Project: magnetic chalkboard

Ever since chalkboard paint came on the market, I've always wanted an excuse to paint with it. So when I had some time off between jobs, I decided I was going to paint magnetic chalkboards for J in our living room and basement.

It was super duper easy!

The magnetic primer was found near the Rustoleum (of course!) products. The chalkboard paint was right next to it. The sales associate said no special brushes were needed. I bought a roller for smooth surfaces. He said they are water-based paints, but I think he meant only the chalkboard paint is because the magnetic primer was very difficult to wash off my hands. More on that later...

The directions suggested three thin coats of primer, allowing 30 min. between each application for drying. Not bad at all! This primer smells though -- provide good ventilation. I then applied one coat of chalkboard paint and let it dry 24 hours before using. Two coats would have made a more even layer, but it didn't matter to me so I stopped at one coat. If you wanted to use regular paint over the magnetic primer I'm sure you'd need more than one coat since the primer is black.

The magnetic strength of the primer isn't strong - no surprise since it’s a relatively thin layer. But it supports lightweight magnets fine. Also, chalk writes and erases off the board just fine. Below is the first use of the magnetic chalkboard wall. Success! I even cut out photos from magazines, laminated them, and glued magnets to the back so that J could play/learn. (A few weeks ago, the teachers at daycare said he stared at the photos on their walls for minutes at a time. What concentration! He has only wanted to eat my laminated photos)

Now for cleanup -- when I thought that the magnetic primer was water-based, I thought I could just rinse it off and save a roller. But when it wouldn’t come off my hands with rubbing alcohol and/or warm soapy water (which are effective for water-based paints), I gave up trying to save the roller and focused on getting it off my hands. Guess what worked? Vegetable oil! Still needed some scrubbing, but it eventually worked.

Here are other ideas for chalkboard paint!