2014 Annie Sloan Chalk Paint Projects - an Update!

This great set of chairs was redone in a clean (not distressed) cream color with clear wax. The color was chosen to offset the rich brown color (sold).

I have been using Annie Sloan Chalk Paint (ASCP) for over two years and it continues to be my go-to paint whenever woodwork needs redoing. link to company site.  I have acquired a number of colors but have been using mostly Old White, Old Ochre, Cream and CoCo this year.

I closely follow the work of others - an ever expanding group from all indications - and try to keep a good set of ideas and images on my pinterest page - link.

This posting highlights projects completed in 2014. I will summarize my lessons learned over the years below.

This set of four vintage chairs was purchased in tony Buckhead (city of Atlanta) and needed everything. The woodwork was redone in CoCo to match the taupe and cream woven fabric selected to redo the pieces (professionally reupholstered by my go-to shop - Sun's Upholstery of Norcross, GA).  

I choose the fabric, a traditional green and dark cream toile, before choosing the chalk paint color. The Old Ochre color matches the background so well that is was an obvious choice. I also had to do the rusk seat platform since it had previously been painted. If it had been left natural, I would not have covered it (sold). 

These chairs had such nice woodwork that I wanted to enhance. I choose the Duck Egg Blue to set off the cream fabric - I loved how these turned out (sold). 

This great shaped chair was purchased in New Orleans on a January visit to the city. Once I chose the pale neutral and chocolate linen fabrics, the choice of Old Ochre was easy to make (sold). 

This vintage chair has great lines but the woodwork was awful. I choose the cheery fabric which made the choice of  Old White perfect for the piece. I did distress it (perhaps a little too heavily - I may go back and reduce the level of distressing on this piece).

These pieces all had woodwork and was no longer in good condition so I had to find a good color to coordinate with the fabrics selected. Three ended up with CoCo and one with Old White. The two wingbacks are still available.

So, with over two years and LOTS of projects under my belt, here are my primary lessons learned:

• Clean the woodwork and remove piping or other obstacles to getting as close to the fabric as possible.
• Do the first coat with the piece turned upside down so that you can adequately paint the hard to see and get to places.
• If some brown or red continues to show through the paint after one or two coats, it means that some of the original stain is coming through (and will continue to come through with more coats). Use a clear shellac finish to seal the areas and resume painting.
• Let each coat dry fully to the touch before adding additional coats - I have used up to four coats on some pieces but two are usually adequate.
• Let the final coat dry overnight before applying clear wax. Buff once it has dried.
• Before using dark wax (with some exceptions) use a clear wax coat first. This gives you the ability to moderate the amount of dark wax remaining on the piece. The only times I do not do this is when I am using graphite (dark grey) and want it to look as black as possible or another shade like CoCo for the same reason.

That's it - enjoy!