finished to try to even it out. I think it would have been better to just use a matte paint. Would have cost a lot less too.
I’m sorry you had such a bad experience, Alicia!:-(
I’ve used Americana a lot. I love it. I always get good coverage with the 2nd coat & sometimes the 1st. Their website says 8 oz covers 60 sq feet and I’ve found I usuallty get at least that. Consumer crafts website sells 8 ounces for $4.97! It just gets better!
Hi Christie! So glad you’ve had a positive experience with it. Thanks for the tip on Consumer crafts.
Well, maybe it is the Americana Deco Chalk Color called “Lace” that is disappointing. I haven’t painted with chalk paint before and was eager to try it on a large desk (the ugly honey oak from the 90’s). I’m no stranger to painting. I watched SEVERAL youtube video tutorials, too. I bought small samples of other colors of chalk paint to practice with on a small DIY cork board frame. It turned out great. So, I thought, alright, now I feel comfortable enough to tackle this desk and paint it an old time white color. Before starting the project, I used my husband’s electric sander to prep the surface for painting. I bought “Lace” color and have already painted 2 coats using a synthetic brush on the desk, and let me tell you…the first coat took almost 2 jars (8oz each). So 2 coats later (4 jars into this), and I find I have to add a 3rd coat, and pray it doesn’t take more. Well, the store now has this color out of stock…so project was put on hold. Think about it, I’ll have invested $54, or about 6 jars of paint at $9 each to paint this standard sized desk! This has left an extremely bad taste in my mouth for chalk paint. I should have bought a $6 sample of Sherwin Williams satin latex paint and called it a day.
Sorry you had such a miserable experience with it, Megan! I must say I had a similar thought after doing my chair.
I’m surprised you had such a bad experience with the Americana Chalky Paint. I have a jar of Lace but haven’t tried it yet. The color in the jar just looks unattractive to me at the moment because the white has such grungy yellow undertones. I’ve had great success with all the other colors I’ve used so maybe it just is the “Lace.” I’ll give it a try when the color no longer looks so bad to me. I do go through episodes of hating all tints of a certain color. I usually love all shades of yellow and white(which this is) but right now, not so much. I’ll definitely pay attention to the coverage when I give it a try!
Oh yeah, Americana Chalky Paint is now carried in all it’s colors online @ Joann’s for $5.00 per 8 ounce jar before coupons! So I now stock up when I have a good coupon on hand.