Cheap’o Decor: DIY Chalkboard

September 26, 2008 by Dave  Send to a Friend

Hi. This is a new column about how to make cool things for your house or apartment. Some of these projects will be fairly easy, some a bit more complex. Don’t fret, I’ll make the instructions as easy and fun as is possible.

This first project is pretty simple. On a scale of 1 to 5, I’d put it at a 2 or 3 depending on your experience with painting. It’s a DIY Chalkboard. We’ll be using a few different products, but the big ones are magnetic paint and chalkboard paint.

You’ve probably heard of chalkboard paint, and if you haven’t, I know you’ve seen it. Think of your favorite bar, and there’s probably a drink list written in chalk somewhere. Most likely they painted part of the wall with chalkboard paint. That’s what you are going to do!

Why? Why not! Chalkboards are fun, and can even be useful. If done correctly, they also don’t look tacky. Whiteboards often look tacky, and remind you of college. You survived college, and now live in an ostensibly classier place. With a properly done DIY chalkboard, you get all of the usefulness of a white board… without it looking like a white board.

Here’s an example from flickr user aud-o-matic:

What you’ll need…

• Chalkboard Paint (Available in Spray or Brush on, I recommend Brush On)
• Magnetic Paint (Optional)
• Paint Brushes and/or Paint Rollers
• Paint Thinner (for Cleanup)
• Painter’s Tape

First, you have to decide where you want your chalkboard to be. Some fun places that you might not have thought of are: On a door, on your kitchen cabinets, or on a tabletop.

Next, you have to prepare your surface. If you’re painting onto a wall, a door, or a cabinet, make sure you degloss the surface. This means–make sure the wall/door/cabinet isn’t shiny. Use a fine grit sandpaper or a cleaner called TSP (available at a hardware store).

Next, mask off the area you want to paint. If you want the chalkboard to also be magnetic, you’ll want to start off with a coat of magnetic paint. This is available at most local hardware stores, in brush on or spray. Be sure to follow all of the directions on the can. Directions are often for suckers, but not this time. You’ll probably want to do two coats.

Once the magnetic paint is dry, you’ll want to do your coats of chalkboard paint. Please keep in mind that both of these paints take a while to dry… you’ll probably want to let them dry overnight. Fall is a good time to do this, because you can leave your windows open for ventilation.

There’s no real trick to doing the painting… the best part of this project is the creativity it allows. This paint can be used practically anywhere, so any surface can be turned into a magnetic chalkboard. Another cool thing to do on the cheap is give the chalkboard the appearance of being in a frame. For about $10 you can purchase some wood moulding at a hardware store. You’ll want what’s called quarter round. Measure how big your chalkboard will be, and bring the dimensions with you to the store. Most stores in the area will cut the wood to your specifications for about a dollar per cut. Explain to the sales associate what you are doing, and they will cut the wood in such a way you can form a “frame” out of it. Since you’ll already need to repaint your wall when you move out, you can attach this wood to the wall using strong mounting tape. Optionally you can also stain or paint the wood to have a color frame around your chalkboard.

Personally my favorite uses of chalkboard paint are on the back of a door or on a old tabletop. This is a fun, relatively easy project that encourages you to think outside of the box.

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