Chalk paint- baffled by the popularity

[Trivester]

Chalk paint is so highly recommended on every second blog but the stuff is awful. You don’t need to sand first, but you need to sand the paint finish and wax it which negates any benefit.
It’s not forgiving at all - you can’t rework it as it dries very fast and it’s almost impossible to avoid brush strokes. I feel like I’m missing something?

It’s a very specific look. I’m not a fan personally but think I’m the right setting it looks nice.

Totally agree, don’t even get me started on the Frenchic chalk paint obsession- I tried it, and it chipped within a couple of weeks and they blocked me on their FB page for querying it!

I was interested in Frenchic, joined the FB group and all the posts seem to suggest that you need 16 coats and you can't touch it for about a year while it cures. No thanks!

Also, they're nuts. There's people painting fabric sofas with it. The actual fabric.

I think chalk paint suits a certain look. It was very popular about 10 years ago when the shabby chic look was in, but I agree it's had it's day. If I'm repainting furniture now, I use hard wearing furniture paint or even just regular emulsion, but I've gone off that 'worn at the edges' look anyway.

About 8 years ago, I foolishly painted my kitchen cabinets in chalk paint (it didn't really matter because it was a just a stop gap til I got a new kitchen the year after). It was a mistake. It showed up every grease spot, even with waxing, and you couldn't wipe it down.