Annie Sloan chalk paint-giving life to an old mirror

I have had this mirror from Pottery Barn for 15+ years. I bought it in the damaged section on sale. Since then it has turned from silver to silver with a yellow haze and some spots around the edge.

 

 

After reading so much about chalk paint and how you do not need to do any prep work to use it, I thought this would be a good project to start with. I have read you can buy an additive to add to any paint and make your own, and I have read about Annie Sloan chalk paint. I decided to buy both. I bought the additive from amazon,and I bought the AS chalk paint from the Perfectly Imperfect Shop (one of the only online shops you can buy it from).  I purchased a quart of pure white and a quart of paris grey AS paint (to use for another project). I want to try both ways of painting to compare and see what the difference is (reading about Annie Sloan chalk paint, one of the things you will see over and over is that is it very expensive). For this mirror I am using the AS chalk paint.

I took the mirror off the wall and just wiped any dust off the surface. I did nothing else to prepare the mirror for paint. I set it outside and used printer paper and painters tape to preserve the mirror.

Then I gathered my supplies: Annie Sloan chalk paint in pure white, paintbrush, rag, a little bowl of water, and paint tray.

 

On the AS website you can read about different techniques to use the paint. I have read you can thin it out with water, hence the bowl of water.

I started by putting a little bit of paint into my tray and it did not look like it needed to be thinned so I just used the paint as is. It went on smooth with very little brush marks. I worked fast because I had read it dries fast.

The paint is easy to work with and covers well. It did dry fast, maybe 30 minutes, and I did do a second coat of paint because I knew I wanted to distress it a little.

I waited for it to dry - I waited about and hour- and then I gathered the supplies to distress the paint.

I used 220 grit sandpaper, dry brush, a rag, dark finishing wax and clear finishing wax.

You can use the sandpaper after you clear wax, but I did the sandpaper first. Using the architecture of the mirror, I rubbed along the raised edges first, and once I felt comfortable, I went to the corners and so forth. I worked my way around the mirror, stopping to look at the mirror as a whole every once in awhile.

The mirror started to look the way that I wanted, I still wanted a white presence with the mirror and did not want to overdue it. I stopped sanding. I had read on the AS website that you can use the dark wood wax to antique the paint a little. Note: Use a clear wax on your piece first, because the dark wax will immediately stain your paint and the clear wax makes it more workable. I used a clear wax first on the mirror and rubbed it on with a soft cloth. Then I used a dry brush to apply the dark wax. I did not want to use a lot of the dark wax, just enough to enhance the details in the mirror. I applied very little with a dry brush and wiped it with the cloth I used for the clear wax to get the look I wanted.

I waited for the wax to dry and then buffed it a little with a soft cloth. The best thing about the paint is that it really does stick to the surface with no preparation! It was a hard smooth finish!

Finished mirror

I will be using the chalk paint again, I will try to use the additive and see how it compares. I want to build a dining room table, and with the old table I want to paint it and use it outside on our deck. Yes, you can use the paint outside as well! The durable hard surface makes this paint great for furniture projects. Hmmmm, what else can I paint????