paint problems on dinning room furniture

dickdonk14

help needed please. the wife decided before xmas to paint our dinning room table and chairs. the table top and seat of the chairs were sanded and varnished with no problems. the trouble is she painted legs of table and the chair backs and legs with chalk paint. she painted 3 layers of chalk paint then finish with a clear matt varnish. but only after a couple of weeks they are chipped and stained. do you have any tips on using the chalk paint or are there other paints she could use
thanks in advance

fussyonion

Sand them down and give them a coat of BIN primer and then you can use whatever paint you like.

jlm29

Maybe try waxing them instead of varnish next time? Though I would have thought the varnish would actually have been tougher.

jack of all

I've just tried chalk paint on a very small project, after hearing people raving about it and seeing it in magazines etc. It goes on well and looks great, but in my opinion it is not a durable finish and won't stand up to hard wear and tear- it is destined (and designed) to wear, giving that shabby chic look. Despite all the claims about not needing to prep or sand etc I would recommend that any painted surface that you intend to paint needs to be lightly sanded or rubbed back with steel wool to give a decent key for the chalk paint- otherwise the finsih will chip in no time. I'd be hesitant to use chalk paint on a table top or working surface of any kind- unless I was going to overcoat with a matt water-based varnish after.