A while ago I wrote a post called A Skeptic Asks: Is Annie Sloan Chalk Paint Laced With Fairy Dust? A lot of people have come to this blog through searches for Annie Sloan Chalk paint so I decided it wasn't fair to be a skeptic, I needed to test this paint and do a review.
So I bought Annie Sloan Provence Blue paint and clear wax from Lady Butterburg. This paint and wax is fairly expensive, and I was too cheap to buy the dark wax, thinking I could glaze with my own paints here and then use the clear paste wax. Or maybe I could mix the clear wax with some oil paint. I was wrong about that. Anyway, they came quickly.
I chose a lowly step-stool to transform. I did wash the stool down, but didn't sand it at all, per the paint's claim to fame.
Above is the first coat. It dries flat looking and streaky. I put another coat on. The paint color is a little lighter than I expected it to be. I think the dark wax application must make a huge difference. It was easy to paint on. After the two coats were dry, I glazed it with a mix of artist's acrylic paints and glazing medium, wiping off the glaze in some spots with vigor. I was a little too vigorous in some spots. At this point I was wishing I hadn't been cheap and had just bought the darn dark wax. My bad.
I decided to keep going. I applied the clear paste wax to my stool and then waited a few days before buffing. Mostly because I was busy. I think a day would have been enough. Here's a closeup:
And here's the whole stool.
I think I'll buy the dark wax and try it out.
I can put the dark wax on top of this clear wax attempt.
The wax gives a nice sheen without being too shiny.
I think the wax is key to using this paint. And I missed out on that step. So now I will need to do *another* step after I order the dark wax. I even used the wax on one of my doll sculpts. I really liked it on that!
