Refinished Dry Sink with Chalk Paint
I have been crazy busy the last few days. But I did complete another project! Here is my refinished dry sink with chalk paint. This is the last piece of orange oak colored furniture in my house. Whew! I thought I would never be done refinishing all that oak. I have completed my mantel, staircase, 6 pieces of furniture and 6 chairs. Now watch…it will probably be back in style soon. 🙂
Here is the before picture.
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SUPPLIES
- Sanding Sponge
- Blue Shop Towels
- Rustoleum Chalked (Aged Gray)
- Purdy Paint Brush
- Clear Mixing Glaze (I used Valspar)
- Rustoleum Ultra Cover (Flat Black)
- Minwax Polycrylic
SANDING & PAINT
The first thing I did was take off all of the hardware and remove the drawer and doors. Then I lightly sanded all of the surfaces with my orbital sander. A sanding sponge works well if you don’t have an orbital sander.
Next, I wiped the entire piece down twice with mineral spirits to remove the dust. Finally, I covered it with two coats of Rust-Oleum Chalked Aged Gray using a Purdy paint brush. Here is a picture before the glaze step.
GLAZE
I mixed 2 tablespoons of Rustoleum Ultra Cover Flat Black with 4 tablespoons of Valspar Clear Mixing Glaze. Working in small sections, I brushed on the glaze mixture with long even strokes in the same direction as the wood grain. Then with long even strokes, I wiped the glaze off with a folded blue shop towel. I finished the piece with two coats of Minwax Polycrylic protective top coat.
I love the way this dry sink turned out and I’m so happy to share the paint technique with you!
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What do you think? Have you used Rustoleum Chalked paint or tried a glazing technique?
What do you use to seal it after the chalk paint?
For this project, I used Minwax Polycrylic, clear satin.
The ultra cover flat black I could only find it in a semi gloss black can I use this technique with it instead of flat black? Thanks
Hi Shannon. I believe the gloss will just leave more of a shiny sheen with the glaze. Always test it on a scrap piece of wood first. This will also help you practice the technique. I hope this helps.
Can I ask where you found the Amazing Grace sign in the first picture? LOVE it!!
I love that sign, too. We live in northern Ohio and just south of us is one of the largest Amish communities in the country. My husband and I usually spend the weekend of our anniversary there and always visit the P Graham Dunn store in Walnut Creek, Ohio. If you would like to visit them online, their website is . Hope this helps!
Hello, I love this!
What technique did you use to get the darker color into the corners and creases?-Becky
Hi Becky. Thank you for your kind words. The darker color is a glaze mixture. I mixed black paint with clear mixing glaze. Then, brushed it over the light gray paint into all the corners and creases. Work in small sections, then wipe it off with a blue shop towel, in the direction of the wood grain. Hope this helps!
This will be my first project. I also have a dry sink that I would love to refinish. Do the paints that you used come in different size cans if so what size can of paint did you use. Your dry sink is so cute!
Hi Sandy. I used four products for this finish. The Rustoleum Chalked (aged gray) comes in a 30 Oz can. The Rustoleum flat black is available in an 8 Oz can. The mixing glaze I used came in a pint size. The top coat is Polycrylic and it comes in a 8 and 32 oz container. The Rustoleum Chalked and the Polycrylic are also available in a spray can, but you would have to work outside. Best wishes with your project. If you have time, share a picture. I would love to see it!
Hi, I just went over a cabinet with old chalk paint, now the cabinet smells, did the paint go bad? If I repaint it with new paint will the smell go away?
Thank you
Carmen
Hi Carmen. I’m not sure. I’ve never had that happen. I did paint an old cabinet once that had a musty smell. The paint didn’t get rid of the smell. I even tried putting an open baking soda container inside of it. The smell went away a little, but not completely.
Hello Laura,
I love the look of your piece and thank you for sharing. I have table I want to redo with a similar look. The piece has a veneer top. I plan to clean it and lightly sand. Can I use the same technique you used ? My other question is, what colors would you recommend to to achieve more of a faded brown or tan? I’d like to have tan and white be the look. Thank you.
Hi Kathleen. I’m not a professional furniture re-finisher, but I have refinished almost every piece of furniture in my home. Here are my suggestions. A wood veneer tabletop could be sanded and refinished, just be careful to check, if it’s laminate, you cannot refinish it. I don’t like to paint tabletops because of the wear and tear they receive. I’m not saying it can’t be done, I would just consider the fact that it might not wear well. I have a laminate tabletop with oak edging. I refinished the edging and base and left the tabletop alone. It looks great. If you must paint it, rough it up, clean it with TSP, and use a good primer. I would roll it with a high density foam roller, for a smooth finish and add a protective top coat. The strongest top coat I have used is Genereal Finishes, High Performance Top Coat. As for beige finishes, I love all of the colors in the Fusion Mineral line. You can check out my Coffee bar table for a beige wood top, or these shutters, for a distressed look. I have two posts for working with wood veneer. See this coffee table makeover and this corner desk makeover. If you have more questions, feel free to email me at laura@heartfilledspaces.com. Hope this helps!
I love this look right now i have rustoleum aged grey and linen white. Do you think i can obtain this look by painting with grey first then whitewashing it with the linen white? Or do you suggest getting black and the clear? Im on a budget and trying to use what i have
Hi Meg. A wash is basically water mixed with paint. I don’t think this would have the same effect as glaze. I’ve also never tried a wash over chalk paint. It could possibly remove the base coat in areas and your original finish would show through. Also, the linen white over the aged grey would create a very light color. You wouldn’t have the contrast. If it were me, I would experiment with it on a piece of scrap wood. Then, if you don’t like it, you haven’t created extra work for yourself.
Hi there,
Do you have a link for the mixing glaze that you used? Thank you.
Hi Carin. I purchased it at Lowes. Here is the link for the Valspar mixing glaze.
Hi! I am going to be repainting a bookshelf with this technique but I couldn’t find the Ultra Cover paint at my local hardware store. Based on your experience, do you think this would work with the Chalked paint in the color Charcoal? it’s a very dark gray, not quite black but I’ve never used this paint before so I don’t know if the finish would be the same…
Thank You!
Hi Camryn. Thanks for reaching out. I’ve never used chalk paint mixed with glaze, so I’m not sure. The ultra cover paint I used is a latex/acrylic paint. I would stick with black and try to use a latex paint mixed with clear glaze. Hope this helps!
I also could not find the Valspar brand mixing glaze, do you know of another that might work?
I’ve only tried the Valspar brand glaze and I like it. I’ve never had a reason to switch. However, I think any clear mixing glaze would work.
Hi. Would this technique and top coat for a dining table? I don’t see why it wouldn’t but wanted your thoughts!
Thanks.
Hi Jess. I’m glad you asked. Dining table surfaces receive a lot of wear & tear. I have avoided painting mine for that reason. With that said, the best product I have used to date is General Finishes High Performance Topcoat. I used this on my kids desks, and it has held up really well. Tackling a dining room table is a big job. I highly recommend you start with something smaller, to see if you’re up for the task. This will also help you perfect the technique and see if you’re up for doing a large project. I hope this helps.
Would this work on a dresser that has a laminate or veneer top layer?
Hi Madison. If you are going to paint laminate, I would recommend lightly sanding it, cleaning well and using a good primer first. Veneer is usually a thin layer of nice wood. You could probably get away with lightly sanding and directly painting with Chalk paint. If you are covering a dark stained veneer, use a primer, so you don’t get bleed through.
This is beautiful exactly the color I’m looking for…could I get the same effect adding black paint to a clear wax…I have the gray chalk paint..?
Hi Denise. I have not tried this, but I thing you will get a similar effect. In my opinion glaze applies and removes easier. You will have more control/time to work with it and remove the excess paint. I’ve had problems working with dark wax in the past. You need to apply a coat of clear wax to your piece first as this will prevent the dark wax from being too powerful. It will also require more elbow grease. 🙂 I always recommend trying a finish on a scrap piece of wood or backside of a door before going all in. This gives you a chance to see if you like the finish before you get too far along.
Hi there! I am not familiar with the glazing process. Do you know of any good youtube videos that show how it is done? It looks truly beautiful. Do you think something like this would also work on a dresser?
Thanks!
Hi Kaitlyn. Thanks for reaching out. I don’t know of any video in particular, but you can just type in glazing furniture on Youtube. You’ll get a bunch of results. The key with glazing is to work in small sections and wipe it back before it starts to set up. I think this finish would work great on a dresser. Practice on a piece of scrap wood to get a feel for it before you begin your nicer furniture.
Hi, I’m working on doing the same to a bed frame. How long do you leave the Rustoleum Ultra Cover Flat Black and Valspar Clear Mixing Glaze on before wiping it off?
Hi Tom. I always work in small sections. For instance, I would add the glaze to the side of the piece and then immediately wipe it back. Then I would move on to the drawer, add the glaze and wipe it back. Repeating this process until the piece is complete.
Was it the glaze and black that gave it the wood grain look? I have honey oak cabinets that i want to make gray. Hubby doesnt like idea of paint, becuase you lose the wood grain. I have toyed with the idea of a chalk wash. I think your looks great. The little bit of a grain style keeps it from looking thick and flat.
Hi Cheryl. I wouldn’t say it has a wood grain look. I think the wood grain helps the glaze grab a bit more, though. You can see by looking at the picture of it painted gray (before the glaze) that the woodgrain doesn’t show through. The glaze creates a texture by adding it and wiping it back in the directions of the grain. I hope this helps.
There are different rustoleum ultra cover flat black choices such as enamel and latex. I’m afraid I don’t know which one to pick. Which one did you use? I love what you did your dry sink and am going to do the similar with mine. Thanks so much for the ideas!
Hi Stacey. Thanks for reaching out. I used the latex, not the enamel. I’ve provided a link at the beginning of the post that will show you the exact paint I used. Hopefully this helps.
looks great! Do you let the chalk paint dry completely before you add the glaze? Also have u ever tried the behr chalk dark wax? Would it have the same result?
Hi Rebecca. You do want to let the chalk paint dry completely before you add the glaze. As for the dark wax, I’ve had mixed results and find it more difficult to work with. The one tip I have for dark wax is to seal the chalk paint first with a clear wax. Then you have more control over the dark wax during application.