Mirror Chalkboard

In my recent finds fall edition yesterday, I showed you this $5 mirror I picked up at the Peddler’s Mall.

There are several factors that go into my decision whether to leave a piece a mirror, or to change it up into a chalkboard. This mirror had a lot of broken thingys that secure the screws. Mirrors like this are VERY heavy. In addition, the cardboard backing that was holding the large, heavy mirror in place was in bad shape. So, for all those reasons I decided to make this repurposed mirror into a chalkboard. Because the mirror is much thicker than the luan that will become the chalkboard, I need to fill the void area with some thin pieces of 1x’s that I ripped.

I did a dry fit to see if it would actually make a difference. Can you see that if the thin pieces were not there, there would be a gap between the plastic frame and the luan?

Speaking of the luan—would you believe I had the perfect piece left over from another project? I didn’t have to make a single cut on it.

I used some Gorilla Glue Epoxy and some clamps to secure the shim pieces. I was multi-tasking by working on 3 projects, so while the glue was setting up, I did a coat of paint on another project.

The wood shims are securely in place, so it’s time to paint the plastic frame. I decide to use my version of DIY chalk paint.

I started painting with my favorite (chip) brush. Quickly realizing that it would be so much faster and easier to use the chalky paint in my Homeright Finish Max.

Off it goes to the paint booth. I started by spraying the back of the frame. After a quick light coat, I carefully flipped it over to do the front.

Just to give you an idea of how quick the Finish Max is to use, I checked the timestamp on the pictures, 15 minutes from start to finish, including clean up time.

I’m loving the look of the black, but it being against the black chalkboard, I decide to give it a quick dry brush look.

I chose to use ASCP Primer Red for the dry brush technique. To do that, I used a chip brush and barely applied  paint to it, and dabbed it off on the paper if I did get too much on it. After the red dried, I used some Minwax Polycrylic to seal it.

It’s sort of a funny color. Sometimes it looks maroon, and sometimes it looks brown. I used brush on Rustoleum chalkboard paint, 3 light coats on the luan.

Here it is resting on one of the DIY craft show easels. Have I mentioned that Glendale is in just a FEW days? Oh my! I’m not sure I’m anywhere near ready….

gail