This post is all about how to paint your kitchen cabinets
with Chalk Paint® decorative paint by Annie Sloan.
How would I know?
Because I painted mine over four years ago and loved the result!
When I had a retail shop selling Chalk Paint, I was advising people
on a weekly basis on how to go about painting
kitchen cabinetry with Chalk Paint.
This before photo shows my cabinets in Maple with a polyurethane finished.
I washed the cabinets using Pinesol detergent and wiped them dry.
No sanding at all!
If your cabinets are very shiny then you might give them a light
sanding, but normally this is not part of the process.
As a matter of fact when you sand you could be removing the finish that
helps seal any wood tannins so be sanding you could be exposing yourself
to having stains come through your paint job called bleeding.
If this happens to your cabinets, stop painting and apply Zinsser Clear Shellac.
One light coat of the clear shellac should be applied.
I did not shellac or sand.
I just started painting as soon as the cabinets were dry.
We recommend using an Annie Sloan Paint Brush for this big project.
Get the right tools and along with this great paint and wax
you will be pleased with your results.
So what tools do you need for the job?
A great paint brush!
These brushes are natural bristle brushes and
that is what you need, first and foremost.
The paint will load up into these thousands of bristles
and you won't be going back and forth
between the can of paint and cabinet.
These brushes have very fine soft bristles which minimized
the appearance of brush strokes as well, another added advantage!
The cabinets were painted with two coats of Old White Chalk Paint.
I painted mine while they hung in place, after removing hardware.
After painting the first coat I began right away on the second coat.
Have a cup of water handy and dip the tip of your brush
into the water then into the can of Chalk Paint.
This helps the second coat glide on and not grab onto the first coat.
It also helps smooth out the brush strokes. If it feels like its grabbing,
just dip your tips into water and paint and you will feel the difference as you paint.
After you cover the cabinets with two coats of Chalk Paint® we
recommend waiting a day before you wax your cabinets.
Annie Sloan Soft Clear Wax is formulated to go with her paint.
It will not yellow as many protective top coats do,
so you rest assured your white will be white forever!
The wax is needed to create a durable finish so this step is a must.
Apply the wax with a wax brush for best results.
A large wax brush is going to get the wax onto your cabinets,
and into the paint. This is about the amount of wax you should have
on your wax brush. You will push the wax into the painted surface
using a good amount of pressure. I go in a circular motion and finish off
with straight strokes making sure I get the wax into the paint.
Then take a soft t-shirt or other lint free cloth and wipe off any excess amount of wax.
You can see if you have too much wax on your cabinet by
running your finger across the surface. If you see a smear mark,
there is too much wax so wipe it off with a rag. Do not rub briskly
with a rag, as that is buffing and you could remove the wax entirely
in sections by brisk rubbing. Just gently but firmly drag a clean cloth
across your waxed surface and move on to the next cabinet to wax.
We wax in sections and wipe off as we go.
Do not wax the entire kitchen cabinetry and then try to wipe off
or you will find it very difficult to do so as
the wax has already started to set up and dry.
Since I was painting and waxing my cabinets at home alone
I don't have a photo showing me doing the waxing, but here you can
see how I am waxing a hutch. I have a firm grasp on the base of the
brush so I can push the wax into the painted surface.
The brush does a great job of going over all ridges and details,
even your hardware if you choose to paint those.
Annie Sloan Soft Wax is just that~SOFT!
It will spread easily and many use too much wax because
it is easy to overload your brush.
So just add small amounts by tapping the brush into the can.
Above you can see our can of wax is getting near empty,
and the brush is sitting straight up in the can.
When you are finished waxing we recommend washing your brush with
hot water and Dawn dishwashing detergent. No soaking.
Towel off with paper towels and let air dry.
We have been doing this for years with zero bristle loss and great results.
However we don't wash our wax brush after every use,
we store it in a Nitrile surgical glove to
keep it moist for the next waxing job
and it can stay in there for weeks at a time.
If you want to lightly or heavily distress your cabinets
you can do so before or after waxing.
Annie likes to do it after waxing as it eliminates any dust from sanded Chalk Paint®.
But then you must reapply more wax after sanding.
I distress first, after my paint has dried,
and before I wax so that way I am only waxing once.
After distressing I will apply the wax.
A fine sanding block was used to lightly distress my cabinets.
Painting your cabinets is a do-able project and one that offers great results.
It took two quarts of Old White Chalk Paint® to do the outside of my doors.
If you are doing the inside of the doors you will use double the amount.
Each can covers about 150 square feet of coverage.
I used a little more than one can of Clear Wax for the doors.
Think about using two coats of wax on the doors or
drawers that get the most use for added protection.
My kitchen is now over four years old and I haven't re-waxed them
yet but I will be doing that soon. If you are wiping down your cabinets
you are effectively removing wax
a tiny bit at a time so re-wax your cabinets accordingly to keep them protected,
especially the cabinets used most often, like the coffee cup cabinet,
or the one for the silverware etc.
When the paint and wax have been applied it is time to buff your cabinets.
We use the Ultimate Buffing Brush and give our pieces a beautiful lustre by
running over the waxed surface with the brush.
Its quick and easy!
You can also buff with clean soft cloths, taking care not to
scratch your surface with your fingernails as I have done
when rubbing the cloth quickly back and forth.
Remember to wait at least a day to buff your cabinets.
Paint, Wax, Buff!
Thats it!
Create the kitchen of your dreams with Chalk Paint® by Annie Sloan!
On the drawer fronts you can see the insert areas were done with the pearl plaster
So do you want to take your piece of furniture to another level?
