Today I want to share my honest opinion about The Chippy Barn's Amulent paint products. Before I do that, I want to first explain why I chose to try this line of paint.
As someone who refinishes furniture on a consistent basis for myself, family members, clients, and to sell to the general public, I want to have some options when deciding on the direction to go with each furniture piece I do. I want options on the Finish I am looking for (smooth, chippy, etc); the Color choices, and most importantly the Durability.
I had heard many of my fellow furniture artists raving on social media about this new ceramic based paint technology offered by The Chippy Barn that offers a very smooth finish like you get when using a sprayer, but while still using a paintbrush. Presently that is how I paint most of my furniture with a brush, so this paint line interested me. I had to try it out for myself on some of my own pieces before I would feel comfortable offering it as an option for my future project to sell and do for clients!
So late last fall I placed my first order online with The Chippy Barn. I ordered a new color in their new collection "The Beautiful Home Collection" called Cottage White. I used this color to paint two pieces, a dresser and a desk for my daughter's newly remodeled fixer upper that we worked on for a good half of 2019. I really liked how well the paint brushed on and the appearance after it dried. The finish was very smooth to the touch as well as the eye and it has a nice matte look which I like, similar to what you get with chalk paint (not shiny like some other smooth product lines I've seen on the market).
Last week I decided to try another color from this same collection on a dresser/mirror that I picked up earlier in January on Marketplace. I chose Lamb's Ear, which is a color very similar to the actual perennial (I have the faux stuff in my home) that is characterized as having fuzzy muted green leaves. When I opened the can, the color was just like they described, a "light green/gray" combining "the soft icy gray of the velvety surface with the minty green of the Lamb's Ear leaf". This specific color was curated by Sarah at Sitting Pretty Home Decor, 1 of 16 furniture artists that were asked to curate a new color for The Chippy Barn.
Now I paid close attention to the self-leveling principles that everyone has been talking about and once again I was very pleased with the application process of this paint using a good quality brush. (The Zibra brand is the line of paint brushes I use now days. I will share more about them another time). Now before I speak anymore about this paint's smooth quality finish, I will say that I have learned that to minimize brush strokes it is best to paint multiple light coats versus heavy coats...This technique will cut down on brush strokes with any good product and brush on the market. But I typically have noticed even with using this technique that the chalk paint line I use (light or dark) will still show some brush strokes no matter what which I have learned to lightly sand out with 220 grit sandpaper between coats. However when I applied the Cottage White and Lamb's Ear, because of the self-leveling qualities that everyone has been talking about, there weren't any brush marks whatsoever!...That means more time saved since I do not have to sand between each coat anymore! ***Please note that I will have to try some darker colors of theirs to see if that continues to be the norm...So stay tuned for that.
One last topic I want to touch on that is most important to me when selecting a new line of paint to use on a regular basis is the durability of the product...Will it be able to withstand normal use over the coarse of time? Although I have only been using this product since last fall, I have given this paint my own scratch tests and it passed! But with that being said, I want anyone who plans to use this product or any other paint lines I recommend to know that to really experience a quality finish and lasting durability means you cannot skip the most important (and no fun part) of prepping your piece prior to touching it with any paint product! Proper prep steps are also another topic for another day!
So in summary, I want to briefly fill you in on some facts about The Chippy Barn...The company was created by a father/daughter duo in 2016-2017 and they are the very first company to release a ceramic-based paint to the furniture painting industry. As for what I have liked the most so far from using this paint and found to be different (in a good way) from the other paint products I use is: 1). I was able to achieve great coverage in less coats of paint which saves me time and paint that I can use for more projects! & 2). I was able to achieve a smooth, spray painted look and feel even with a brush and omitting the sanding step between coats! There are more things I like about this paint and would like to speak about, but for now I will stop here!
I hope you will follow along with me in the future as I try some more of their colors on my furniture and home decor projects!
As for the other products that The Chippy Barn offers, such as waxes, topcoats, etc...I have only used the scented wax inside the drawers (it makes them smell very nice) and would like to try the wax and topcoat a little bit more on other projects before talking more about them.
If you have any questions about the products I used from The Chippy Barn, please comment below and I will try my best to answer them! Happy Painting!
If you are interested in trying The Chippy Barn brand of paint, please use my discount code ~ MIDLIFEREVIVAL10 for 10% off your online order.
*Please note that if you click on the green underlined products that I used for this dresser, you will be taken directly to the site where you may conveniently purchase these items for your next project. Also as a Brand Ambassador for the Chippy Barn and an Amazon Associate, I earn a very small commission if you purchase this item, so thank you very much in advance! :)