» primer
It’s always important to prime under darker paints, and especially important with chalkboard paint. There are magnetic primers available as well, but I’ve heard they take several coats and even then aren’t as magnetic as you might want. I stuck with a grey latex primer shown here.

» chalkboard paint
As far as I know, Rust-oleum is the only brand that makes a tintable base. There are about 15 colors available and you need to have it mixed at the paint counter. I used about 80% of the can for my wall that’s only about 4 feet by 10 feet. I used 4 coats of the coffee color which came out a richer brown than shown on the website and packaging.

» foam paint roller
This is important! You want a very smooth finish and the foam roller is the way to go. Since my wall was only four feet wide, I used a smaller sized roller which made it easier to get close to the edges and blend in with the edging paint strokes. The roller should say something like “very smooth finish” on the packaging. I used one for the primer and a second one for the chalkboard paint.

» chalk
You won’t need this until your paint is fully dry, but I suggest buying a slightly nicer “artsy” chalk to use instead of the more dense Crayola chalkboard chalk. The nicer chalk will feel lighter weight and will make a bit more dust, but it erases a LOT easier than the school-type chalk used on classroom chalkboards.

» general painting supplies
sandpaper and spackle
drop cloth
paint tray
edger or brush for edging

Make sure your wall is clean and fill in any holes or cracks with spackle and allow it to dry fully before priming. If I was starting over with the project I would have taken the time to sand the entire wall down before painting. I thought my wall was really smooth to start with, but even the slightest texture means it will be harder to erase your chalk, so try to start with as smooth of a wall as possible.

Follow the directions on the can of primer. You should only need one coat of primer. Make sure your edges are neat since a messy primer edge will make a clean painted edge more difficult. Allow your primer to fully dry before painting. I waited an extra hour from what the directions suggested just to be sure.

Now here’s the fun part! Chalkboard paint behaves pretty much like regular latex paint, but you’ll notice some differences. Even when well mixed it’s a little gritty and runny at the same time. I didn’t want any roller edges to show on the finished wall, so I was really careful when applying the paint. I let it dry 2 hours between coats and ended up needing 4 coats total to fully cover the primer and achieve a nice, rich, even brown color. I was a bit worried that the finish would be uneven after the first two coats, but the end result is very even and I can’t see any roller edges or uneven distribution of paint. Have patience and make sure you don’t apply the paint too thickly.

Tips for Writing & Erasing
The directions on the chalkboard paint suggest allowing the paint to dry for 72 hours before using chalk on the wall. Again, I waited an extra day since it was a bit damp outside during this project. Here’s the biggest tip I learned after almost making a big mistake…Do NOT “condition” the entire wall by rubbing the chalk sideways over the entire painted surface and then erasing. It made sense that it might help with future erasing and prevent the writing from showing through when erased, but it really doesn’t. I started at the top of the wall and after about 2 inches of “conditioning” I not only had chalk dust everywhere, but I had a cloudy brown wall.

Since this wall is in the hallway dividing the kitchen from the living room I still wanted it to look like a nice rich brown wall. I stopped rubbing the chalk on the paint and decided to try just writing and erasing. It worked just fine. We only use about 20% of the wall for messages/lists/etc. so we let this part look a little cloudy from the erasing history and keep the rest of it cleaner. I realize the point of the wall is to use it (and we do!) but I wanted to maintain some degree of cleanliness to the wall as well. Yes, I’m a Virgo.

If you *really* want the wall to look clean, you can wipe it down with a damp sponge and most of the chalk residue will disappear. It may take a few swipes of the sponge depending on how much you need to erase. I only break out the sponge about every other month since overwashing the wall is not good for the paint finish.