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Around 4 years ago, we painted a chalkboard for our 1-year-old kid. She loved it and did all sorts of artwork on it. Now she is 5 years old and doesn't want the chalkboard anymore in her room.

I tried to scrape it off using sandpaper and a Dremel power tool (MM 50) to powersand it. Original Blackboard

On a suggestion from a home improvement store, I painted the Killz Latex based Primer over the blackboard. I cleaned the blackboard with a wet rag dipped in Dish Detergent and water, before applying the primer. I let the primer dry overnight. Now it looks like this.

I am planning to paint the entire wall with VALSPAR https://www.valspar.com/en/products/interior-paints-primers/signature-interior-paint-primer

Should I do a few more coats of the primer before applying the paint? How can I hide the blackboard completely?

Post Primer

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    Did you rinse very throughly and dry between dish detergent and primer application? That sounds like a method guaranteed to screw up the paint job if not very carefully removed. You may be well into the land of "add a sheet of 1/4" drywall on top of the wall, it will be faster and less painful."
    – Ecnerwal
    Commented Jul 3, 2020 at 15:14
  • I did rinse and I dried using a dry cloth rag.
    – abhi
    Commented Jul 3, 2020 at 15:29
  • "Getting rid of a Chalkboard Wall" just erase it. ha. You may need a couple of coats of bonding primer and then paint. Why is there what appears like large globs of texture type stuff.
    – Alaska Man
    Commented Jul 3, 2020 at 18:34
  • The texture type stuff is spackling used to fill up holes.
    – abhi
    Commented Jul 4, 2020 at 2:37
  • Sounds like a swing and a miss by the hardware store. The (incredibly stinky) oil based Kilz is the cheap, good smell and stain covering stuff. The (pretty spendy) shellac based stuff has good smell and stain covering, but its solvent smell dissipates in way less time. For a kid's bedroom, @Alaska Man has the right idea.
    – popham
    Commented Oct 2, 2023 at 21:56

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I would give it a good sanding with 100 grit paper and then 220 grit paper.

I would then give it two coats of a shellac based primer, it is very good at covering or hiding dark colors and stains that may otherwise bleed through other primers and paints. It is a very thin product and you may think that is not hiding the black board, but just because you can still see some black does not mean that it is not providing a sealed coating.

I would then give it coat of a good bonding primer, these are thicker and formulated to bond well to stubborn surfaces.

Now you have a nice primed surface that you can paint with any type of paint you wish.

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  • Just for other users... this will not work for a chalkboard. I have gone through it and tried it. Not only will you see the outline of the chalkboard but it bleeds through sometimes days/weeks later. You could skim the area and prime it but that seems out of range in difficulty for the user.
    – DMoore
    Commented Jul 15, 2020 at 18:34
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    @DMoore - You used shellac based primer and it bleed through? You gave it at least two coats of the shellac based primer and the bonding primer?
    – Alaska Man
    Commented Jul 15, 2020 at 18:50
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    Abhi, Sand the edges of the chalk section down to make sure you can not feel the edge. If you can still feel the edge You could feather skim the edge with patching compound and sand to a smooth transition. If you follow my advice i would appreciate it if you would come back after some time and let us know if the black starts to bleed through. I would be surprised if the shellac does not work, Maybe more then two coats.
    – Alaska Man
    Commented Jul 15, 2020 at 18:57
  • Why the bonding primer on top?
    – popham
    Commented Oct 2, 2023 at 21:57
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I don't get why this is so hard. You have trim on two sides and a wall on another. Cut it out and install a new piece of drywall. You have only have two small seams to mud. This will cost $15 and be half the time as trying to "super" prime it.

Long-term you try to paint over that I seriously doubt with all the paint in the world you won't see the edges show through of the old chalkboard plus trying to paint over it has to be way more time consuming (and more costly).

If we see this in a house we never for one second think to paint over it.

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  • What makes you so sure that the wall is drywall and could easily be cut and replaced? Couldn't it just as well be concrete or bricks covered in plaster?
    – I'm with Monica
    Commented Jul 15, 2020 at 11:45
  • Your answer is very interesting. Unfortunately, I have zero skills to cut in a straight line. I am pretty sure that I will end up messing that wall.
    – abhi
    Commented Jul 15, 2020 at 18:19
  • @abhi - a piece of drywall almost takes zero skill to install. The accepted answer will not fix your wall but you will spend a lot of time doing nothing... good luck.
    – DMoore
    Commented Jul 15, 2020 at 18:32
  • Got to admit, "cut it out and replace the drywall" was my first thought, too. Not gonna join the "will it cover" discussion, though. @abhi - Use a metal straight edge and, voila! You'll have a straight cut! TBH, though, if you don't have much in the way of "handyman" skills, the taping, mudding and sanding can be quite a bit of a challenge. They're not difficult, per se, but they do take some time and comittment to make it look good.
    – FreeMan
    Commented Jul 15, 2020 at 22:49
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You did not properly prepare the wall surface prior to priming. Patching compound (be it spackle or other) needs to be sanded thoroughly until it is properly flush with the wall surface prior to any primer or paint or other surface treatment. You need to properly sand the entire area and then start anew with a "problem surface" primer (e.g. shellac, alkyd primer, latex bonding primer, etc.)

Also, the surface should always be rinsed with clear water as the final step prior to application of primer or paint. Detergent/soap residue can interfere with adhesion.

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Supposed to use a heat gun and plastic putty knife. Light sanding if needed after. Prime and paint as usual.

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