Chalk Paint Vs Latex?

Chalk Paint as been all the rage since 1990. When Annie Salon created the chalk finish easy to use paint! But, people had been refurbishing and painting furniture for years. So whats the benefits of any brand of chalk paint vs any brand of latex?

I have been in this business for nearly 10 years now. And I can tell you this, there is no miracle paint. No paint really requires no sanding, no prep blah blah blah....

No paint brand will make you a professional. What makes a great piece of refurbished furniture is simple, HARD WORK!

I have found flat latex paint with primer in the mix spreads just as easily as any chalk paint I have tried. And I have tried a lot! Flat latex distress like a dream, you can buy it in a sample size all the way to a 5 gallon! And for a more than a fraction of the price of any chalk paint line on the market. (Refined Rubbish personally adores Behr paint products.) I have also happily used Valspar, Clark &Kensington, Benjamin Moore, Glidden, Sherwin Williams... The list goes on and on. Now I've also tried lots of chalk paints everything from Annie Salon to Amy Howard. Even tried Wal-mart's Waverly line. Guess what? LOVED THEM ALL! Also on my chalk paint list is Dixie Belle Paints, Wise Owl & General Finishes. Truth be told they all did the job. What makes a paint special, is not how much you spend on it. Its the person painting with it! You can buy all the high dollar artist supplies in the world, but that wont make you a great artist. Now lets look at some facts on Latex and on Chalk Paint!

Latex Facts Chalk Paint

. Water Based . Water Based

. Prep Required .Prep Also Required (Even If The Can Says No)

.Sealer Required .Sealer Also Required ( Again Even If Can Says No!)

.Chalky Finish If Using Flat Sheen .Chalk Finish

.Easy To Distress .Easy To Distress

(Despite Beliefs That Only Chalk Paint Can Be Distressed)

Bottom line, they are both water based paints. They react the same! There is not much difference. Chalk Paint is a viable resource for painters no lie there. But it is by far NOT THE ONLY ONE! A talented furniture refurbisher can work with most any type of paint.

The Chalk Paint generation of (NO PREPPING AND NO SEALING WITH HARD COAT DURABLE SEALER HAS TO LEARN) There is no such thing as EASY NO WORK PAINT.

Thats just not true. If it were why would people be paying professional refurbisher's to paint their pieces? They pay us to preform a task, a service that they can not "easily" do themselves. Anyone with a paint brush and a can of paint can slap it on a dresser. It takes skill and proper prep to achieve a buttery smooth clean finish, that will last years to come for the clients.

Rather your using Chalk or Latex or even Acrylic paint on your project. Take the steps to prep it, and to seal it. You would not want someone taking shortcuts on your vehicle services? So why would you want it on your refurbishing services.

After nearly 10 years in this industry I can tell you, I've seen lots of would be refurbisher's pop up on my Facebook news feed. And I've seen the all fail, I am in business for a reason, I provide quality long lasting results that stand the age of time. Id like to think it's due to hard work and due diligence to my craft. I never stop learning or finding ways to improve my clients refurbishing experience.

And after being voted my cities Best Refurbisher 2018, I feel I have earned my right to this opinion.

Signing off, may all your work be quality and long lasting.

Savanna Tolan of Refined Rubbish San Angelo Tx