Retique It Chalk Finish Renaissance Furniture Paint, Elite Poly Kit, 01 Snow, 32 Ounces

I've used Annie Sloan chalk paint for years and love it. It's expensive, though, so I'd tried a couple of different craft store 'chalk paint' offerings in hopes that they'd be a good (and cheaper) option. They weren't anywhere near the caliber of Annie Sloan's paints.When I noticed the positive reviews for Renaissance Chalk Paint, I decided to try some colors in the small 8 oz size before spending more money on the quart or gallon sizes. I started with Robin's Egg, Old Linen, Snow, and Argentine.So far, of the cans I've tried, I've found it fairly comparable to Annie Sloan's chalk paint. The paint brushes on with a similar texture and thickness. It also dries in a similar time frame (which, with chalk paint, is fairly fast). As with other good chalk paints, it can be sanded to allow bare wood or other paint layers to show through. Also, adding a final coat of dark antiquing (or other color) wax to any of the dried chalk paint colors will alter the color and give an interesting effect (just be sure to first use clear wax first before adding the dark or you'll get dark splotches).I did notice a couple of minor differences. The Renaissance paint seemed to cover a bit better than the Annie Sloan with the first coat. Also, the Renaissance paint seemed to leave a tiny bit more noticeable brush stroke marks. Of course, with chalk paint, those brush marks quickly disappear with a light swipe of fine-grit sandpaper after the paint has fully dried.One concern I may (or may not) have is the durability of Renaissance chalk paint. I've always been amazed at how well Annie Sloan chalk paint sticks to whatever I put it on--even with minimal prepping of the to-be-painted surface. Only time will tell if this Renaissance paint sticks as well without peeling. I'll alter my review if it doesn't hold up.Since Renaissance Chalk Paint is, unfortunately, in a similar price range to Annie Sloan (Renaissance only *slightly* less), I'm not likely to switch over from using Annie Sloan. However, Renaissance offers whole new color chart options besides those available in the A.Sloan line. So it gives me more color choices between the two different chalk paint brands.I'd assumed that the "Robin's Egg" color by Renaissance would be very close to A.Sloan's "Duck Egg," but the colors are actually very different (as you can see from my pic). The Annie Sloan "Duck Egg" (on the left) is a slightly darker greyed blue, while Renaissance's "Robin's Egg" is really quite blue with a slight greenish cast (maybe almost a turquoise). In fact, in a side-by-side comparison, the 'blueness' of the Renaissance paint makes the A.Sloan paint not appear blue at all. They're both very nice colors.To show some other color comparisons, I've painted some swatches of chalk paint in some grey/beige tones that are available in the two chalk paint manufacturer lines. I've labeled them with the brand name and color. The two in the middle are Renaissance choices -- one a cool grey (Argentine) and the other a warmer beigish-taupe (Old Linen). The Annie Sloan paint on bottom is a much more yellowish-beige color (although it's referred to as a grey -- Country Grey). The top color (AS's French Linen) is a darker grey/taupe.

This was so EASY!! My ugly old dark painted chest that I almost gave to the thrift store was transformed into something beautiful that anchors the whole room! I watched a video on YouTube and then just did what she did. Voila!

I have purchased about half a dozen cans of Renaissance Chalk paint (including two custom colors where they matched Sherwin Williams for me) and it came out great. Love the coverage, custom color options, and its ability to truly stick to just about everything (even our 1950s shellacked kitchen cabinets). One big problem I do have with this is that two of the cans I ordered, I didn't open right away and when I went to use them they were unusable. One I had ordered in June and just opened it yesterday, and another I had ordered in August and also opened yesterday...both of them were completely goopy. I don't know what happened but despite our efforts to stir them, add paint thinner, etc, they are the consistency of pudding and left streaks on the wood I was attempting to paint. Hopefully that doesn't become a common occurrence and I will try to order only a small amount at the time I need it since it doesn't seem like it can be left to sit (even unopened).

Bought the smallest can first to test. Used to paint upholstery on a chair - material is a thick linen, feels rope like. This covered well though I watered it down a lot to avoid any extra stiffness. Virtually no smell or lingering odor. Excellent coverage. Ordering the big can now to complete other chairs. 8oz can was just enough for one chair. Excellent paint. The ivory seemed 'too cream' when I opened the can but once applied was exactly the color I had hoped for.

I watched a video on making an antiqued "memory box" with chalk paints, and tracked down the Renaissance paints to give it a try. It was a lot of fun, and very easy to work with this paint. I painted a couple of layers of the chalk paint-- each layer dried very quickly. Then I sanded the corners and edges so that the antiquing wax would have a place to settle. Applied the dark wax, then later added my ephemera (sealed on with Mod Podge).The chalk paint actually looked pretty great before I intentionally scuffed it back up, but I specifically wanted a vintage shabby look. I LOVE how the box turned out... instead of boring old Cedar mini chest (which was not appealing to me at all), now it's cute and goes well with my actual antique advertising chests and boxes.I used Robin's Egg blue on the outside of the box, and Old Linen on the inside of the box. Like I said, the paint coverage is actually REALLY good... I went back and scuffed/sanded the paint to artificially age it.

Solid chalk paint, really thick and coated well, just make sure you mix thoroughly before you start painting. I didn't and thought shaking the can was enough, which led to my first couple of strokes being stupidly thin. Once I mixed it properly though, it was perfect. The tiny 1/2 pint was enough for me to paint my headboard. Also the Celadonite is a great color, sort of a pale robin egg blue but with a lot of warmth to it. I did distress it a lot though, and added dark wax after but you can still get a general idea of what the color looks like.

i thought 1/2 pint was going to be 1/2 quart. not a teeny tiny paint sample. price not worth the amount of paint you get. complete waste of money.