Turn your child's boring closet doors into a private drive. It is easy to create chalkboard closets that look exactly like a paved road. Step-by-step photos included.
If you know a young boy who loves cars and trucks (and most do), here is a very simple do-it-yourself idea for transforming the closet doors of bedroom or play room into amazing chalkboard roads, compete with double yellow center lines.
Interior Painting Tips
Many people jump into painting projects with only the end in mind, and are determined to get there as quickly as possible. In the rush, prep work falls by the wayside.
It’s easy give your walls a professional-looking paint job, but to do so, preparation is the most vital and time consuming step. However, it is time very well spent. To achieve professional results it’s a must to put in the time and properly prepare the area that you are painting.
Items Needed for Chalkboard Door Project
- 1 quart of chalkboard paint
- A small amount of bright golden-yellow paint* (Think of the paint color of the center lines of actual roads.)
- 1 roll of painting tape
- 1 large, good quality 4” paint brush, sponge brush or roller
- 1 small, good quality 1” paint brush or sponge brush
- 1 tiny, angled paint brush ½” wide or less*
- Several rags, some wet, some dry.
- Painting tarp or old sheets
- Old newspaper to put under the door you are painting
If Any Patching Is Required
- Sheet of fine sand paper
- Spackling paste
- Small plastic spackling applicator
All materials available at most home supply stores.
*You may want to get this at a craft store if not available at home supply.
Preparing Door
- First wash the door with warm soapy water and let dry.
- If required, apply spackle to any holes or uneven areas. Smooth with spackling tool. Let dry and sand.
- If spackling was required, lightly wipe down door with a damp rag.
- Apply painting tape to door jamb to keep free of paint.
Painting ‘Asphalt’ of Door
- Use 4” brush or roller to paint door with at least one coat of primer and let dry.
- Wash and dry brush or use a new roller brush.
- Paint door with at least two coats of chalkboard paint
- Let dry overnight.
Paint will dry more quickly if a fan or two are running in room to circulate the air.
Prepping Centerlines on Chalkboard Road
- Use painter's tape to outline the areas where you will be painting the center lines (see photo).
- You can choose to do a ‘no passing zone’ with two solid lines or make one of the lines dashed to indicate a passing zone (Creating a ‘passing zone’ is a little more labor intensive, but very cute).
- After you have put on the painter’s tape indicating the lines, firmly run your hands over all taped areas.
Important: If the tape does not completely seal off the underlying area, the result will be uneven, jagged edges that will require correction.
Painting Centerlines on Chalkboard Road
- Use 1” brush to apply at least three coats of yellow paint inside the lines, allowing complete drying between coats. (Remember, you are painting on a dark, charcoal-colored background, so a few coats of yellow will be necessary for sufficient coverage).
- After you have applied the last coat of yellow, wait approximately a half hour, then carefully remove the painter’s tape while the paint is still damp. (If you wait to remove the tape until the paint is dry, dried paint will peel off with the paint and a great deal of correction will be required).
- Use tiny angled brush to apply chalkboard paint to correct any sloppy centerline edges.
Now you have unique and fun closet doors that the kids will love! To keep things neat, you can purchase dustless chalk "markers."
More Information
To find more interesting uses for chalkboard paint, see the Suite101 article, Chalkboard Paint Ideas, or find other parent-friendly articles, including Finding and In-home Sitter or Nanny and Paper Crafts for Kids.
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