There are numerous chalk type paints on the market. And some of you may be rolling your eyes thinking .. yet another one?! But the way I see it – if a reputable paint manufacturer like General Finishes (who has a long history since 1928) are willing to create another chalk style paint, it’s a true testament to the popularity of painted furniture!
So… let me introduce you to this beauty before I share my review. {big smile}
I’ve been keeping my eyes peeled for one of these antique china cabinets. There’s just something about these vintage pieces with glass panes on all four sides that I swoon over. It makes for such an elegant look, don’t you think? So, when I noticed this fixer-upper on Kijiji, it was like Christmas had come early!
After some repairs and replacement glass, I knew this cabinet would look amazing in an antique white with a dark interior. I love the dramatic contrast of this piece!
As luck would have it, shortly after purchasing this girl, General Finishes sent me a trial package of their new Chalk Style Paint. The package included the perfect BONE WHITE!
The paint-a-holic in me had fun trying this chalk style paint… I’m a total addict when it come to trying new products that help me transform my furniture!
The very first difference I noticed was the instructions on the label. Unlike other brands of chalk paint, General Finishes recommends buffing/sanding prior to painting. They also recommend a light sanding in-between (2-3 coats) for ideal durability and finish. I applaud GF for putting this on their label as a “100% NO-Sanding-Ever-Paint” doesn’t really exist!
When I opened the can I noticed it’s a nice thick full-bodied paint – but not as thick as some other chalk paints on the market. Even though it’s not as thick as say an Annie Sloan or CeCe Caldwell, I still preferred working with it slightly watered down.
There were some brush marks on my first coat when I used it full strength out of the can. I found it dried very quickly. Not quite as self-leveling as their Milk Paint line. This is great if you want to add texture to your paint finish. Apply it full strength and a little thicker, and it will look amazing once dark glazed or waxed.
I was after a smoother looking finish, so I found diluting this chalky paint with a small amount of water worked nicely. This gave me additional ‘open’ time and helped with the leveling. Rather than adding water directly, while I was painting; I just ran my paint brush under the tap periodically.
The coverage was good but applying a Bone White over a super dark wood may not have given this new paint a fair shake. I applied 3 coats and used a little more than 3/4 of the can. Quite a bit seeing as there are 4 glass panels and the interior wasn’t painted. I’m looking forward to trying the Cardamon Brown that was also in my package so I can get a ‘real’ feel for this paint’s coverage capability.
Dry brushing was amazing. I used the paint full strength for this technique and I really like the results!
When I tried wet distressing, the paint reacted in a more chippy manner… more like a milk paint. I ended up sanding with a high grit sandpaper and it sanded beautifully… absolutely gorgeous distressed look!
General Finishes Chalky Paints are ideal if you’re looking for an antiqued look and like working with fast drying paints. They come in 20 new colors and have a very competitive price point. Another plus is that these paints can be mixed with the GF acrylic Milk Paint line.
The recommended topcoat is GF Flat Out Flat. It’s easy to apply with a sponge brush and levels just as well as their other finishes. This water based topcoat provides a ‘true’ flat professional finish, keeping an authentic matte look.
I’m super grateful to have tried this new paint. General Finishes has a long history of superior products that I love. It’s great they’ve kept up with market demand, and have a chalk style paint as an option as well!
Oh, and a big thanks to my sister Andrea. She’s been letting me use a few pieces from her milk glass collection for staging on my last few pieces. So pretty!
Have you tried this paint yet? If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave me a message below? 🙂
Have an amazing day !
Denise x
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Hi Denise
I am new to your blog and absolutely love your work. I am also new to painting furniture and bought General Finishes Milk paint in black, dark chocolate and antique white. I’m wondering if this paint is the right paint for big pieces (eg. Armoir, night stands, dressers etc.). Im not a fan of chalk paint.
I’m not sure what the process is for distressing pieces.. I have a large resin mirror I want to distress using the dark chocolate Milk paint and then the antique white on top, Do I need to put a primer such as Zinnser first, then paint the chocolate, then the antique white? How do I get the distressed chipped look for this piece?
Appreciate any advise you have.
Thank you.
Pat Poirier
Hi Pat and WELCOME to the #sifamily! 🙂 GF paint is a high-quality acrylic paint (even tho they call it milk-paint) that is perfect for large furniture projects. I’ve used it on numerous large pieces and the finish is always amazing! It does require prep. Sanding is sufficient unless you have a piece that will bleed through. Then primer is a good idea too. Because GF isn’t a real milk-paint, it won’t naturally chip but there are a few ways to reveal the chocolate paint. You could do the vaseline method or the beeswax resist method. You can also sand back your top color and this will give a more subtle distressed look. Hope this helps and have fun. 🙂
I haven’t tried GF’s chalk paint but intend to in one of my next projects, despite the few negative reviews. I have used Home Depot’s Behr Chalk Paint and have loved it. Behr has a chalk paint color line, but you can also choose from their existing colors from their color wall. I have found it’s usually a good idea to give a little sanding to a piece prior to chalk paint—doesn’t have to be a sanding ordeal, just a quick go to help the chalk paint adhere better, yet it’s not super critical unless it’s a laminate or glossy piece. Nice job on the cabinet! Brought back to life!
Thanks Ashely! I’ve never tried Behr Chalk Paint. I’ll have to give that a go. Feel free to let me know what you think of the GF Chalk Paint and have fun. 🙂
Instead of diluting the chalk paint with water, can I add a gray latex paint. I find the white paint just too harsh and an thinking about adding some gray paint to the chalk paint..
Can I paint fabric with General Finishes chalk style paint, such as dining room chairs?
Yes, it should work just fine Carol. I used General Finishes Cardamon Brown Chalk Style Paint for this chair here. Looks great and it’s still holding up beautifully!
Can this come off of the chair onto clothing?
No it does not Nancy. I used GF Chalk Style Paint on this chair and have kneeled and sat on it for months.
Denise you do beautiful work! Also anxious to see what’s next…..
Hi Dennis,
I used the General Finishes Chalk Style Paint color: Chapin Gray and got the same results painting a small side table. To get full coverage on the table apron and legs it took 3 coats.
I used the General finishes chalk paint. It’s not chalk paint. It’s thin. It takes many many coats, to cover. It’s peels up on any surface that’s not sanded down. I was horrified after using chalk paint for the last year. The other brands cover on ANYTHING!! Prep for those brands involve wiping down the surface and painting. The GF paint is not at all a chalk paint. My only hope to salvage the can would be to add plaster of Paris or calcium carbonate. Very very disappointed. I love all of gf other paints and stains.
I have also used GF chalk paint. It peeled on me also. I am an experienced painter an was unprepared for the result. Unless the line of chalk paint has a color I simply can’t live without I am going to stay with GF Milk Paint and Annie Sloan/Country Chic chalk paint/
I TOTALLY agree. I was deeply disappointed and irked after spending $60 on paint to have it peel up all over the tables I painted. Chalk paint is supposed to be thick and sticks to what you’re painting. That’s the whole point. If I wanted to sand down a huge piece of furniture I wouldn’t chalk paint it. I had to add plaster of pairs to be able to salvage the paint. I also have to disagree about the authors statement that “no chalk paint is no prep no sanding.” MOST Of them truly are no prep. Don’t waste your money on this brand of chalk paint!!!
I will never buy this paint again. It was granular and I had to sand every coat way too much to make it smooth. I couldn’t stir it enough to make it smooth. It also shows brush marks terribly. I let each coat dry before adding another coat (which took much longer than Annie Sloan chalk paint). It’s globby. It chips. It probably won’t hold up in a bathroom. This is not at all like Annie Sloan chalk paint which I’ve used several times. If you want a very distressed look, this paint might be okay. That’s not the look I was going for, but may be stuck with. It’s way more work to apply than Annie Sloan REAL chalk paint, which is very forgiving. Not this stuff. I painted a bathroom cabinet and it’s very disappointing.
Great job! Quick question – what does the Flat Out Flat finish feel like? Anything at all like a waxed piece would?
Thanks!
Thanks Bobbie! 🙂 The Flat Out Flat finish feels exactly like a poly finish except it has no sheen to it – it’s a true flat. It also reacts exactly like a water based poly. It will slightly yellow on white or light painted furniture. And if applied thicker in areas, it may give a “crackle” effect to the paint. I don’t know if you can see it in the photo’s above but both the yellowing & crackling happened on the right side of the drawer and on the top left. All good because it just adds more character to this vintage piece… however if that’s not the look your going for, a wax or non-yellowing poly may be the way to go.
I recently attended a GF retailer training and the “yellowing” question came up. The trainers from GF said the HP Topcoat is reacting to chemicals that may be in the wood (such as tannin). The remedy: cleaning all your pieces with denatured alcohol and applying one coat of Topcoat on before the paint. This was also recommended for avoiding bleed through on older pieces. Since I’ve started doing this, I haven’t had anymore yellowing problems on the lighter colors. ? it’s worth a try!
Thank you for this Melissa!
Well done !!!
Thanks Pamela! x
Love Andrea’s milk glass 🙂 and the cabinet! I also was really happy with the GF paint. So great to have even more choices! It looks gorgeous and I also just love these old cabinets.
Thanks Suzanne! Andrea’s been adding to her Milk Glass collection wherever we travel. She has over 50 pieces from all over! Funny story… actually not so funny because I felt awful; I noticed a chip in one of the pieces I brought over for staging. I thought I had broke it on the drive over. Thankfully, when I came clean with my sister she said it was already like that! 🙂