apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

has anyone ever painted their frig doors with chalkboard paint?

Really cool, with the added bonus of a Cy Twombly effect. But I am guessing, due to chalk dust, the Swiffer gets a serious workout, and that the hip black clothing and computer hardware all have to be kept elsewhere...

My sister used the chalkboard paint on a metal panel that she affixed to her refrigerator door and now they can write notes and post memos where once was just glistening, non-magnetic stainless. Sad (from a childless, design-y point of view) but brilliant (from a parent-with-a-cluttered-home point of view).

Dear Colleen. No.

If you're going to bother doing this, make it magnetic. Use a magnetic primer before the chalkboard paint. VOILA!

http://www.abcstuff.com/magnetic_paint.php

(there are also magnetic additives you can mix with the paint)

Our pantry door is painted with chalkboard paint in our kitchen. Not quite the same visual effect, but pretty useful in a small-ish kitchen.

My artist friend, Lisa, used chalkboard paint over her kitchen sink only, and it is so amazing! Each week, she writes a quote for the week and random words that she's trying to add to her vocabulary that she gets in those word-a-day emails. The rest of her kitchen walls are cherry red. Looks great with the slate color chalkbord paint.

Great to see people using chalkboard paint. It's great stuff!

Holly

that wall looks great. I painted the ugly double doors of my hall closet with chalkboard paint and now they are so much more interesting to look at. the chalk dust isn't that big a problem, since I only sketch on them every now and then. I love the grey patina that develops as I wash off the old drawings.

I love it in the black, but if you thought it was just a little too much of a black hole that way, the green color might be nice, instead.

How permanent is the chalkboard paint?

it's there til you paint over it, i suppose... what are you painting?

Could someone help me to find this chalkboard paint also shipping in Italy ?????'

can you paint over chalkboard paint once you are tired of it?

what paint brand did u use

or should i say which chalkboard paint brand is best .....i want to create a chalkboard wall in a study.

can you paint over chalk board paint once you are tired of it?

I own a cafe in long island city--and painted an entire wall with magnetic paint and then covered it with Benjamin Moore's chalkboard paint. We use the wall to post our menu in chalk--it looks great however the magnetic paint gives the wall a rough texture and makes it difficult to erase (we've had to repaint several times). So if you want a smoother finish forgo the magnetic paint.
(pix) http://www.communitea.net

I just painted a wall in my bathroom with chalkboard paint. It's silly and fun. People use the bathroom and leave notes... hee.

the dust should not be a problem if you clean the wall with a wet sponge

I'm a renter in NYC. I am wondering how easy it will be to cover the magnetic/blackboard layers when it's time to move. Will a few coats of white primer return my wall to normal? What if I paint a square that isn't the entire wall--will this be thick?

Many thanks for advice!

We have an entire wall in chalkboard paint, but it never seems to get really clean again. Any suggestions on how to clean it to make it look smooth again?

Here is the photo link:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/illmethinks/139375009/in/set-373434/

P.S. we have tried a wet sponge, but it seems only to smear around the dust.

Uhh.. How about this?
Look online for a chalkboard cleaner.
I would use the chalk pens instead of actual chalk. Just an idea.

Uhh... Appearantly this doesn't use html codes soo..
http://edushop.edu4kids.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=2852

off topic... how do you hang 'box' shelves like that?

So, you can just take a plain old painted wall, add a coat of magnetic primer and then chalkboard paint on top and create a wall chalkboard??? fascinating!

How well can it be painted over?

I repainted my kitchen, after moving in. It was oxblood red with black counters and old 60's cabinetry. also, our floor is black and white checkers. I painted the cabinets themselves white, along with the walls. I then used a combo of magnetic paint and the chalkboard paint on all of my drawers and cabinet doors. Also, there is about 1-1 1/2 foot of wall above my cabinets... so I painted this with the black chalkboard as well. I wrote my mother's (who was murdered in 2005) recipes on the top section of wall above the cabinets... on the doors, I have little pics of what is in the cabinets and some little messages.... Everyone loves my two-toned kitchen.

Do you think you could use the chalk board paint on wooden kitchen tables??

We just love what is happening in the wallpaper industry.
We have just started to carry dry erase and dry erase with magnetic by the yard. Just imagine, a whole dry erase wall.

Steven
TheWallpapermaker.com

Painted over chalkboard paint (at least the kind from Home Depot) was no problem. I used a few coats of primer first, and then gave it two coats of the color.

hey,

i have a daycare, and we have the dry easer walls, they are wonderful.
after reading all of the post, im was going to try the chalk paint but now i m having 2nd thoughts. What exactly is the draw back to using the chalk paint??? anyone???

thanks

I've found that the best way to clean a surface painted with blackboard paint is to use a lint free cloth soaked in coca cola. I've used this method on pub blackboards for 10 years. Cheers!

I just painted two sliding closet doors in my son's room with the magnetic primer chalkboard paint from Benjamin Moore. We used a roller.

Just wanted to warn folks that is VERY lumpy and frankly doesn't look that nice. We were going for a smooth blackboard surface look -- this does not get us there.

Plus, it's hardly magnetic at all. You'd need those rare earth magnets to actually hold up papers, and those magnets are far from toddler safe.

It's been sort of a waste of money (that paint is not cheap) and effort and we're wondering what to do next.

Color me unimpressed.

My roommate and I have lived in an apartment with a chalkboard wall for 2 years. We love it! But we've never been able to get it really clean and shiny black. On a whim, I googled for a solution and found this site. Barrycroxall is a genius! His suggestion to use coca cola worked perfectly. We only had caffeine free, but it has done the trick. Next step: try diet coke. Thank you!!!

It has been a while since anyone has posted here but I am hoping to answer a lot of the questions posed above mine! Magnetic Paint does work and can be quite strong when applied correctly. Depending on the amount of sq ft being painted, you will need to use the entire contents of the purchased cans of paint. If you do not use the whole can, you are not getting ALL of the magnetic particles onto the wall.

Using the magnetic primer is always a great idea because you can paint over it with any color or brand paint. Once applied, some colors (primarily reds and yellows) may need extra coats to cover up the slate-like appearance of the primer. The magnetic primer turns your wall into a magnetic surface where magnets can be used to decorate or hold things up!

If you are looking to make a Magnetic Chalkboard wall, you can use either Magnetic Chalkboard Paint or Tintable Chalkboard Paint over Magnetic Primer. The Tintable Chalkboard Paint allows you to make the chalkboard any color you would like. Some people have complained in the past about not having a smooth surface to write on but with the proper technique the optimal finish can be accomplished.

For those of you out there that are looking for an easier solution to create chalkboard surfaces around the workplace, kitchen, or child's room, you can use Magnetic Peel & Stick Chalkboard which is currently available in 4 colors (Rose, Green, Blue, and Purple). Three additional colors will be available at the end of the summer (black, yellow and red).

Check out their site at http://www.magnamagic.com

We have some old slate chalkboard. Simply sanding it down (removing layers of chalkboard paint, tape marks, etc) makes it gray, not really deep black - so we were looking at painting it. Painters did one sample with a chalkboard paint - not sure which brand. It came out also just dark gray, not truly black, and also, it scratches really easy (even just with a fingernail).
So - for those that have used paint, what brand did you use, is it a deep black, and does it scratch easily?
Thanks.

Just painted a kitchen wall with chalkboard paint in Petrol Blue. Lovely colour, however, the painting could be called patchy, at best. Any tips on how to get this looking smooth? I found the paint dried so quickly - it rolled on to the wall and seemed to dry instantly so couldn't get it smooth! The paint wasn't cheap, compared to normal paint, so I don't know if I should just buy more of the stuff in the hope it will improve with more layers or to just forget it and paint over with normal paint! Help??

Hi there,
Just wanted to echo Lacey M's comment. I purchased a magnetic chalkboard paint (magnet and chalkboard paint combined) and put on FIVE very thick coats - essentially using entire can (can recommended to use three at most) and found the same thing - that only the very small rare earth magnets worked. Don't remember the brand we used but it was touted/rated the best. Was really disappointed and annoyed.