Chalk Furniture Paint Powder FAQS
Marilyn’s is delighted to answer all the possible questions you may have about Marilyn’s chalk paint powder with our Chalk Furniture Paint Powder FAQS
What is Chalk Furniture Paint Powder?
Marilyn’s Chalk Paint Powder is a combination of 100% Eco Friendly ingredients that when blended have the ability to transform ANY brand acrylic paint into quality, thick, creamy, super adhesive Chalk Paint.
Chalk Furniture Paint Powder FAQ’s
With Marilyn’s, simply add a little powder to water, zap in microwave, add straight to your acylic paint, shake, shake, shake and voila, you have your very own custom Chalk Paint (full details are on our RECIPE page)
Now YOU can have that easy to apply, beautiful Chalk Paint finish on all your painted furniture at an affordable price!
Chalk paint works so much better than ordinary paint on furniture. We love that it’s so versatile and forgiving. We love that it eliminates the need for sanding and priming, Marilyn’s literally becomes the ‘super glue’ of paint and will adhere to ANY surface. We love that you can leave it matte, create a time worn look, create a country, shabby chic, French Provincial or any style of finish you want for your decorator item or home, inside, outside and all over
What are the benefits of using Chalk Furniture Paint Powder?
Low Cost (especially compared to other chalk paint products) 100% Eco Friendly ingredients. Easy to apply and extremely forgiving. Excellent coverage and because the Chalk Paint is extremely pigmented, it can cover just about anything without bleeding in about 1 to 3 coats. Chalk Paint goes about twice as far as normal acrylic paint! Bonds/Sticks to just about anything; wood, laminate, metal, clay, stone, all without priming or sanding
- Flexible! Chalk paint can create just about any furniture finish, Shabby Chic, French Provincial, New Hamptons, Asian, the possibilities are endless
- Incredibly durable can be used with ANY brands of Acrylic paint in the colour of your choice!
- Eliminates waste as you can mix the amount of paint you need
- Developed by professional furniture restorers to ensure a professional finish
- Unfinished leaves a great matte finish
- Sands and distresses like a dream
- Can be cured with Marilyn’s beautiful Australian made, all natural waxes.
Why use Marilyn’s Chalk Furniture Paint Powder?
Marilyn’s Chalk Paint Powder is an Australian made, 100% Eco Friendly additive that can be mixed with Most Acrylic paints to create Chalk Paint. If you’ve used Chalk Paint before then you already know the advantage it offers, including
- Easy to apply with brush or roller
- Bonds/Sticks to just about any clean surface
- Chalk Paint can be used for a soft distressed finish, smooth glossy finish, textured finish or any other finish your imagination can deliver
- Oh, have we mentioned, NO SANDING or PRIMING!
Why use Marilyn’s Chalk Furniture Paint Powder when I can make my own DIY recipe?
There are many, many recipes out there in the stratosphere for creating your own Chalk Paint, and believe us, we have tried them all including Unsanded Grout, Calcium Carbonate and Plaster of Paris.
- While these DIY recipes work out a little cheaper, you are so, so missing out on the benefits of Chalk Paint
- Problems with DIY recipes include – gritty texture, lack of bonding, not thick enough for good coverage or structure
- The awesome thing is, you really can have the best of both worlds with Marilyn’s. Being in the antique and restoration business for over 20 years we used hundreds of mineral combinations to come up with our TOP SECRET recipe to create an affordable, lusciously smooth and gorgeous chalk paint without the dangerous chemicals and bleed through.
- Ultimately, Marilyn’s will cost a fraction of the cost of name brand Chalk Paints and will save you the time and frustration of trying to mix your own DIY Chalk Paint. It really is the best of both worlds.
What can I paint with Marilyn’s Chalk Paint?
ANYTHING, ANYWHERE
You can paint furniture, true, but did you know you can also wood, metal, laminate, tiles, concrete, clay, stone, use it inside, outside & roundside, etc and so on?
How do I mix Marilyn’s Chalk Paint Powder into paint?
Again, please refer to our RECIPE Page for full details!
Can I mix Marilyn’s Chalk Paint Powder with any acrylic paint?
A huge ‘YES‘. You can mix Marilyn’s Chalk Paint Powder with ANY acrylic Low Sheen or Satin paint in the colour of your choice, there are thousands! Flat, Low Sheen & Satin work wonderfully. Marilyn’s Chalk Paint Powder is not recommended to be added to High Gloss or oil based paints. Those little 250ml sample pots from Bunnings & Masters work really well and are usually around $3 – $6
**Please ensure your white paint is “tinted”, as it is the “tint” that adds the body and depth of coverage to the paint, ask your paint man when you purchase your paint
What’s the difference between Milk Paint and Chalk Paint?
Chalk paint is predictable. It’s controllable. Milk paint is neither of these things. It’s an experiment pretty much every time you do it! You can’t predict how much it’s going to stick and how much it’s going to chip. Even the experts are guessing their way through. The more experience you have using milk paint the better your guessing.
What if the paint is too thick or too thin?
The type of paint you use may affect the thickness of your chalk paint. If you prefer a thinner finish, apply the paint thinly, if you want a luscious, textured finish put lots of paint on and texture the pattern to your desired look – obviously only one coat is necessary for this style finish. Add a little hot water to your desired quantity of paint if you only want a colour “wash” and to be even more adventurous, add paint to a water bath to tint your fabric the same colour – yeah!
Generally, the colder the temperature the thicker your paint will become, hence we call it “jelly paint” as it’s consistency becomes like jelly. Once you have your desired quantity of paint, it will thin along the way at room temperature.
Does Marilyn’s Chalk Paint Powder alter the colour of the paint?
No, the chalk paint powder will, in no way, alter the colour of your chosen paint!
Do I need to prep/prime the surface before I paint my decorator item?
NO, although the decorator item you are about to paint should always be thoroughly washed with mild soapy water and household steel wool to remove old grease & grime. Household steel wool will assist removing any old flaking paint. A light sand may be necessary to even out any old flaky paint as, if not, this may compromise your finish! Let your piece dry completely before painting.
Can you recommend a brush? Do I need a round brush?
There is a huge variety of brushes available on the market. We do recommend you purchase a good quality brush so you don’t have brush bristles falling out as you paint.
Round brushes are great for furniture, balustrades and fretwork, although we use ours on everything! Our two favourite and most used brushes are the “Monarch 25mm Synthetic Detail & Finishing Brush” (it’s round and approx $14 at Bunnings) and the “Monarch Advance 25mm Wall Paint Brush (approx $16 at Bunnings).
How many coats of paint will I need?
One, two or three coats, depending on how you are using your Chalk Paint. In most situations, if you are using a white or cream Chalk Paint over a dark finish, you may need up to three coats. Using a darker coloured Chalk Paint over a pale finish, one to two coats is usually sufficient.
What can I paint with 250 mls (approx 1 cup) of Chalk Paint?
Chalk Paint goes much further than ordinary paint. 250 mls of Chalk Paint is enough for one average piece of furniture using two to three coats, you will probably still have left over!
What if I want a distressed or shabby chic look?
Sanding here and there produces a great distressed” look. How much you sand is up to you! Sanding will give your piece a time worn look. The good news is, if you take too much off, you can always repaint the area. Please refer to our RECIPE AND TECHNIQUES Page for much more information
Can I use more than one colour on the same piece?
It’s fun to put a layer of one colour on top of another colour. Then when you sand, you reveal bits of the first colour underneath! We do recommend you refer to our Techniques page and, should you be a competent chalk painting enthusiast, our Blog pages.
How much chalk paint can you make from one bag of Powder?
One 60 gram bag of Marilyn’s Chalk Paint Powder will make 1 litre of Chalk Paint. Or it will make two 500 ml paints or four 250 ml paints in any colour.
One 120 gram bag of Marilyn’s Chalk Paint Powder will make 2 litres of Chalk Paint. Or it will make four 500 mls of paint or eight 250 mls of paint in any colour.
More detailed instructions on our ‘RECIPE‘ page
Do I have to use wax?
No! If you just paint with chalk paint, you have a matte rustic finish that will show wear and become weathered. If you want your piece to have a beautiful sheen and protection you will need to finish with one or two layers of wax.
What does the wax do?
The wax seals your newly painted decorator item. It provides a protective layer and provides a waterproof layer. Depending on how many thin layers of wax you apply (we recommend a maximum of three), allowing a dry time of 1 to 2 hours between coats, it will give you the “sheen”. Your decorator piece will continue to harden/cure over a period of 5 to 10 days and reach maximum hardness in approx 20 days, particularly on laminates, tiles, high gloss finishes. You can use your piece before this time, we usually wait a few days, but be extremely gentle with your decorator item whilst it is curing/hardening.
Will any brand of wax work?
No! Some waxes have too much of this and way too much of that and can actually strip you beautiful newly painted piece! Use a SOFT wax – through trial and error, we prefer, use and recommend U-Beaut Traditional Wax available on line in our SHOP, or use Liberon or Howards waxes.
Can I use a sealer / varnish rather than wax?
Yes you can, although on whites and white based cream decorator items we strongly recommend you do a ‘test’ with the sealant in case there is a yellow tint as most sealants are made for timber finishes.
On deeper creams and darker colours where you think a yellow tint will not affect the colour of your finished item, feel free to use any sealer you choose, although we do suggest doing a test sample first to make sure.
How do I use the wax?
For full instructions, please refer to our TECHNIQUES Page
When and how do I use Neutral wax and when do I use Dark Wax?
