Rust-Oleum 287722 Chalked Paint, Clear Matte, 30 Fl Oz (Pack of 1)

Gives a good finish when used after painting with rust oleum white Matt color paint.

The short story: This did the job I needed it to. It isn't perfect, but it did the job and was a little easier and faster to use that the wax I usually use. I've done a lot of chalk paint projects and I typically use a wax for it. The wax I used to use is hard to find and expensive when I find it, so I decided to try this instead. It did the job! Pros: -This worked better than I'd honest anticipated it to. -It is easy to use. -It dries quickly. -It is mostly clear when it dries. -I was able to use it on several surfaces. -It leaves the surface feeling smooth so you can tell it was coated, but it was still matte (unlike the polycrylic I used on other items that did the job but the surface still felt like raw wood). Cons -It does have issues with bubbling. Depending on the brush you use and how you apply it it can be worse. However, minor bubbling can be fixed by gently brushing over the area again while it is still wet. Excess bubbles can be smoothed out by heating the wet surface carefully with a propane torch (you could also try a heat gun or hairdryer). -Even if applied in a thin layer, you can still end up with drips. However, the product dries quickly, so I just go back around the project after a few minutes and smooth out drips, then I check again a few more minutes after that just to make sure they've all been smoothed out. -I could not find cure time anywhere on the product. This is not a big deal for products that do not come in contact with water, but I used it on my bathroom floor over milk paint and let it cure for several days before use and the seal still shows drip marks when they aren't wiped within a few minutes (it is a temporary thing just for fun, but I still wanted to know the cure time to prevent this). -This product does leave a mostly-clear layer on top, but if you add too many layers it does start to dull what is underneath. So I guess that comes down to making sure you apply properly so you do not need to over-apply. On the note of reading reviews places that claim this causes yellowing: I did have an issue with yellowing on the white legs of my kitchen table. This was after applying the chalk paint wax, though. I realized that the legs had not been sealed properly after their initial staining, so the chemicals from the stain leaked through, causing the yellowing. To fix this, I simply applied a layer of stain-blocking primer before adding more chalk paint, sanding, and sealing. I'd wanted more of a washed look, but the distressed look turned out great. No more yellowed legs! Overall, I liked this product.

This is a review for the chalked paints, glazes, and the ultra matte top coat. I did a furniture painting marathon, and used a number of colors, and experiemented with the glazes and the clear top coat. Here is what I learned: First of all, I can only recommend this paint line if you are willing to embrace the distressed look. If the distressed painted furniture look is what you’re going for, then this will serve you well. If you prefer a solid finish, please don’t spend your time and money on this paint. You need something different. The main reason for this is that, while you can get a solid color-look by applying numerous coats, once you put the top coat on, things change. The top coat unfortunately pulls paint off and moves it around subtley, but enough to affect the solid finish. Also, I recommend waiting to distress with a sanding block as your FINAL step. Don’t do it before you put on your top coat. What I found was that I had distressed my piece to my liking, and then when I put on the top coat, it pulled off paint, which meant that my subtley “distressed” areas ended up turning into bald spots...the distressed areas didn’t have a gradual/nuances progression to the brush stoke anymore and it just wasn’t attractive. I had to go back over my distressed spots and use dry brushing to try to “fix” it but it just wasn’t the same. Waiting to distress as your last step would be a much wiser choice. Also, it is true that the top coat yellows your paint. Something to be aware of. On the colors: Linen white is stark white. Much too harsh, almost fluorescent in my opinion. I mixed with chiffon cream to get a much lovelier, softer white. A 50-50 mix still give you a true white, but it’s much more pleasant than the linen white on its own. Chiffon cream, on its own, looks to me like Easter yellow... Serenity blue is nice. It’s like the type of blue you might envision having in a beach house. It’s the most successful color of this line of paint, in my opinion. Aged gray is nice, but can look a little bit baby blue in certain lights. I think it is a good option for creating vintage-looking distressed pieces. The color suits this look very well. The glazes were a disappointment. The aged glaze looked like I had rolled my furniture piece in the dirt....I could see this look working if you are, for example, going for a driftwood look, and you need the “earthy” tone. Otherwise, I would steer clear of this one. The smoked glaze was interesting, the streaking it created was not unpleasant, but I felt it darkened the original colors too much. I honestly can’t recommend either of the glazes. If you do want that “look,” I really recommend experimenting with it on an unimportant piece of wood or furniture before you apply it to something important that you’ve working hard on. Again, because of the way the finishes shift/remove paint, it works ok for a distressed look. But distress as your final step!

I used the Aged Gray chalk paint and then topped it with the Matte Clear. We were all good with the Aged Gray chalk paint coverage and ease of use. Its a nice color and went on fairly easily. I did not have any bleed through when it was applied. However, when I topped the Aged Gray with the Matte Clear I did have some bleed through. Specifically on areas that wern't really coated that well with the aged gray. Fairly easy fix - touch up with the aged gray and then retop with the Clear Matte. It did not cause yellowing. I saw some reviews for this, but my guess is a few things may have happened - bleed through, didn't stir the container before applying, or maybe residue from the brush. I did not have yellowing, but it does slightly darken the tone of the aged gray chalk paint. Another note is that the clear matte applies with a foamy texture. It was kind of weird. I'm used to Polyurethane. I didn't shake the container. I stirred it with a stir stick. I'm wondering if maybe I should have used a foam brush to apply it instead. To fix the bubbles I used 320 grit sand paper and lightly sanded them. I then reapplied a light coat to the sanded area with a small paint brush. Overall it turned out good. I ordered this to fix a mistake I made applying oil based polyurethane to the aged chalk spray paint, which subsequently created a yellow tint on the gray. I sanded it gently, applied the aged gray paint (two coats), and then waited 10 hours to apply top coat.

From prior use, the paint is great. However, I just ordered a can of the same color paint (to finish a job started with the previous can) and a can of the top coat (I haven’t tried that yet). And they were poorly packed by Amazon. Both cans came with multiple dents. So, am returning them and will now need to purchase elsewhere, which means my project is now delayed.