How to Prep a New Wood Surface for Chalk Couture Products

I’m going to be honest here, I learned the hard way just how important it is to properly prep a new wood surface for Chalk Couture products. My very first attempt at using these amazing pastes and transfers on a wood surface was for a Fathers Day Make and Take project 2 nights before Father’s Day.

I did some reading and watched some videos and was fairly certain I prepped properly but oh my did I learn quickly that properly preparing your wood surface is the utmost importance before chalking.

I cut and stained my boards the day of the class and that is where the mistakes began. Needless to say I was ever so grateful to have a very cooperative and completely understanding group of people. They ended up coming back the next night to finish but the end results were worth it.

So let me help you to have a much better experience prepping your wood for Chalk Couture products. Just follow these steps and don’t skip anything.

Click here for a Chalk Couture Try It Kit

Prep a new wood surface for Chalk Couture products

Cut the board

Be sure to measure twice and cut once. Be positive that your transfer is going to fit the board before you start. We were using the “Dad” transfer and I was certain that a 1×6 would be quite wide enough but low and behold I actually needed a 1×8. So glad my hubby is here to guide me because a 1×6 is not truly 6” wide. Who would have thought?? So first step to preparing your wood is to cut it to the desired size. We were creating Father’s Day bottle openers, check out instructions on making your own here!

Sand the wood

When you are prep a new wood surface for Chalk Couture products give it a light sanding. This helps make everything even and smooth so your transfer can seal better. After sanding make sure you wipe all the dust off the board before moving on to the next step.

Stain the wood

For our bottle open project we used a nice dark stain. Using a cotton rag we wiped the stain on to the board, let it sit a minute and then wiped it all off. Make sure you do the edges and we also flipped the wood over once it was dry and did the back as well. Let the stain dry for 24 hours before moving on to the next step.

Wax the wood

To help protect the transfer, wax the wood prior to chalking. Chalk Couture does offer a small wax stick for small jobs however, for our bottle openers we used minwax finishing wax in natural. Roll a small ball of wax in to a cheese cloth and rub over the board. Then we let it sit and buffed the wax after about half an hour. After waxing it is good to let the wax dry for a bit we waited about 15 minutes.

That’s it! That is how you prep a new wood surface for Chalk Couture products. It really is pretty easy to do and you will be so happy with the end product. Chalk Couture Paste makes amazing finished products on wood.

If you would like more information on Chalk Couture products or the Chalk Couture business opportunity contact me here and lets talk chalk.