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Saturday, May 26, 2012

DIY: Vintage Style Magnetic Chalkboard

As I mentioned in a  previous post, I have started, and due to impatience, completed my magnetic chalkboard to hold my escort cards. Without further ado, a DIY How-To...

Materials:
-screwdriver
-board or cardboard to spray paint on (DO NOT USE A GARBAGE BAG LIKE ME)
-magnetic spray paint  (BEFORE YOU DO THIS... PLEASE READ HERE FOR UPDATED INFORMATION REGARDING KRYLON MAGNETIC SPRAY PAINT)
-chalkboard spray paint
-primer spray paint
-spray paint in your favourite colour
-vintage frame (mirrors are awesome, but not all spray paints will adhere)
-sandpaper
-soft cloth

STEP ONE:

Find a mirror.


Sexxxxyyyyy

STEP TWO:

Disassemble the entire thing. BE CAREFUL NOT TO DROP ANY IN GRASS.... Oops.. If you have a big heavy mirror like mine, carefully take it out and lay it somewhere safe.

I swear the ants stole it.
STEP THREE:
Sand the mirror and frame lightly with 220 grit sandpaper. This will help everything to really stick.

STEP FOUR:
Layout cardboard or a hard surface (I will soon explain why grass and garbage bag doesn't work) and put your frame and mirror on it.

STEP FIVE:
Spray paint primer on the frame. FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS! Being lazy and doing it quickly will result in drips, then dry time, then sanding, then repainting. I promise you.

Plastic bags bunch up and blow in the wind causing missed spots, rubbed off paint and streaks. BAD IDEA.

STEP SIX:
Spray the mirror with 2 or more coats of magnetic paint. Ensure you read the directions for drying time and how long you have to wait between coats. I believe the Krylon was 30 minutes to four hours, but it was dry to the touch much faster than that.  
DISCLAIMER: I have now read that the magnetic paint sucks and won't even hold up a magnetic letter. I will be testing this soon and let you know. If this board is NOT magnetic, it would defeat my entire purpose, putting me into a huge rage.

Sorry.. it was silver and sunny out, so you can imagine the glare!

STEP SEVEN:
Spray the mirror with two coats of chalkboard paint. Again, read the directions carefully before applying.

Remember that sunny day I was talking about? This is actually the same patch of grass as above.

STEP EIGHT:
Prime the back of the frame by flipping the dry frame over and giving it a good coat. This part really isn't THAT important, because you won't see the back.


STEP NINE:
Once the frame is dry, spray paint with a coat of your favourite colour. THIN coats are best because they do not drip and such. I hung mine from a tree because I was in desperate need of a hard, flat surface and didn't have one.

The wind blowing it around made it a bit blurry. Sorry!

STEP TEN:
Once everything is dry (don't be like me and think, Hey! It's not coming off on my hand! It's still not dry after 10 minutes. I swear), assemble.
Tada! The back (minus one screw).
STEP ELEVEN:
Touch ups if you are like me...
You can barely see it, but I took the paint off the corner.

STEP TWELVE:
Hang and enjoy. Don't forget to prime the chalkboard before use or it will never be the same!
Sexy!
Beau-ti-ful!


CAUTION:
-prime before painting will require one versus ten coats
-if it looks like it's barely covering, you are doing it right. Repeat that step over and over again rather than going closer and adding more
-gloves save nails
-doing this in the grass will lead to: Grass marks, streaks, drips, ant stuck to your frame, pollen stuck to your frame, spiders spinning webs and dirt on the back.

3 comments:

  1. This. Looks. Amazing.
    LOVE IT!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Perfect except IT'S NOT MAGNETIC. Update post coming soon...

      Delete
  2. Perhaps you could have sheet metal cut to fit the back in place of the mirror. It will already be magnetic, but you could still paint it chalkboard black if you wanted to.

    ReplyDelete