Fusion Mineral Paint - Better than Chalk Paint?
I am an avid user of chalk paint for the last 4 years and especially like how easy and smooth the paint goes on unprepared surfaces. No prep time and a nice and flat finish. Perfect! When I read about Fusion Mineral Paint I first thought that this might be another brand of chalk paint - not really realizing that this is quite an innovative product and has nothing to do with chalk paint. I started following Fusion Mineral Paint on Facebook and got more and more educated about this product and couldn't await to start with my first project.
Today was the day :-) Fusion Mineral Paint is a product developed by Homestead House Paint Co. from Toronto - a truly Canadian company. Why did it catch my attention? According to the website this paint
takes minimal prep for maximum results (no stripping or priming, only very light sanding with 220 grit sandpaper)
gives a durable matte, washable finish with no topcoat required (no wax, no poly!!)
is easy to apply
has a very low VOC
dries quickly and you can clean your brushes etc. with water (no mineral spirits required)
is 100% Acrylic Paint with a built-in topcoat
comes in 50 different colors
In a nutshell: This paint SAVES YOU TONS OF TIME! My biggest PRO: the built-in topcoat. I have never been a big fan of waxing my chalk painted pieces.
I picked the color PUTTY, a light grey with a beige undertone, out of the Penney & Co. Collection and started prepping this ugly beast:
Made out of compressed wood with some kind of a laminated top. I used my liquid sand deglosser instead of lightly sanding it with 220 grit sandpaper. Worked fine for me :-)
Applying the paint was easy-peasy (I used a synthetic brush), very smooth and some kind of self-leveling (no major brush strokes). The coverage is excellent, two coats were sufficient.
The finish looks similar to chalk paint - matte/flat, it's optional to apply an extra coat of wax or poly but it's not necessary....The only thing that worries me is that the paint needs approx. 21 days to fully cure ...Not great if you want to sell stuff :-) but this is apparently the deal with all acrylic paints.
Will it totally replace my (homemade) chalk paint? NO, it won't. For some of my pieces I rather prefer a satin finish, which means even with Fusion Paint I have to apply an extra top coat and my homemade chalk paint is of course much more cost effective. But I really enjoyed using this paint and remain a big fan of it. They also have Fusion Metallic Paint - I am going to try this next :-)
