Hi. Can anyone tell me what is the difference between matt black paint and blackboard paint? I already have this matt black paint:
course you can. Worst case is it scratches up and you end up getting the right stuff.
NT
From memory (I made a few blackboard and easels yonks back for a local school) proper blackboard paint is less black - more dark grey/green. It also was more matt than the matt paint I used first. Very very matt...
Normal matt paint just didn't seem to work as well with the chalk - leaving a "crayon on gloss" type effect if you get what I mean. The proper stuff worked really well but as someone else said, was thin and needed a few coats.
Then you rub chalk all over it before using it (stick of chalk on it's side and then rub it in with a duster) or whatever you write on it first will be there for a long time :-)
Give it ago if you have matt - as I say, the matt black I tried was disappointing
Darren
If you read the descriptions in the two links above, they are *very* similar - including a bit for the ordinary matt black which says "ideal . . for blackboards"!
I'd just try it. If it doesn't work for any reason, you can always over-paint it with the 'proper' stuff.
It's not just "matt black" - it's "course black". Blackboard paint is rough like fine sandpaper. It is also very hard wearing and totally waterproof (you will want to clean off the chalk with water now and then).
From what I remember, it also seems to use an unusual solvent. I'm not sure if that has anything to do with its roughness.
-- Jason
Would the politically incorrect please note that there is no such thing as 'blackboard paint'. It is chalkboard paint.
OTOH there are whiteboards and whiteboard markers :-)
Malcolm
(ducks flames)
And chalkboards are verboten on H&S grounds anyway. They've been replaced anyway by "interactive" whiteboards.
Matt black paint is gloss black paint, with enough filler in it to make it look matt for reflected light, hidden under a smooth-feeling surface
Blackboard paint is similar, but with sufficient voodoo added (maybe just more of the same filler) that it looks the same, but the surface is mechanically rough enough to allow chalk to write on it.
If you paint a blackboard with matt black paint, you get something that looks exactly like a blackboard, except that the chalk won't stick!
You can also paint something with blackboard paint, then wax polish over it (e.g. MDF video racking shelves). This gives you a very black semi-matt surface (good for Goths and '80s retro fans) that looks good and wears better than plain matt paint.
Thanks everyone. I had a reply from International Paints saying the two were very similar but they had not tried chalk on the matt black paint, so like you, they suggested try a small area and see.
They did also say the blackboard paint was specially formulated to hold chalk on the surface, as other posters have said.
I will let you know what happens, when I get round to it.
Fred: my question is: where you gonna get your chalk? Eh?
I worked in a University for a long time. About 10 years ago I realised that there wasn't a stick of chalk in the place.
John
Well, this is a DIY group so you could make it yourself
Owain
sold it recently. I suspect they still do.
Darren
From my younger days I seem to remember that play chalk was a lot 'grittier' than teachers' chalk, as well as the sticks being thinner and breaking more easily.
Owain
Dunno - SWMBO didn't complain and being a teacher she is used to school chalk.
Seemed ok to me but I'm hardly and expert :)
Darren
"School" chalk is usually anti-dust, which is a coating over the sticks. This has a detrimental effect on fingernails, making them brittle one reason why teachers had short fingernails.
Nowadays I mostly use french chalk (welding shop), as it draws on hot steel.
ITYF they're called 'penboards' by the PC brigade, though the pens I have in front of me just say 'Dry Wipe Marker', conveniently avoiding the mention of any type or colour of board.
On Mon, 18 Jan 2010 13:45:42 -0800, pcb1962 wibbled:
Ours were called "Nobo", helpfully pronouced by Dennis (our physics teacher's nickname" as "KNOB-O" just to ensure even the dimmest pupil didn't fail to spot the hilarity ;->
How did he pronounce "No"?
eh?
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