Do you get as excited as I do when I see that big brown UPS truck pull into my driveway? Or perhaps it is a white truck if having something delivered via FedX. Especially when waiting for your Chalk Paint® order to arrive.
Keep ion mind- any time you use a product- be it paint, hairspray, perfume…temperature and humidity can impact its performance. With it being so cold right now across North America right now- I would caution you to not paint in your garage or outside.
This is important also when it comes to paint deliveries. As soon as you get home- if a box was left for you outside on a porch or garage…get it in to room temperatures ASAP. Don’t panic! Give your product a good 24 hours to get acclimated to room temperatures before opening or shaking. Patience is a virtue here and allow the product to truly get to room temperature on its own. Do not try to heat it to expedite the process by heating it up somehow. Be patient and allow it to get to room temperature naturally!
When it comes to painting in extreme temperatures such as when it is hot ….it causes the water in the paint to evaporate too quickly. This can lead to a “crackle” like finish on parts of your piece. That could be great, if you want your piece to have a crackle finish…but terrible, if that is not the end result you were looking for.
Also, as you may be aware- Chalk Paint® is a bit thicker in comparison to some paints. You do not want your paint to become thicker in the quart due to it drying or water evaporating. If for some reason – this does happen. Add a small amount of water and incorporate totally to determine if more is needed. You can always add more, but if you add too much- you are a bit stuck. : ) So keep this in mind when painting and the phone rings. Cover your paint before getting lost in a 30 minute phone conversation.
I like to share with my female customers in my NY store, if you leave hairspray in your car over night in the winter when we can have temperatures in the teen’s here, you would not expect it to perform. Paint and wax are no exception.
When waxing a piece of furniture- please do that in an area that the temperature will allow the wax to dry and harden. Speaking of wax- if you are a customer who has paint and wax delivered, please bring in your package and give it ample time to acclimate to a reasonable temperature. Those UPS and FedX delivery people can share with you- that do not have air conditioning in the summer in the back of their trucks! Nor do they heat the back of the trucks. So, do not open your wax till it has solidified if it just came off that 100 degree or more hot box. Or- allow your wax to soften naturally if coming in from the cold! Bee’s wax has a very low melting point- so let your wax “regroup” itself before you judge it for the first time. You want your wax to be the consistency of Crisco. It it is too thin or thick – it won’t work as well!!! : )
I recently received this message via my business Facebook page from Marci Jo about Chalk Paint® freezing:
HELP! my five cans if chalk paint were inadvertently left in my bag porch while moving stuff around in my dining room. They froze last evening!!!!!!!! Will they be ok? I’m sure not….. I’m devastated….
My response to her was this:
Your paint SHOULD be ok…. The Chalk Paint® should be able to go through a couple freeze cycles- but there is NO guarantee on this and you want to avoid this if all possible. I suggest that you bring them inside- which I am sure you did already. Give them a few days to get back to room temperature on their own. (meaning do not try to heat them up to expedite the process) Then shake the can and open. Chalk Paint® can with stand some temperature abuse, but not repeated and there is no guarantee on performance long term when it is not kept or used at conditions required.
Thanks all and I hope you are staying warm!!!!!
