The waxes made by ASCP are meant as finishers to your overall Chalk Paint look. You’ve done the painting & sanding and now are the final, but necessary touches.
Clear Wax
If you do not use the clear wax, your piece will feel like chalk and have a matte finish. It also will show ring marks, spots – in my experience. So, the purpose of the clear wax is two fold. To make your piece smooth and satin-like and to protect it.
What to use.
You can either use a wax brush or a rag…or your DH’s old t-shirt, which is what sometimes use! You can also use your wax brush. This works well on your flat, large surfaces, but I find that for drawers and smaller legs it is harder to handle. Note: when working with darker colors I tend to use my wax brush. Even if you are using a lint-free rag I find that you can still see particles. You will not see these if you use a wax brush.
How to clear wax.
If you are using a rag, scoop a good clump into your rag and apply liberally. As you go you want to press the wax into the surface. A back and forth motion is best as you will see the current of the wax on a flat surface. If there is excess wax you want to buff it – meaning go back and really press the wax in and wipe off as you go. Do not by shy on this step. Your color will deepen and in the areas where you miss you will see the color lighter. Go back and cover these spots with your wax.
Buff.
Before it is dry, go back for one more buff. Take a dry rag and sweep your surface in a back and forth motion really taking care to smooth out any spots.
Let dry.
Be sure to let your piece set up and dry sufficiently. I actually like to leave it along at this stage for a day or maybe two. Certainly do not put anything on your piece until it is completely dry.
Thanks for the post! 🙂 Curious – have you used clear or dark wax on freshly stained or even raw wood before? I’m pretty comfortable with both of Annie’s waxes on chalk paint, having done many pieces and have never had a problem. However, I just sanded a trunk and tested it out with dark wax only and loved the color and finish. So, I went ahead and did the whole top. It’s been sitting about a month and seemingly no matter what I do or how much I buff it, ,it still shows streaks and fingerprints and effectively doesn’t seem like it ever dried properly. I *suspect* I used too much….? Or maybe wax shouldn’t be used in this way? Perhaps I should have gone with a hemp oil instead or something? I would love your thoughts on whether this approach is an good option for what I am trying to accomplish and if so, how to do it properly. Thanks!
Hello Christen! Thanks for all your info…it is always informative…”blueeggbrownnest” is a common name around my house now! Love your site!
Christen,
Thanks so much for posting. All this great stuff!ybquestion, is it possible to paint over a leather top coffee table?
Going to do a table now….. wish me luck.
I’m a little confused about the buffing stage that you wrote about. You said to buff it before it dries. Everything that I have read about this steps says to wax, then remove extra wax, let it dry, then buff. I just buffed my dining table last night. It came out with a beautiful satin finish.
But what if I don’t want a shiny finish? Did I do it wrong?
Thanks for your wonderful blog!
Hello. loving this series! My question has nothing to do with this topic. Like you I paint furniture using ASCP, and was asked to describe my booth merchandise. I sat stumped, because I don’t know what the name of this style is!. What would you call this style/ look?
Blessings,
aimee
Hello! I was wondering how many coats of clear wax you recommend for a coffee table that people are going to want to put drinks on (hopefully using coasters but you never know…).
I have already done two.
Thank you,
Hilary