How to Paint a Vanity with Annie Sloan

We have posted one bathroom vanity makeover and here is the second. This was originally painted an extreme high gloss off white. It looked dirty and dingy. I am a big believer that gloss only belongs on baseboards and trim, anywhere else and it can start to look unclean. When you are dealing with a high gloss paint, most of the time there is going to be a good bit of sanding. There is just no other way to get anything to stick to that paint…unless, you use chalk paint. It will pretty much stick to anything. I don’t like to sand unless absolutely necessary. It’s a lot of work and a huge mess to clean up.

Painting

First step is to remove all the hardware and clean every inch of the surface to be painted with a good strong degreaser. This will remove any ickyness left over from previous use and it prepares the surface for the paint. It is a good idea if there are uneven areas or places that were not painted correctly the first time, to sand those down to give you a good fresh start. You don’t have to sand to the wood, just enough to give it a smooth finish.

Once all is clean and dry you can apply the chalk paint. We chose to use Annie Sloan’s French Linen on this vanity. I used 3 coats. you can use less, but with a white gloss finish I was trying to cover, I needed the extra coating. Let each coat completely dry, if you don’t you will have visible brush strokes. I waited about an hour between each one of my coats. Once you are done and everything is dry this is when you would apply your wax finish. I waited a full 24 hours before applying the wax finish.

Waxing

We decided to use Annie Sloan’s White Wax on this project. We thought it would give it an extra pop to make the gray look brighter. When applying the wax, do one section at a time. Then use a cheese cloth or an old shirt to apply. The wax will seal the paint and make it more durable to daily life. The Annie Sloan website suggests if it is a piece that will be used everyday, it is ideal to give the wax a full 30 days to set. Check out our blog on “Ugly Table to New Double Desk” blog to see how we have done this before. We did not wait a full 30 days before I started using the vanity again, and so far so good. No scratches or dents to report.

I can honestly say that chalk paint is the easiest paint I have ever worked with, there is nothing it can’t cover and it turns out great with very little effort. I am by no means a great painter, but with chalk paint, you can be!