We here at Custom Service Hardware are excited to announce that we now are carrying General Finishes Chalk paint! And even more exciting—a quart of paint is only $22, cheaper than GF Milk paint, and covers 100 square feet. If you don’t need that much, you can get a pint for $13.
Now what’s the deal with chalk paint? Some people absolutely love it and won’t use anything else, and some people hate it and refuse to use it after they’ve tried it. It is definitely a different kind of paint.
Made from chalk (I guess that was pretty obvious), chalk paint is a highly porous paint and can stick to just about everything—wood, glass, leather, metal, waxed wood, and many more types of material. It’s up to you to find out what it CAN’T go on.
One topic of controversy surrounding the paint is on whether or not a piece of furniture needs to be prepped. In their YouTube video, General 
Finishes says that you should clean and sand your item before painting, but many claim that chalk paint needs no preparation. So the choice is yours. Experiment with the paint and see what works for you.
Some people believe that chalk paint is just used to make shabby, distressed furniture for the antique look or that this paint is used for its texture. And it does work great for both these reasons. General Finishes chalk paint can be distressed with water 12-24 hours after it’s applied, and any chalk paint is distressed easily with sand paper. And chalk paint can give you texture. The thicker the paint, the more the texture.
However, using chalk paint doesn’t mean you have to have texture or the distressed 
look. Just paint your item with one or two coats of paint. Next, smooth the texture using a sanding block, taking care to not sand very long or stay in one place too long. Finally, seal the pain with wax or General Finishes High Performance or Flat Out Flat. Your final product will be smooth, beautiful, and durable.
Another topic of debate is how many coats of paint are necessary. One coat should do. But if you notice brush strokes or bleed through, another coat should fix the problem. If you are still seeing brush strokes, your paint may be too thick.
Now about thickening paint. Your paint will thicken if you leave the cover off; therefore, as soon as you’re done with your paint, be sure to put the cover back on. If the paint has thickened, you can mix it with water to thin it back out. Also, be sure to stir or shake your paint well before use. This will help the texture to spread evenly throughout the can.
Other facts to know about Chalk paint is that it can be sprayed. Also, although durable, chalk paint is not recommended for outdoor use.
So that’s chalk paint. If you have used it, comment below and tell me what you think of it.