Thursday, January 26, 2012

I've PAINTED the counter tops with CHALK PAINT!!

Share it Please
After painting my cabinets, I started thinking about painting my counter tops. Of course the buzz is all about the faux granite kits. I wasn't apposed to going that route, but what I really wanted to do is paint them with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint. I searched the internet to see if anyone had tried this, but I wasn't able to find anything. I wanted to know what the best way to apply it was, what the best top coat was, and of course....how it held up!!

I'm sure I'm not the first crazy to do this, but since I was unable to find anything on it, I thought I would tell you how I did mine....and what I learned along the way. So this tutorial is sorta gonna be in 2 parts. The way I did it, and the way I would have done it had I known....

This is what my counters looked like before:
A nice powder blue
It's not that I minded them so much, but I knew that they could be improved. 
Here are the supplies I used:

blue painters tape
a paint brush
a foam roller
a sponge applicator
ASCP in Graphite
Minwax Wipe-On Poly
a sanding block
steel wool grade #0000
nail clippers

I first decided I was going to see what it looked like on the small section of the counter top. So after I taped, using a paint brush, I brushed on the 1st coat

BEFORE
The 1st coat was much more gray than
I had expected, but I loved it
Know that the paint will seem very streaky as it
dries, but will be smooth when dry
Now I was in it! I went for the rest of the counter! I didn't have a plan if I hated it, so good thing I didn't!! 



The sippy cup just adds to its beauty ;-)



I was afraid to turn the water on to do the dishes before it was all sealed


I continued to paint the counters using a paint brush. It looked great as it was going on and as it dried it felt smooth. So I put on a second coat of paint. Still felt smooth! Then, without sanding, I applied the top coat. I used a sock to wipe it on and waited about 3 hours for it to dry. Next, I gently went over it with the steel wool before applying the 2nd coat.
Here is also where the nail clippers came in. As I was sanding, my nails kept scratching the paint....so keep them SHORT! 
Now this is when I wished I had advice before I started!

I could see all the brush stokes! When I paint furniture I always sand before applying the top coat, so I wasn't used to this!!
The steel wool wasn't smoothing it out and I began to panic! So I sent the hubby to the store to get a sanding block, a foam roller, and a sponge applicator.

Using the sanding block, I lightly sanded until there was a smooth finish.
The sanding block worked like a charm! All was smooth and I continued....
I ROLLED on another coat of paint, and touched up where my nails had hit. I sanded the paint when it dried with the steel wool before applying the top coat.
I used the sponge applicator instead of a sock to apply the poly. After 4 hours, I sanded with the steel wool and applied another coat. I applied 4 coats total. I wanted to make sure that there was a good amount of poly to protect the top from any wear and tear or nails hitting it!
Much better!!

I woke up this morning and my kitchen looked like this:

Ok...I cleaned first, haha











 So to recap what I would do:
roll on the paint, not brush it on
sand the paint before applying whatever top coat you choose
cut your nails before starting lol
use 3 coats of paint
use at least 4 coats of poly....more if you'd like.

I'll let you know how its holding up, and if you have already done this to your counter like this, I would love to hear from you to know how yours is holding up!!



Update: It's been a couple of weeks since I did these, and they are holding up great!! 
I shared this post over at  The Turquoise Piano, Kelli has some amazing stuff over there, check her out!!

10 comments:

  1. Wow...I'm impressed that you'd have the nerve to try it...don't know if I would have! But, it looks really great...nice job! Please let us know if it still is holding up after a few months? Truly! I'm interested! Thanks for sharing the technique...GREAT! xo

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  2. WOW! Looks great and Im glad you had the guts to do it, now I might try it sometime. Thanks so much!

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  3. Were your powder blue countertops just laminate? can't wait to see if it's still holding up... Thanks for your post!

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  4. Amazing!! Thanks for linking up at Feathered Nest Friday! Hope to see you again at this weeks party!

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  5. Looks awesome! Can you write on the counters since you sealed them?

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  6. LOVE this! I painted my kitchen last year and the counters have been waiting for me to decide what to do. The house project budget is gone...so no granite, etc., Though, I'm not sure I want granite anyway. I am loving the look of what you did.

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  7. Looks great! I pinned this a year ago when you first posted your tutorial, and am wondering how it has held up?

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  8. Thank you for this post, I can't wait to do this to my countertops!

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  9. Thank you for this post, I can't wait to do this to my countertops!

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  10. Hey! So I am wondering how your counters are holding up? I would like to try it, but I have be to sure it will hold up first. :-)

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I love to hear your opinions!

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