Chalkboard Tutorial

I'm making a DIY chalk board today so I thought I would share my steps so you can do one yourself!

First the tools you will need:

~Chalkboard paint. I bought mine at the hardware store, but you can make your own. Find the recipe here .

~A paint roller or paint brush

~Pencil and level

~Paper plate for your paint

~Newspaper or drop cloth

First prepare the wall by cleaning off anything that would keep the paint from sticking, like crayon or tape. If you have glossy or semi gloss paint you must lightly sand the off the finish. Clean with a damp paper towel or tack rag. Remove any any faceplates. Keep the screws in a safe place! The easiest way? Tape them to the back of the faceplate until you need them again. Have someone who is going to use the board reach up to see how tall to paint it.

Now,  mark off the area to be painted. The level makes a great straight edge. Hold it up against the wall and adjust until the bubble shows a level line and then mark with your pencil. Do the same on all 4 sides. 

Mix your paint very well! Without the grit at the bottom there is no chalkboard! Pour some out and get painting, For good coverage you're probably going to need a second coat. My commercial product says you must wait 4 hours before painting second coat.

Wait 4 hours.

Paint second coat.

Wait 3 days for paint to cure and then good times!

To finish you could do a lot of different things. Paint a frame around it, glue some fabric trim or make the edge an unusual shape and leave it at that. I plan to frame it out with some wood trim to discourage random wall drawing. That's coming up.

NEXT: framing the board.