I tested 13 major brands of chalk paint on a wood headboard. I cleaned the surface but did not do any other prep.
Every chalk paint adhered very well to the unprepped headboard. But they definitely differed in their application, leveling and finish.
All of these brands performed similarly in my test. They were easy to paint with and leveled well, drying to a matte texture.
BEST SPECIALTY BRANDS
BEST BUDGET-FRIENDLY
Behr's chalky paint is available at Home Depot and can be tinted to any color swatch. It performed very similarly to my favorite specialty brands on the previous slide.
BEST FOR SMALL PROJECTS
This paint surprised me! It painted on just as beautifully as the previous paints. It's available at Walmart in 28 colors.
LEAST FAVORITE EXPENSIVE BRANDS
Annie Sloan actually paints much better when adding a little water, but this test was straight out of the can. Retique It didn't really behave like chalk paint.
LEAST FAVORITE CHEAPER BRANDS
They both were difficult to apply and left SO MANY brush strokes.
I compared EVERY aspect of these paints to determine the best and worst. You'll find all those specific comparisons in the post at refreshliving.us