A while ago I purchased a lovely midcentury teak coffee table. Unfortunately it was painted with Annie Sloan chalk paint and then waxed. I say unfortunately as there are certain pieces of furniture which shouldn't be painted as 1) they have historical value 2) the "shabby chic" doesn't go with every style. (Don't get me wrong- I have nothing against Annie Sloan paint- it's a great product and works marvellous!)
I couldn't find any information about how to REMOVE the chalk paint so I've contacted Annie Sloan via email and they recommended sanding down as the paint is water-based.
This was my first attempt at removing water based or chalk paint but hopefully I can share some tips with you that may help with your restoration.
I'm guessing that this tutorial will work with any water based paint.
I'm guessing that this tutorial will work with any water based paint.
You will need:
- white spirit
- sponges
- steel wool (I used fine 000 & ultrafine 0000)
- water. Lots of water!
- bucket or garden hose
- sandpaper (150 and fine 240)
- sander
- danish oil (or whatever your wood is)
- lint free cloth
- wax
- sunshine!
1) Firstly remove the wax using a white spirit and sponge. While I was doing this I realised the paint underneath comes off quite easily
2) Continue scrubbing with water and the sponge. The more water that I used, the more easily it came off. It's best doing this on a sunny day so the wood dries quickly and doesn't leave black marks. I used both sides of the sponge; the rough one and the soft one. I kept the sponge clean of the paint at all times, otherwise the the wood grain started to stain.
3) When most of the paint is removed, use fine steel wool to remove the paint from the grains.
3) After the paint is removed and the wood is dry, sand it down. For the flat areas I used a sander, and for curvy areas I used sheet of a sand paper. There are 2 simple rules when sanding wood:
- Always sand in the direction of grains,
- Never use sandpaper finer than 280 as it will fill the grains and the wood will look unnatural
This article has some great tips about how to sand wood furniture.
4) For difficult areas such as corners, I've used a small engraving tool with a sanding head (sorry no photo).
5) After everything is sanded down, clean it with white spirit. When it's all dry and dust free, rub in the dutch oil using lint free cloth. In total I used 3 layers of oil leaving 4-6 hour gaps between re-coating. Finally, I applied the wax. I like using clear Briwax brand as it leaves a lovely shiny finish.
There are still small remains of the paint in the wood grains and around the cane edges but hardly noticeable unless you're inspecting it very closely ;)
Ta daa! :)
For more tips and ideas follow my "upholstery & restoration" Pinterest board.
Update:
Here is a similar picture of the engraving tool I've used for difficult areas. I really can't remember where I got it from but the bits in the wooden box are from Lidl.
