DIY Chalkboard Table

As I said in the last post I made I planned to redo my garage into a make shift jewelry/misc. art studio.  And in the process I came up with what I thought was the brilliant idea to paint my work table with chalkboard surface paint so that I could write notes or draw designs as I go.  So far it has worked wonderfully!  So without further adieu here is how I did it:


Need:
-Sand Paper
-Primer
-Chalkboard Paint
-Paint Brush

First I started by removing the laminate that was on the table.  I did this by poking a hole in it and getting it very wet and peeling it away from the table top.  You do not have to do this however.  If you have a laminate table lightly run sand paper over the top to where it's rough enough that the paint sticks to it, and then apply a coat or two of primer.  **(Note if you remove the laminate you may not have to primer.  My table was press board and I did not have to primer it, so it is completely up to you.)**


If your table is wood then sand the top down to where most of the finish is removed then primer the top.  Now you are ready to paint!


I went to my local hardware store and bought a can of chalkboard paint for $15.00.  It comes in an array of colors from black, to green, to blue, but I went with simple basic black.  (They also sell chalkboard paint in a spray can).

I painted four coats on mine, but for something like a dinner table you probably only need 2 coats.  Play it by ear and see what works for you.

As you can see the table turned out gorgeous, and is a PERFECT surface to work on and write notes to myself, or to just draw silly pictures on.

One note to make is that you need to wait 24 hours before you draw on the table.  It does dry fast so you can keep putting on coats, but if you draw on it before this time is done whatever you draw will likely leave marks on the table resulting in you having to add another coat of paint!


So I hope you enjoy!  It was a very fun project for me and I am considering chalk boarding some other stuff...shall we call me a chalkboard addict?