Easy Bookcase Makeover - Part three

This is part three of the bookcase makeover series. When we left off at the end of part two, the bookcase had been primed and was left to dry out completely in readiness for painting. Today the fun part starts - painting with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint. If you missed the beginning of this series you can go back and read parts one and two here:

Easy Bookcase Makeover | Part One

Easy Bookcase Makeover | Part Two

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Here's a reminder of how the bookcase looked when we left it in part two.

Tips for using Annie Sloan Chalk Paint

If you've cleaned your brush well after priming, you can use the same one for painting. Since the primer is water based you should be able to clean it easily with warm soapy water.

Annie Sloan Chalk Paint is quite thick and the can needs to be given a really good shake to make sure it’s mixed up properly. After that, I usually turn the can upside down and leave it for at least half an hour before giving it another good shake.

Then I used the same process as I did with the primer to water down the paint a little. I make sure to add the water to the paint once it’s in the paint tray and not directly to the paint in the can. It's important not to thin the paint down too much though because otherwise it will become too runny and you'll have drips all down your lovely paintwork. As with the primer, I find the paint works best when it has the consistency of pouring cream.

Start with the smalls

Again I painted one side of the shelves and drawers first so that they would be dry by the time I finished painting the bookcase and I could turn them over and paint the other side. I use a large brush for the first coat and as chalk paint dries very quickly, by the time I had given everything one coat, I was able to start from the beginning again with the second coat. I did this project on a lovely warm day so it wasn’t long before the bookcase was completely dry.

As you can see in the photo above, the bookcase still looks patchy after one coat of chalk paint. The next coat of paint completely covered all of that though. I find that normally two coats are required when I use 'Old White' but that with the darker colours usually one coat is enough.

This is how we are going to leave it for today.

Coming up next - Applying the wax and distressing.

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How To Transform Furniture With Chalk Paint

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