Questions Questions - Answers to the questions about Chalk Paint™ decorative paint by Annie Sloan Part 2

***Please note that we have closed comments regarding Chalk Paint. Carte Blanche are no longer stockists and the paint has changed in UK a little and we feel that we can no longer comment accurately about its performance as we could in the past. We hope that the article and comments below are useful but for technical advice we would suggest contacting your local supplier or speaking to Oxford - Annie Sloan Head Quarters***



This is part 2 of a set of answers to questions that I see regularly coming up as search terms in my website statistics with regard to using Chalk Paint™. This set deal with waxing and although I have written an extensive piece about using the wax, here are a bunch of extra things that might I hope answer your queries and stop confusion. I hope I have covered everything and if you have more....just shout and lets see if we can answer them in the comments.
These responses and answers are drawn from my own experience and are my opinions and I am always interested if people can add more from their own experience so if you have more info please feel free to comment.

Antibes Green antiqued with Annie Sloan Dark Wax

• Can you put a sealer/another paint over wax and Annie Sloan Soft Wax? - No. Annie Sloan Chalk Paint™ is the only paint product on the market that you can put over wax. And before you ask...even if you only put a little bit on?...NO. And again NO NO NO!!!! let me repeat - Annie Sloan Chalk Paint™ is the only paint product on the market that you can put over wax. And now please don't tell me you did it anyway and it seemed OK, because it will peel, scratch and other dull stuff. The answer is still NO

• Can Annie Sloan Soft Wax be used over any paint? - possibly but with no guarantees, it is designed for the soft absorbancy of her own paint

• Can I tint Annie Sloan Soft Wax? - yes you can, you can actually use the paint to tint

tinting the wax

•   How long does Annie Sloan Soft Wax need to cure? - this is an odd question because drying and curing are 2 different things. If you are asking how long to leave it before buffing, I normally recommend waiting at least a few hours (vague or what eh?) If you are unsure I would say at least 4 hours. Easiest is to leave it overnight, grab some towelling or cheesecloth and buff. but if you are desperate to finish in the same day then leave it till it stops feeling sticky.

• Can I paint over Annie Sloan Soft Wax/Annie Sloan Dark Wax? - yes you can with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint™, see the first question.

• Can I seal  Annie Sloan Chalk Paint™ with shellac so I don't use so much wax? - well, you could, but it is a bit of a silly idea. The wax was created by the manufacturer with the Annie Sloan Chalk Paint™ in mind as a flexible creative sealant and protector. If you paint shellac over the surface then it is sealed. It is sealed with a brittle rigid finish that has no flexibility in finish or style. Shellac doesn't like water much and will bloom.....so you could but for all the cost saving, I can't actually see the point.

•  How soon after painting should I be waxing? - when you are sure the paint is dry. Dry time for the paint is variable depending on how humid it is and how much air flow you have where you are painting. Air flow helps speed drying in a warm dry atmosphere; humidity is not your friend if speed is on your mind....

•  Do I need the wax brush - no you don't NEED it ......but you want it I know, it is a lovely tool and will aid your waxing over larger areas

• What does Annie Sloan Clear Wax do? - it seals and protects, it is water repellent and strong and makes a good connection to the paint and it is a flexible creative material to work with that gives a soft attractive lustre that ages beautifully.

• What does Annie Sloan Dark Wax do? - You use the dark wax to age and enhance any texture to your paintwork. You apply Annie Sloan Clear Soft Wax first then apply apply Dark Soft Wax. Wipe off any excess, then use the Clear Soft Wax to take more off if you need to.

• When you wax with Annie Sloan Dark Wax can you just do some areas?- yes, you can use it as much or as little as you want

• Can you use Annie Sloan Soft Wax over cabinets - yes you can, 3 coats really good protection on kitchen cabinets. Here is what Annie says about it "Refresh every now and again with some more Soft Wax when its needed. Wipe over with a damp cloth to clean. Using a strong cleaner like Mr Muscle may be necessary for stubborn marks but it will remove some wax and the area will need rewaxing."

•  How much buffing does Annie Sloan Soft Wax require - well, just enough LOL. The more you buff the higher the sheen...so how shiny you want it?? high shine will dull over time but a wee buff will bring it back up....maybe refresh the wax every now and again.....just the same as you would with fine wooden furniture. Like it dull? well don't buff, or buff a bit and allow to dull over time.

• How do you clean the wax off Annie Sloan Wax Brushes - if your brush is a dedicated wax brush then warm water and soap. If you use the same brush to paint as you do to wax then I would suggest you use a little white spirit to rinse the brush first and then warm water and soap

I hope these tips will help everyone with successful painting and waxing....more than anything Chalk Paint™ is designed to be fun and easy, if it feels difficult then think about changing how you do it...thin the paint maybe, use a brush to apply wax instead of a cloth, keep it simple and fun and please feel free to ask questions about the process here.

Questions Questions - Answers to the Annie Sloan Chalk Paint™ Questions Part 1

***Please note that we have closed comments regarding Chalk Paint. Carte Blanche are no longer stockists and the paint has changed in UK a little and we feel that we can no longer comment accurately about its performance as we could in the past. We hope that the article and comments below are useful but for technical advice we would suggest contacting your local supplier or speaking to Oxford - Annie Sloan Head Quarters***

 I get a lot of emails asking me questions about the application of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint™

And when I check my website statistics I see a lot of times that people are searching  for “Annie Sloan Chalk Paint™ how to use?” or “Annie Sloan paint tips” and lots of other similar questions and I thought....."but it is so easy, why would you even ask?". But I am thinking that maybe we need to do a bit more to help folks so I put all the questions I could see were asked over and over and I answered them here ...I hope I have covered most of them and if you have more....just shout and lets see if we can answer them in the comments.
These responses and answers are drawn from my own experience and are my opinions and I am always interested if people can add more from their own experience so if you have more info please feel free to comment

• Annie Sloan Chalk Paint™ prime before? - No. Annie Sloan Chalk Paint™ will go over most surfaces without the need for a primer - varnished, waxed, prepainted, french polished surfaces are all fine...concrete, masonry, brick and most metals. Those surfaces that might need some extra help are few and far between....UPVC doesn't accept the paint easily, glass isn't great....but it will hold well for the likes of shop window display painting (not permanent).

• Do I need two coats of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint™? - sometimes yes and sometimes no. Very often one coat will suffice but it depends on what you are painting and the look you are trying to achieve. Experiment is the answer....buy a cheap length of skirting or go and scrounge some off-cuts of timber from a builder and just try it and see. It always says on hair dye products to test 24 hours before but how many of us do??? If you are brave enough to dye your hair without a test then probably painting furniture (which is not attached to your body) should be less daunting. Putting right a mistake with Chalk Paint™ is a lot easier than with hair dye so why not just see.

 

• Annie Sloan Chalk Paint™ best book? - my personal view is that the best book for really understanding the paint finishes is Quick and Easy Paint Transformations - by Annie Sloan which has 50 step by step transformations of mainly old furniture but includes some other surfaces - floors, metal, new furniture, a cement pot. It is a really good basic course in a book.

Quick and Easy Paint Transformations

 

• How to apply Annie Sloan Chalk Paint™? - you can apply it with brush, roller or spray although I think the best way to apply for most projects is brush. It is so easy and quick to use a brush and by the time you have go the roller and tray or set up your spray rig you an have had half of it painted. We use low pile rollers if and when we do use then (not often) and to spray we use HVLP and thin 10-20% depending on the consistency of the paint....it varies, being an artisan paint

• How much paint should you put on brush with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint™? -  this depends on the type of brush you are using and the length of the bristles, if I was using an Annie Sloan brush like this one I would put a little more than is shown in this image

I would say add a bit more than this to your brush

• Do I need to sand Annie Sloan Chalk Paint™? - it depends on the look you want, you can use sandpaper to sand through to colours or timber beneath the topcoat and this can be done after waxing or you can just even out texture or rub through the dark antiqued paint to show some highlights. You need to play with the paint to see all that it can do

• How to even out Annie Sloan Chalk Paint™ ? - OK well this pops up regularly and I am never sure what people mean...so I have 3 answers here. To even out colour, if, for instance you have applied the paint in a patchy way and not realised it till the waxing phase, add a little of the paint to the wax and blend that onto the surface; to even out brush marks if you are not happy with texture there are 2 approaches - first is to apply a thick coat first and then a very light sand when dry, then thin the second coat and apply with a quality brush and don't overwork, lay off lightly and deftly for a brush mark free finish; second is to put 2 coats of paint on and sand with fine sandpaper (220/240 grit). Dry sanding is not to be gone at like a dervish it is not a forgiving way to work (better for the less experienced to wax first and then sand if they are distressing etc) but if you want a "baby's butt smooth" - sorry about the technical terms there - finish then it is a great way to achieve. Just go canny as they say in Scotland

• Can I use Annie Sloan Chalk Paint™ on floor tiles/can you paint tile with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint™/Can you use Annie Sloan Soft Wax  - This has to be a matter of common sense. You can paint concrete floors and you can paint slate and marble so the paint will stick to some surfaces but how hard wearing it will be on floor tiles I do not know, it all depends on how good the adhesion has been and on the top coating. If you apply 3 coats of hard-wearing polyacrylic floor varnish then it should be OK providing you have got the adhesion but if it is a high traffic area or if you have a lot of friends with high healed shoes then it will just be as hard wearing as any normal floor paint. If the varnish is broken right through to the paint beneath and then washed heavily the paint will lift....so maintain the varnish and keep it sealed. On tiles again I would use a good dollop of common sense. If the tiles are going to come into a lot of wear then...maybe not the best product but if it is an area that wipe sensibly and not have to scrub at then why not give it a try. Superslick tiles may need a primer or some heavy etching, tiles in the shower are not suitable to be painted at all. Wax is fine for wall tiles (3 coats for high traffic areas like kitchens. Wax is not right for floors.

•  Annie Sloan Chalk Paint™ on brick/ Annie Sloan Chalk Paint™ on brick on masonry?- yes it is fine for both if the surface is sound

• How long should Annie Sloan Chalk Paint™ dry before waxing? - this depends on atmospheric conditions and also on how thickly applied it is. It can be as little as 20 minutes or as long as 2 or 3 hours. Some people say to leave it overnight and I am not sure why as there is no technical reason why it should be left that long. The paint does calcify over time, so it will get harder but if you are waxing I can't see a reason to leave it any more than ...until it is dry. 

I have a part 2 to do and this will deal with waxing questions but meantime I will leave you with this really delightful tutorial from Annie which will help the beginner get to grips with what the paint can do 

Benefits of Annie Sloan Soft Wax

***Please note that we have closed comments regarding Chalk Paint. Carte Blanche are no longer stockists and the paint has changed in UK a little and we feel that we can no longer comment accurately about its performance as we could in the past. We hope that the article and comments below are useful but for technical advice we would suggest contacting your local supplier or speaking to Oxford - Annie Sloan Head Quarters***

So you have completed the painting of your piece of furniture in Annie Sloan® Chalk Paint™ and you have completed it in record time because you didn't need to strip, prime or even sand it but now you need to seal it and Annie Sloan® recommend  Annie Sloan™ Soft Wax.

The wax in action in the studio

So why should you use Annie Sloan™ Soft Wax and what makes it different from just any old furniture wax? Annie chose this wax for good reasons and there are a lot of benefits to this wax that we can share with you here.

• First of all it is soft...I know that's a bit obvious given it is called "soft wax" but Annie Sloan® Soft Wax is buttery soft and so application is easy with a brush or cloth (more on brushes below). It also means that you can get it absorbed into all the nooks and crannies.
• Next it is compatible with the paint ....and not all topcoats are. It is part of a system. That means we can also advise you about use, troubleshoot and if you use something else we as stockists can't necessarily help.
• It buffs to a beautiful soft lustre 
• You can mix it with the paint to make a coloured wax (keep reading, I know it sounds bizarre)
• and to me THIS IS THE BIGGY!!!!!!! Annie Sloan® Soft Wax has no drying accelerator. "Oh Wow" I can hear you say in a sort of underwhelmed sort of a way but wait....let me tell you why that is important. Wax dries and hardens when the solvent evaporates from the surface and most of the waxes on the market have a drying accelerator in to speed this process up. The accelerator drives the solvent off the surface so it dries almost as fast as you apply and drives it where???? STRAIGHT INTO YOUR LUNGS. Annie Sloan® Soft Wax dries and hardens naturally and the solvent evaporates probably mainly while you are off having a cup of tea. 

sit back and wait for the wax to dry

 Now, don't get me wrong, this product still has a solvent and I am not about to suggest that you climb inside a cupboard and wax it with the door closed....this would not be good. But for normal waxing this product is not going to leave you head-achy and with a lung full of solvent whereas I know from experience how horrid others can be for your health.
Because the wax dries slowly you do also need to let it dry...properly...before you buff.



Top Tips For Using Annie Sloan™ Soft Wax

new wax brush - call the studio 01738 587600 they are in stock now!

1. Apply thin coats and work the wax in well. You can use a cloth or the new wax brush. The wax might look like lard but try not to dig huge lumps out and just lard it on. If you have too much on, wipe off the excess with a clean cloth 
2. The new wax brush applies the wax evenly and especially over large areas is going to make life easier and the job quicker
3. For kitchen units and high traffic areas apply 3 coats. Allow each coat to dry before applying the next - I would wait overnight
4. WAIT BEFORE BUFFING!!!!!!! This will make your life so much easier. Best for buffing is an old towel and if you leave it to dry it makes it much less work. Not only that if you buff over wax that isn't dry, you may harden the top of it leaving the thin wax beneath soft. Then when you put a cup or mug on it it will break through the surface leaving rings
5. Put Annie Sloan™ clear wax on before applying the Annie Sloan™ dark wax. Over large areas use the clear wax to control how much of the dark wax remains on the surface. This is something we cover in the classes and can be a little tricky for someone new to the process, so practice....have a sample board to hand to play with before you do your lovely furniture.

applying the dark wax

To sum up, most problems are caused by :

• too much wax being applied
• buffing too soon
• rushing the process

One final tip. Every now and again the solvent from the wax sucks straight into the paint and makes it look a little patchy - bear in mind that the paint can be applied, thickly, thinly, roughly, smoothly and every hand is different. This happens for a variety of reasons - thickness of paint, texture of paint, atmospheric conditions -  and invariable frustrates folk. IT WILL GO...once the solvent evaporates completely it will be fine but this may take time. Remember that you don't buy Annie Sloan® Chalk Paint™ because you wanted it to look like Dulux and so please don't stress about it.

If you want to get rid of it now and diminish the look of patches, maybe because it is for sale, maybe because you are just like that then there is a wee technique

Making coloured wax

 See how there is a blob of wax in the surface in this picture? And then a blob of paint added in....well that makes a coloured wax. I KNOW, I KNOW this shouldn't be possible (another benefit) and believe me I have tried to work out why it works ....these days I just accept it. Anyway if you want to blend out any dark patches just use the paint you have used on the piece (this picture obviously is using a contrasting colour) and mix with the wax and work over the area. 

I hope this has demystified the wax....and also helped you understand the best ways to apply it. Happy waxing guys!!

How to Use Annie Sloan Chalk Paint

I have been meaning to do a stage by stage; step by step Annie Sloan Chalk Paint because while I talk about it a fair bit in my blog .... have I shown you how to use it? No I haven't. Have I even explained to you why it is probably the best paint in the world? Nope....I don't think I ever did. Have I introduced you to the inventor of the paint? How remiss.....let's start there. Meet Annie Sloan

Annie Sloan

Annie Sloan is an interior designer, artist, writer and renowned decorative expert on world painting based in Oxford. You can read a lot more about her own her own blog here

And what is so special about the paint? 

Virtually NOOOOO Prep!

Truly you can just paint straight over varnish, wax, French polish, old paint and virtually any other surface you might find on old or new furniture. No Sanding? No Priming? No Fuss? Just Fun? Yes...all that is true. 

Obviously there are sensible things you need to do. It's best if it is clean, dust free and that the surface is sound that you will be working on - get rid of loose and flaky. Then I have a really cool person here to demonstrate the technique - Yup it's Annie herself .....

Enjoy

I know what you are thinking....it can't be that easy, she's the person who invented the stuff....there must a secret. So if you don't believe me watch these guys......I don't know what it is about this video but I have decided these guys MUST be nice....they just look lovely and you definitely want to give them a hug by the time they finish.

So that's um....let me see.....oh yes.....paint ......then wax. Simples!

Happy Painting! Don't forget to buy your paint from us, we have paint, wax books all available - the link to our online shop is on the right hand side just click through or follow this link!!!
Thanks for making these videos peeps, you saved me a LOT of writing and picture taking and your videos are WONDERFUL!

Shopping

While all the world and their wives have been shopping for Christmas I have been doing a different sort of shopping, I have been working on our on-line shop. Not the lead up to Christmas I had anticipated but with an incredibly busy New Year coming up I thought I had better get it done - a now or never situation.
You can now buy Annie Sloan Chalk Paint, and Classes direct from here on the blog. Look to your right and scroll down to "SHOP here" click on a category and the shop will open up in a separate window in front of you.

I am feeling really clever because not only can you buy from here you can also buy from our Facebook Page 
 

and if you haven't liked the page yet.....please do!

 
Finally I have the new classes scheduled and listed. Thanks to a very talented finisher Pat Strong from Texas who I have never met, but have corresponded with for YEARS, we have a range of classes known as Every Second Thursday. She opens her studio for classes and opens studio nights every second Thursday and we loved the concept so...that is what we are doing.
Every second Thursday in the evening, we will either have an open studio or a short class in a specialist subject. Bookings can be made in advance, or it can be made on the night on a first come first served basis. The studio will always be open from 6pm until 9pm on these evenings. Classes are £30 and Open Studios are where we open our studio to you for your own use. Want to try any of the Annie Sloan Chalk Paints? Want to gild some detail with metal leaf? Want to use one of our stencils? For 3 hours the studio is open to you and you can work with any of the products normally used in the Annie Sloan Furniture Painting Class; all our class brushes and tools are available to you and any reasonable amount of other products in the paint store plus coffee and tea for a grand fee of £15.

The first short class will be to gild a 50cm square panel and apply a freehand design to it. No worry if you can't hand paint...we can stencil instead,  enabling you to produce something like this funky piece

Very Rock Chick!

I hope you will check it all out. I still have tweaks to do...fonts, font sizes etc. so don't be too harsh. I am so thrilled to be able to update things now that I have had a lesson from our wonderful website designer Evie Milo and there is so much still to update - I have to treat it as a work in progress.