In my other business, My Painted Porch, an interior decorating business with a focus on faux paint finishes and later a line of home decor vintage inspired signs, I’ve used countless various paint products over the years in the refinishing of furniture, painting walls, floors – even cushions! I’ve painted on all kinds of surfaces from wood, drywall, concrete, arborite, brick, resin, wicker and metals to fabrics and rugs. Most paint projects will call for a certain amount of prep work, a different primer or sealer, a stain or a color, clear protective coat or wax or none, but none, and I do mean NONE get the job done for the bulk of my furniture paint projects quite like my homemade chalk paint! And I’m going to share my Chalk Paint recipe with you!
There are paints out there, known as ‘chalk paints’, that promise limited prep work as in no sanding, no priming etc. I have yet to find one tho that truly lives up to those promises AND they are quite expensive at around $35 – $40 for a quart! The best part of making your own chalk paint tho, is that you get to use up paint that you may already have in your home and the main ingredient of this recipe is ultra-affordable using Dap’s Plaster of Paris which you can find at your local hardware store for roughly $6.

Avoiding Oil Products At All Cost
Depending on the project, I opt for latex (water-based) paints at every opportunity that I can. They provide for easier clean up for drips or overspray (water), they’re easier to fix if you’ve made a mistake (water), provide for easier clean-up of tools (soap and water), they’re fast-drying and today, many of the latex acrylic paints on the market are equally as durable as alkyd (oil-based). AND I don’t have to deal with paint thinner which wreaks to the high heavens with crazy hazardous fumes or need to throw out my brushes. Brushes are expensive, as projects will sometimes call for a different brush and when you’re painting as much as I do, you don’t want to have to toss them after every use. My homemade chalk paint is still my trusted go-to in the bulk of my furniture projects.
For indoor projects, I use any interior latex paint that I have on hand in my desired color as the base for this recipe. It’s super-easy, and will keep really well without drying out or getting chunky in the bottom from settling as long as you keep it stored in an air-tight container. Don’t throw out those plastic margarine tubs or plastic dairy containers! They’re ideal for storing paint finishes like chalk paint, color washes and glazes.
While In Rome…
We live in a very small town with limited options in paint brands. My fave paint brands have always been Benjamin Moore and Pratt & Lambert, but neither of them are easily accessible to me anymore. So my go-to for paint 95% of the time now is the Canadian Tire Premier brand and there’s always one on sale. I get them to enter the Benjamin Moore fan deck in their computer at the paint counter to access my fave color BM colors and formulas and they mix them for me in Canadian Tire paint products. They’re normally a very close match.
The Prep Work
I wipe down every piece that I work on before starting – to remove, grime, spills etc. I don’t scrub and with a full-on soap and water wash. A damp cloth with just water and mild liquid dish soap on the cloth usually does it and with a final rinse, but I will go heavier when and where needed.
If the piece already has a finish on it where the knots of the wood have already been sealed, then you’re good to go but if you’re painting new wood, I would recommend first sealing the knots with shellac. You don’t have to shellac the entire piece – just the knots will do. If you don’t seal the knots on bare wood, you risk the tannins from the wood bleeding through the knots and finish. They won’t show right away but they will for sure a couple of years down the road as with any paint, and you will regret not having sealed them before starting on all of your hard work. Shellac is inexpensive. Just a small can is all you need to have on hand, apply with a small brush, it takes very little on your brush and it takes only an hr or so to dry.
My fail-proof CHALK PAINT recipe is as follows:
Chalk Paint Recipe
- 3 tbsp of water
- 5 tbsp of Plaster of Paris (Plaster of Paris is a powder and comes in a carton, similar to a milk carton. You can buy a 2 KG size (roughly 4.5 lbs) at your local hardware store for around $6.
- 1 1/2 cups of latex paint ( I usually use an interior latex paint with a flat or eggshell sheen)
You DON’T pour the Plaster of Paris directly into the paint and add water! That would leave you with lumps and bumps much like a bad gravy and not being able to achieve the mixture needed, ruining the smoothness needed of your paint finish.
So follow exactly in this order:
In one of those plastic margarine tubs you’ve been collecting, you place your 3 tbsp of water. You then measure out 5 tbsp of Plaster of Paris, and add that to your water. Mix it well with a paint stir stick until creamy and no lumps remain. It blends incredibly fast – much like corn starch when cooking. THEN, add your paint to that mixture. Stir it all up really well but carefully. I would recommend that you do this over old newspaper in case you’re a little too vigorous in your stirring. Wipe up any spills elsewhere with paper towel and warm water right away.
And that’s it! Grab your brush and start painting!
Start Painting
I’ve used this recipe on countless pieces. I’ve not had to sand the glossier surfaces and most pieces have only required one coat of paint. If you feel that it’s not covering well or that the underlying color is simply too dark to cover with one coat, then you can apply a 2nd coat as needed although I’ve not had to often. If you’re doubtful that it will adhere to the glossy surface on your piece or questioning the whole process, you can always lightly sand with a fine sanding block, but I’ve not had to so far.
Once your paint has dried, you can then distress the piece with a medium sandpaper if you wish, at corners, along edges – in areas where you feel it would naturally appear more worn due to regular use over the years.
The Final Step in Refinishing Projects In Chalk Paint
I always finish off my piece with a wax. I’ll sometimes use a clear, or a white, or a dark wax…depending on the look I’m after and depending upon the base coat/color used. Wipe off excess wax and buff with a clean cloth. I use Minwax paste wax most often but you can also use other brands of paste wax. Sure, you can clear-coat it with a varathane but I prefer the warm lustre that the Minwax paste wax provides over other waxes and top coats that I’ve tried.
The pieces I’ve finished so far have stood the test of time. With a little one in the house, a large high-energy dog and a husband who sometimes bumps into things with bigger things like table saws etc, I have found this recipe to stand up to the abuse they will sometimes get and drastically cuts my prep time in refinishing pieces.
So in summary:

HAPPY PAINTING!!

Leave a Reply