Days 1-3: Magnetic and Blackboard paint.

I decided to start with an easy project: putting magnetic paint on the girls' wardrobe doors and then covering it with blackboard paint.  I thought that it would be straightforward and also be a good project for the Sweetheart to assist with.

I had a leftover can of paint and varnish stripper and figured it would be easy enough to use.  I put a towel down under the door to catch the varnish.  It came off instantly.  The instructions suggested waiting for fifteen minutes but it wrinkled instantly.  I had to work quite fast.  It was hot and windy and I pretty much needed to scrape instantly or the removal gel would dry again.  The Sweetheart enjoyed scraping of the varnish in big long strips but it quickly became clear that she has no tolerance for noxious smells!

Remembering that we had some white primer in the garage I had fun playing with the mini roller that came with my test pots from Resenes.  The primer dried in thirty minutes so I was able to get two coats of magnetic paint on that afternoon.

Magnetic paint:

• Do not use rollers, only use brush
• Brushstrokes all going in the same decoration is apparently important for the tiny magnetic particles.
• At least two layers.
• Needs to have at least one coat of non-magnetic paint as a topcoat.

I enjoyed painting.  It took about twenty-thirty minutes to do each coat.  The biggest challenges were doing it around sleeptimes, or, if the baby was awake, keeping her from touching the door!

Blackboard paint:

• OK to use rollers (although I found it quite hard and slow to do so over the magnetic paint).
• Aiming for the smoothest finish possible as bumps and brushstrokes make it hard to write on with chalk (and if you have magnetic paint underneath it needs to be very smooth or the magnet just can't hang on).

It all dried pretty quickly, and I made sure the chalkboards had a solid 24 hours untested before breaking out the chalk!

Overall, very happy with the result.  Both rooms look a little more modern and more kid friendly.  The magnetic paint is very strong (could hold a magnet after one coat).  My oldest daughter has written a lullaby for her sister on the door in the baby's room and she and her friends have coated her daughter with pictures.  Lovely.