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

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!!

Linking up:

French Country Cottage

 Miss Mustard Seed

At the Picket Fence