Painting my fridge

Wednesday I read this Lifehacker article about custom colored chalkboard paint (I used the Martha Stewart recipe) which spurred some googling and ended up with me deciding to make the side of my refrigerator a chalkboard. It’s one of the first things you see walking in the door and a little color there wouldn’t go amiss.

On my way home I hit the hardware store and got a sheet of 150 grit sandpaper, a mini-roller, a bag of TSP/90, unsanded tile grout, and a quart of flat, latex paint. Total cost $22 (it was the expensive local store). I stopped by the dollar store for a set of dollar measuring cups/spoons, bringing the total cost to $23.

So, here it is to start with:

I cleaned it with some TSP/90, which is awesome and cuts right through that grease/dust that collects on the top of the fridge. Then I taped the edges up because my rolling skillz aren’t all they could be, really. If you’re careful, you don’t need to do that.

I mixed the paint, per the instructions, and started rolling.

1 cup of paint was plenty to cover the side. It rolled on the same as any other paint. I was a bit dubious when I finished rolling, but as it dried the texture appeared and relieved my doubts.

I let it dry overnight, lightly! sanded (I would rather have gone 180 grit so I could actually put a little pressure on the paper) and applied a second coat (only used 1/2 cup of paint. Thin coat, was plenty) the following day. When that dried I again lightly! sanded it, and coated with chalk. Oh, add $1 to the total cost for chalk (unnecessary parenthesis).

Wipe it down, and done!

It’s obvious that the paint won’t stand up to too much abuse, I can see it would peel off if it was hit or really scuffed. On the other hand, it should be easy to get off when I change my mind or want another color.

Total time: 2 days
Actual work time: ~3 hours
Total cost: $24

Next up,  painting those horrible brown kitchen cabinets.