DIY Chalkboard Fridge

  

   Earlier this month I have been writing down a list of things I want to accomplish each month with my spinning, home and homestead alongside my husband, I was writing so much that I kept using so much paper I would have to go and purchase some more! 
    
     The problem with that is I would often mix papers that were for short term goals, with long term goals, with grocery list, with menu for the week list, and/or with reminders for the day/week. Phew! That is a LOT of writing and papers and lack of organization, plus the fridge would be covered with so many papers it looked rather silly.

 I finally had this idea, Why not actually use the fridge as my writing material! I can jot down temporary reminders and easily erase when things that are listed are accomplished. That way i'm not wasting money or papers to the bin and it will look so cool and will be fun to do!

 Here is how I did our fridge:

 After much research I realized I did NOT need primer and I definitely didn't need magnetic primer. After searching other blogs and doing my own research, I found out that magnetic primer can cause infertility or miscarriage and my husband and I want children so this was a easy "nope" for me!  Also, it's apparent in the finished picture, that magnets will easily stick to the fridge over the chalkboard paint.
 
  All I used was:

• Medium sand paper - lightly sanding the surface will help paint adhere to the fridge.
• Rust-o-leum chalkboard paint - I only used one can and this paint is non toxic
• 3 inch wide sponge brush (I grabbed 2)

 Everything came out less than $15.00


First, I cleaned fridge with a rag with warm water and dish soap and thoroughly cleaned it off and allowed to dry completely.

 I did sand right after. I could have done so before cleaning but I wanted to take off all the grime stuck to the surface so that the sanding can really get in there with no spots overlooked. When I sanded the fridge I didn't do so vigorously, I just did enough that the glossy look was almost gone. 

 Make sure to wipe off fridge after the sanding part and wash again with warm water and soap and allow to completely dry.


Once fridge was completely dry I then began painting...

 Do not be alarmed to open the can and see blue paint, that is completely normal!

 Stir paint well and with a brush carefully apply your first coat. Be aware that the paint is very thin! After you apply your first coat allow to dry for 4 hours... trust me. You will see that the paint is dry within the hour and will be tempted to to apply another coat right away... DON'T DO IT! I was impatient and waited only 2 hours and reapplied a coat on one corner just to see what would happen.. the first coat began to chip off immediately so I waited after that.

 
 I did 3 coats as I read in other blogs to do so and I wanted to do it right the first time. On the can it says you can use the chalk area after 24 hours, but in every blog I read they say to wait 48 hours... So impatient me I decided to wait only 24 hours and boy... did I regret it.

 I began to season the paint (i'll explain what that is later) exactly 24 hours after last coat and immediately there was chipping happening EVERYWHERE! So I had to stop what I was doing and start allllll ovveeerrrrr. Sigh...

 I started by sanding and now I realized why I didn't need primer because no matter how hard I sanded the paint would not come off  (in the areas I never messed with while I was experimenting). 

 I then did 4 coats of paint (I wanted to really cover the surface well) and did not touch it for 4 hours each application... After the last coat I waited 48 hours before touching.

 Here came the moment of truth, I began to season it and no chipping! 

 This is what seasoning is:

 If you begin writing or drawing on the fridge after the 48 hours without seasoning it you will leave behind a shadow line that will never come off. No matter if you try washing it off it will stay on there.

 When you season the fridge first, you will not leave behind shadow lines when you wipe it clean.



 With a white chalk, using the side of the chalk, begin drawing vertical the entire fridge:

 Then overlap with a horizontal covering (as seen with picture to the left).

 
    
    The finished result will look like the picture to the right.
 After you are finished then wipe clean with a rag or paper towel. After I wiped clean then I barely damped the rag with warm water and wiped clean again to not have any chalk residue left behind.









     I hope this will inspire any of you reading this to give this a shot! It was extremely easy to do and fun to do it! 

BEFORE

AFTER