Ok I have previously mentioned I am the unofficial stunt double for the Dulux Dog, well that’s my excuse for the graying uncut hair anyway.
Also the fact my father has been involved in painting and decorating for a while now and by default it must have “abraded” of onto me.
Its not enough I try and run my small family business, spend time with the family and do a bit of gardening hahaha!! I also try and write reviews. If you wish to have a look at an early review I wrote please continue reading. Will share more as we continue our journey.
Rust-oleum Chalky Finish Furniture Paint
Introduction
My project with Rust-oleum’s Chalky Finish Furnisher Paint was to modernize three items of pine furnisher. I had never used this particular product before, but I had gathered together the preparatory products I would usually use on such a job. These included a degreaser, some abrasives and an adhesion promoting primer and some masking tape.
Short description
Despite initial reservations after reading the Rust-oleum instructions I decided to follow them as close as my professional pride would allow, so I placed my adhesion promoting primer to one side and began my preparations. After removing items that were not getting painted or that needed to be painted separately I degreased all the surfaces, Rust-oleum recommends White spirit for this task, as I was attempting to remain environmentally friendly I opted to substitute Krud Kutter.
After Degreasing and washing over each piece of furnisher, I waited until the surface had dried, before I could key each area using a 240 abrasive on a manual dust extraction system, finally wiping over again with a clean lint free damp cloth. I protected the areas I wished to remain pine with another new product from Stanley, their professional masking tape.
I was then ready to apply my first coat. Despite it only being a 750ml tin the Rust-oleum felt heavy, things looked promising that it would be a concentrated paint as promised by the manufacturer. Opening the tin revealed it was “thick creamy consistency” after thorough stirring. I had different parts of a bare pine coffee table, a previously varnished pine box and a factory finished television cabinet to decorate.
I choose to start with the pine table, the Rust-oleum could not be brushed about due to its viscosity and again I was tempted to add a little water to assist flow out but I managed to resist as I wanted to see if it lived up the manufacturers claims of “exceptional coverage in one coat”. I continued to coat each piece of furnisher and observed the coated areas bleach out as they dried. Naturally the bare pine table was the quickest to dry as it was the first done and the paint was easily absorbed.
In my opinion all three items of furnish would not be up the required standard with just one coat. I was trying to achieve a smooth uniform finish and with one coat they were still a little translucent. I waited 4 hours before returning to continue as recommended by Rust-oleum . Prior to applying a second coat I performed a basic scratch test on each item. Just with my nails, which are quite tough at the best of times I scraped them across the surface of each item. Out of the three as you would expect the bare pine table performed the best with not visible signs of damage. The varnished box and factory finished cabinet didn’t do as well both were marked in the test with the box fairing marginally better.
So as recommended once again I did not abrade the surface, just simply applied a second coat. On this occasion it went on a little better, although I did think it had a similar properties to the limewash products of time gone by where it appeared to soften the previous coating a little, Once they were all coated I just left them over night to fully dry again.
Pro’s
It’s a fairly straight forward product to use
Creates a fashionable finish
Rust-oleum suggests you can use two colours to create the popular shabby chic look.
Pleasing finish once dry both in appearance and touch (*although read below)
Con’s
Bit DIY focused
Adhesion to pre varnished or factory finished surfaces questionable.
*Resilience to every day wear and tear on high traffic areas will need additional protection, Rust-oleum recommend their finishing wax.
Disappointment from your average DIYer that one coat coverage isn’t realistic.
Conclusion
If I am totally honest I didn’t really want to like this product because of its DIY aspirations. Despite the fact I would have preferred a proper adhesion primer and it would have been better if after two coats it was more durable.
I actually liked the finished effect it created, which was as described a Smooth Chalky Matt, you would pay a premium for if you bought pre finished furnisher like this. So if you are a DIYer or professional I wouldn’t be ashamed to recommend this product as long as you are aware of its limitations.
Rust-oleum is a long established business associated with many famous brands; many decorators will recognize them from the Zinsser and Blackfriars products.
Value for money 75/100
Opacity 75/100
Application 70/100
Finish 85/100
#furniturepainting #chalkpaint
JUL