Chalk paint has impressive adhesive qualities, but wax doesn’t allow paint penetration.
To apply chalk paint over wax, clean the finish, remove the wax coating from the surface, sand the surface, and apply the chalk paint.
You can mix chalk paint with wax to create a durable and colorful finish. The mixture will have the paint pigments of chalk paint and the protective additives of wax.
Does Chalk Paint Adhere to Wax?
Chalk paint doesn’t adhere to waxed surfaces as wax produces a high-gloss coating that prevents paint penetration and adhesion.
If you apply chalk paint directly over waxed surfaces, the paint won’t penetrate or stick over it, it will gradually peel off or remain sticky for too long.
Chalk paint must penetrate the surface pores to stick and dry. Even if the wax was applied over bare wood, you still can’t paint over it. That’s because wax penetrates the wood pores, and the paint can’t penetrate the surface or stick since the wood pores are full.
You must remove the wax coating from the surface before applying chalk paint.
How To Apply Chalk Paint Over Wax?
To apply chalk paint over wax, do the following things.
- Clean the Finish.
- Remove the Wax from the Surface.
- Sand the Surface.
- Apply Chalk Paint.
The tools you need for this project are listed below.
- Sandpaper
- Paint Scrapper
- Mineral Spirit
- Paint Remover
- Chalk Paint
- Paintbrush
- Drop Sheet
- Clean Rags
- A Soft Brush
- Dish Soap
1. Clean the Finish
Clean the waxed finish to remove dust, grease, and debris from it. If you don’t remove dust, grease, and debris, the paint-stripping compound won’t be effective or remove the wax coating.
To clean a waxed coating, do the following things.
- Mix soap with water.
- Pour the mixture over the waxed surface.
- Use a soft brush to wipe the dust off the surface.
- Clean the surface with clean water.
2. Remove Wax from the Surface
To remove a wax coating from a surface, use mineral spirits or a paint-stripping compound.
Mineral spirits or a paint-stripping compound will penetrate the wax coating, dissolve the paint particles, and liquefy the coating, allowing you to wipe it off.
To remove wax coating with mineral spirits, do the following things.
- Damp a clean rag with mineral spirits.
- Use the dampened rag to wipe the surface.
- Wait 10-15 minutes.
- After a few minutes, the wax will change its form. It will become blurry, wrinkled, or discolored.
- Use a rag to wipe it off the surface.
- Remove the residue of the mineral spirit from the surface.
Use a paint-stripping compound if there’s wax leftover on the surface. The paint-stripping compound will penetrate the wood surface and remove the penetrated wax. Apply stripping compound using a rag. Once the compound dries, use a paint scraper to scrape off the paint.
3. Sand the Surface
Sand the surface with medium-grit sandpaper (100-grit) to remove imperfections, bumps, and leftover wax from it. Use fine-grit sandpaper (220-grit) to smoothen the surface and make it ready for chalk paint.
Medium-grit and fine-grit sandpaper will smoothen the surface, but won’t damage it.Avoid using coarse-grit sandpaper (40-grit) as it’s too harsh on most surfaces. .
Related Read: How To Sand Chalk Paint?
4. Apply The Chalk Paint
Apply three (3) chalk paint coats using a paintbrush, roller, or sprayer. Wait until one coat dries before applying the next one. Chalk paint takes 30 minutes to dry between coats.
You don’t need to apply primer before chalk paint as the paint has impressive adhesive qualities.
Optionally, you can seal it with wax or polyurethane.
Can You Mix Chalk Paint With Wax?
You can mix chalk paint with wax to get a colorful and durable finish. Wax is a protective clear coat with no paint pigments, while chalk paint is a colorful finish with lots of pigments but no protective additives.
A mixture of chalk paint and wax will produce a durable and colorful finish as it will combine the protective additives of wax with the paint pigments of chalk paint.
The mixture must have more wax than chalk paint. To mix them, use a ratio of 5:1 (5 parts wax to 1 part chalk paint). The paint is only used for its paint pigments.
If you use more paint than wax, the mixture won’t be as durable, and the finish won’t dry properly. Also, you can apply chalk paint first, let it dry, and then apply a wax coating. This gives you a colorful and durable finish.
