Magnetic chalk board paint: it’s exactly what the name describes.
Last year a client kindly gave me a gallon of magnetic chalk board paint he was not using (thanks Steve!). A few weeks ago I applied it to both my kids walls, and they love it. It’s a great idea to add a fun and educational atmosphere to a kid’s bedroom of any age. In their youth, a young child can apply magnets of animals, flowers, letters and numbers, or any fun design. They can also use magnets to post their favorite pictures or drawings to the blackboard painted surface. Besides the magnetic feature, you can use chalk to write on the painted wall and erase it as you would a normal chalk board. In their later years, older kids or teenagers can use the magnetic chalk board painted area to express themselves using chalk to write phrases or pictures that are meaningful to them. Another idea is to give your kid or teenager pre-printed poetry magnets used for creating poetry on refrigerators. Magnetic chalk board paint is applied similarly to normal paint but it much harder to work with because it splatters easily and dries incredibly fast. Below I will go through the process of applying magnetic chalk board paint from start to finish, but I highly recommend hiring a painter to apply it for reasons discussed below. First of all, you will need to prep your wall prior to painting as you would with any wall painting project. Fill any holes and sand any bumps; you want the wall to be smooth as possible to make it easier for magnets and chalk to stick to the surface. If you don’t want an entire wall painted, you can frame an area with wood or plastic trim. Move any furniture or objects away from the area, as the magnetic chalk board paint splatters easily. Cover the floor with drop clothe or plastic. It is also recommended to tape off the baseboard with painters tape because the paint will splatter all over it. Then your ready to paint.
“Cut in” the wall you want painted with a brush all around the perimeter of the wall. The paint covers very well with only a little paint, but you want it applied thick to give the magnets enough magnetic matter to stick to. Now is the hardest part. Roll the paint with a thin roller sleeve for applying smooth finishes. The paint dries super fast so you must move swiftly, but if you are not careful the paint will splatter everywhere. Apply the paint thick but roll it out smooth; magnets and chalk will not stick well to an uneven surface. When all the area is covered let it dry according to manufacturers suggestion, then apply two more coats. You will see all the area covered well with one coat, but multiple coats are needed to create a thick base for magnets to stick.
When your final coat is dry to the touch, use a moist sponge to smooth out the surface even more for a better writing/sticking surface. Move the sponge in a circular motion with equal pressure over the entire painted area. You will feel the surface become smoother instantly. The sponge acts like fine sandpaper, and a very small amount of paint particles will be removed. It will appear streaky at first, but no worries, you will be writing on the wall with chalk. For an extra touch, you can add a trim piece to border in your chalk board area if you do not want to use the whole wall. Also, notice in the picture that I changed the electrical outlet and cover to black to match the black board area. For questions or a quote, contact me at jwalla@wallapainting.com Thanks! Jonathan Walla
