chalkboard paint on wall

[BakersDozen]

I'm sorry if this has been asked before...I did a search but only found mentions of having a wall with chalkboard paint on it but no "how  to" posts. I have a huge wall in my living room that needs to be used for school. I intend to use the chalk markers instead of chalk sticks - less mess. Any suggestions/recommendations before I tackle this project?

[gardenmom5]

works best if the wall doesn't have texture.

had a friend who did this on a huge wall in her living room.

[BakersDozen]

55 minutes ago, gardenmom5 said:

works best if the wall doesn't have texture.

had a friend who did this on a huge wall in her living room.

Ugh. Hmmm...have to rethink this now.

[Carol in Cal.]

For a similar use, I bought two large white boards at Costco, both magnetic.

One was in DD's room, and the other was in the kitchen leaning against the side of some cabinets.  It was so nice to be able to cook while watching DD do math homework and such.  And for some reason, early on, she worked more accurately on the whiteboard than on paper.  

[katilac]

You might be better off buying a large white board or chalk board, imo. Or, you can use a large piece of plywood or several pieces next to each other (which actually might be good with multiple children). We did this outside, chalk paint on several pieces of plywood mounted to the fence. I think we refreshed it about once a year, which is pretty good for being out in the weather. We used to do a teen social night and they could rarely resist drawing on the chalkboards, lol. 

I love the idea myself but the wall does have to be smooth and you have to be super-patient and do multiple thin coats. The plywood was much easier, lol. 

[Farrar]

It can have some texture... I have old plaster walls and when we did it, it was fine.

FYI, I've not found chalk markers that don't leave a residue though. They leave a sort of impression sometimes. So that's an even bigger thing to consider.

[katilac]

1 hour ago, Farrar said:

 FYI, I've not found chalk markers that don't leave a residue though. They leave a sort of impression sometimes. So that's an even bigger thing to consider.

Yes, if you want to use markers, I would go with whiteboard rather than chalkboard. Whiteboard paint is also a thing!

[Annie G]

We recently moved into a house that had two chalkboard areas. One was very large and in the dining room. Even after sanding and putting on multiple coats of primer, it took several coats of good quality paint to cover it. We painted the entire downstairs in less time than dh spent covering that chalk wall. But perhaps it was done incorrectly to start with- there was so much paint that there was a definite edge all the way around.   We have yet to address the second chalkboard area- not quite over the hassle of the first one. 

I think if I wanted a chalk wall I’d put it on a board that could be mounted...and removed.  

I LOVE the chalk markers- and am surprised to hear they don’t wash off well. Boo. 

[KungFuPanda]

We had a huge 5 x 6 chalkboard painted on a wall for most of our homeschooling years.  It was great.  I didn't do anything special to smooth the walls, but they weren't particularly rough.  I just taped it off and did a few coats.  I think I used most of the quart.  We just used white or yellow chalk and it was fine.  If you use a lot of colored chalk you might want to consider a chalk tray if you have light carpet.  We used that board for everything for ages and it was a kid magnet when we had visitors.  Dh is a mathematician and he used it as much as the kids did and missed it more when I painted over it.  We kept it until my youngest was in 8th or 9th grade.  It was so cheap and so handy.  I say go for it.  If you hate it, you can paint over it and try a more expensive solution.

ETA: I painted over our black chalkboard with Sherwin Williams sea salt.  I don't think I used more than two coats and I don't even remember priming the chalkboard wall.  That's a pretty light paint color and the chalkboard doesn't show through.  

Edited July 17, 2019 by KungFuPanda

[BakersDozen]

Quote

You might be better off buying a large white board or chalk board, imo

I would love to use a mountable chalk board but the only one I found that is large enough for what I want is well over $500. Not happening. I'm trying to avoid the white board because we already have 3 in the house for kids to mess around on and I want this wall to be different. But that may be what we end of using...

[Jentrovert]

I would do it on a piece of plywood and mount to the wall. I did a small area, years ago, directly on the wall and it wasn't very usuable. The wall had texture (not super raised, I had thought it would be fine) and it was very annoying. The writing never looked clean enough.