How is it different from this blackboard paint?
http://www.international-paints.co.uk/products/info/one_coat_blackboard_paint.jsp
I would like to make a blackboard and was wondering if I could save a
trip to the shops by using what I already have? Thanks in advance.
course you can. Worst case is it scratches up and you end up getting
the right stuff.
NT
> Hi. Can anyone tell me what is the difference between matt black paint
> and blackboard paint? I already have this matt black paint:
> http://www.international-paints.co.uk/products/info/one_coat_matt_black.jsp
>
> How is it different from this blackboard paint?
> http://www.international-paints.co.uk/products/info/one_coat_blackboard_paint.jsp
Hmm, wonder if the kosher stuff is thinner? I got some black paint for our
stairs that's supposedly very hard wearing, and it's really runny stuff -
I suspect it acts more as a stain than a layer of paint.
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 :-)
>I would like to make a blackboard and was wondering if I could save a
>trip to the shops by using what I already have? Thanks in advance.
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.
--
Cheers,
Roger
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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
OTOH there are whiteboards and whiteboard markers :-)
Malcolm
(ducks flames)
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.
>I'd just try it. If it doesn't work for any reason, you can always
>over-paint it with the 'proper' stuff.
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.
> Thanks everyone. ...
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
http://www.ehow.com/how_5191558_make-blackboard-chalk.html
or buy it from Rapid
http://www.rapidonline.com/productinfo.aspx?catref=76844
They also sell board rubbers.
Owain
>http://www.ehow.com/how_5191558_make-blackboard-chalk.html
>or buy it from Rapid
>http://www.rapidonline.com/productinfo.aspx?catref=76844
Or, for somewhere on the highstreet, the Early Learning Centre certainly
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
> 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.
"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.
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 ;->
--
Tim Watts
Managers, politicians and environmentalists: Nature's carbon buffer.
How did he pronounce "No"?
>And chalkboards are verboten on H&S grounds anyway.#
eh?
--
>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!
Hello,
A long time ago, I asked whether blackboard paint and matt black paint
were the same. The confusion was because International paints sold two
different tins but then contradicted themselves by advertising the
matt black paint as "suitable for blackboards"! I asked International
what the difference was between the two and even they didn't know!
It was suggested here that blackboard paint was more abrasive, so that
the chalk rubbed off onto it. Someone else said try some and see and
let us know, so sorry for the delay but I have finally tried rolling
some matt black paint onto an off cut of mdf and the chalk works
perfectly. Since then I have seen a number of other manufacturers
selling one tin for both matt black and blackboard use, so I think e
can conclude that the two are pretty much the same.
HTH
How do they compare for marks?
I recall things I used to paint with matt black, looked good so long as one
didn't brush against them: didn't actually need chalk to write on them!
S
Hmmm - dunno about that Fred: I have an old tin of blackboard paint, and
whereas ordinary paint would solidify over the course of time (in this
case: about 30 years! :-) ) this paint has separated out, into a
liquid layer of thin black stuff, over what seems to be black concrete.
I'm impressed with it: I'd like to make a blackboard now, just so I
could try it out.
John
[g]
>I have an old tin of blackboard paint, and
>whereas ordinary paint would solidify over the course of time (in this
>case: about 30 years! :-) ) this paint has separated out, into a
>liquid layer of thin black stuff, over what seems to be black concrete.
Trying to answer two posts at once: I haven't got a tin of blackboard
paint, only a tin of matt black paint so I haven't been able to make
two boards and compare them for scuff-resistance. So far I haven't
noticed a problem but it is early days and not in a position where it
gets knocked easily. Nor have I had the tins for thirty years, so I
can't say if there are any differences further down the line.
I certainly don't consider myself an expert so I am happy to be proven
wrong. This all began when I bought a tin of International black matt
paint which said "suitable for blackboards" but then I noticed they
sold a special blackboard paint. I asked them what the difference was
and even they weren't sure! Since then I have seen some shops selling
one tin (of other brands) that is labeled as both matt
black/blackboard so for those manufacturers the matt black and
blackboard paint is one and the same. Clearly with other
manufacturers, e.g. International, they are two different products.
The suggestions here that blackboard paint should contain an abrasive
made sense and perhaps that is the sediment you saw? But who knows how
the formulations have changed in the last thirty years?
As far as the international paints go, neither they nor I could really
tell a difference but YMMV! I painted onto mdf with a roller if that
makes any difference?
Of course you aren't allowed by the PC police to have 'blackboards'
these days... ;--)
I'd have thought that blackboard paint would contain some material
much harder than chalk to break down the chalkstick without being
degraded itself. In reality very few 'blackboards' were actually
totally black, especially after being wiped by those unfortunate
school pupils nominated to "clean the board" :-)
Are roller blackboards such as molished by 'Wilson & Garden' still in
use, or are they all now replaced by those 'interactive' white boards
(which sound just as much non-PC)
--
Frank Erskine