Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Graphite and Coco

DIY Chalk Paint Project after
I’ve posted before about my favorite shop in Mebane, NC, – The Elegant Relic.  Imagine my surprise when I visited this store in January only to find they will be transitioning to selling mostly clothing.  Lucky for me I was able to pick up this beautiful bench, handmade by the shop’s owner.

Before photo
I decided to use Annie Sloan’s graphite chalk paint and to dry-distress it with Annie Sloan’s coco paint.

Annie Sloan Graphite and Coco paint

Annie Sloan chalk graphite chalk paint – two coats

First I added two coats of graphite paint.  Annie Sloan’s graphite paint will initially look like a flat, dark gray paint.  Once you cover it with dark wax it will look closer to black.

Once I had added two coats of graphite I added distressing by applying a small amount of coco paint to my dry paint brush (and then brushing most of it off on to a paper plate) and then lightly brushing the coco paint along with the grain of the wood…absolutely no sanding.  Here are a few pictures:

Use contrasting paint to highlight grain of wood

Use contrasting paint to highlight grain of wood
Once I had applied all the coco paint I wanted to achieve the worn look I liked I applied dark wax. I cut it with 1/2 clear wax.   I applied this liberally with a cloth (not a brush).  I applied two coats, buffing between coats.

mix Annie Sloan’s dark and clear wax

distressing after two coats of Annie Sloan’s wax

chalk paint bench after only a couple hours

Well,  hello Abby!

Completed DIY project!

Abby’s so glad to have the bench in the hall….it’s the perfect place for her to keep her leash!