IdeaPaint Dry Erase Paint Review and Giveaway
By
IdeaPaint Dry Erase Paint
The concept of being able to use dry erase paint to turn anything you want into a dry erase or white board has always been a pretty cool idea to me ever since the first time I heard of it, and recently the PR folks from the company that makes IdeaPaint reached out to me to see if I would like to give some of it a try and, review it. They also offered up the opportunity to give away a set of their dry erase white board paint to one of my lucky US-based readers. Once you read the review, check out the rules at the bottom of the page and enter for your 3 chances to decorate your home or office with this IdeaPaint dry erase white board paint.
Quick Update - IdeaPaint is now available at DickBlick in 25 and 50 square foot packages and also in multiple colors. Check it out over there, as they often have deals for free shipping on orders that are in the range of what this product usually costs.
Here you see the IdeaPaint and all the required supplies
In order to get started with the IdeaPaint dry erase paint, you will need a few basic painting supplies. The IdeaPaint comes with a roller brush, a mixing stick, a paint can opener, and two cans that mix together to create the IdeaPaint. The additional supplies that I picked up for my project were the wood and tarp that you see there in the background, the body of the paint roller, some painting tape, some sandpaper, a paint brush, a tray for the paint, and a small can of primer.
There are so many great things about the IdeaPaint dry erase paint, so I wanted to quickly point out some of those benefits:
- You get enough IdeaPaint dry erase paint to cover up to 25 square feet of almost any surface, which for the price is pretty good actually
- The product contains no formaldehyde which is found in other dry erase boards and continuously evaporates into the air wherever you install a standard dry erase board
- It uses fewer raw materials because its just the coating so you just apply it to an existing wall or surface
- No need to throw anything out if you decide to renovate, just paint right over it
- Unlike putting up pre-fabricated dry erase boards, if you want to cover a large or unique area, you wont end up with any seams that can result in an awkward writing surface
The wooden board with primer applied, ready for IdeaPaint dry erase paint
Because I am planning on a move soon, I decided not to use the IdeaPaint on one of the walls where I live, and instead just put it on a nice sized wooden board that I can hopefully use somewhere else down the road. The photo above shows the primer applied to the board in prep for getting the dry erase paint applied to it. I also tried the IdeaPaint on a few other surfaces, which you will see later…well you will see some of them later because I totally botched one of them. That one was my fault, not the IdeaPaint’s fault.
The important step of mixing the IdeaPaint dry erase white board paint
The IdeaPaint comes in two cans cleverly labeled “This” and “That” that you need to mix together when you are ready to apply it. Keep in mind once you actually mix the paint though, you have a limited time to finish applying it to whatever surface you have prepared. The paint pretty much smells like normal paint, but its pretty strong so make sure you do it in a well ventilated area. Once the paint was mixed it looked like normal white paint, but one other thing you need to be sure of is to use the roller that was provided in the box of IdeaPaint. Applying the paint was pretty easy, the only strange thing I noticed was that the paint did seem to get tacky pretty quickly, so you want to make sure you have your painting surface prepared and well thought out, and do your best to avoid any interruptions.
The finished IdeaPaint dry erase white board paint sample
Once the dry erase paint was applied, I waited the required 7 days before writing on it, and it worked like a charm, although my photo is not great. Between my not so awesome photo skills, and trying to photograph such a large and glossy surface, this is the best I could do. The writing was very smooth, just like any other white board or dry erase board I’ve used, and erasing it went well also. I did occasionally find the need to use a napkin with a dab of water to clean off the board completely, but that can be said for many dry erase boards.
IdeaPaint on Levenger Circa Cover
As I said I tried the idea paint on a few other things, and the only thing I didn’t totally butcher were my two attempts on some Levenger stuff. First you can see above that I applied the IdeaPaint to one of the plastic Levenger Circa covers, and put it in the back of one of my notebooks. I figured this would work well as a way to avoid wasting sheets of the Levenger paper to jot down quick notes and such. Unfortunately I probably waited a little too long so you might notice the top of the page looks a little mangled, but this was because I was getting to the end of the IdeaPaint’s time limit so it became a little tacky and wouldn’t lay down perfectly smooth.
IdeaPaint on a tabbed page divider
My last idea was to make myself a dry erase tabbed divider. I thought this would be kind of cool, although not 100% practical because you have to be careful not to erase it while flipping through your tabs. If you are careful its not a problem, so if you have some tabs like this that you constantly change this might be a good use for some of your extra IdeaPaint.
I think that the IdeaPaint dry erase paint is an awesome product, and you can really let your creativity run wild with it. From someone who is not SUPER handy (I think I fall into the average category) this was still pretty easy to use, so dont let yourself miss out on trying it because you think it will be too hard. Having the ability to create your own dry erase or white board area is great in itself, but the environmental benefits are also a nice addition to the product.
Now….for the IdeaPaint dry erase giveaway! Everyone has multiple chances to enter, and each entry requires its own individual comment. Please remember that the IdeaPaint can only be shipped within the US, so US Entries Only please. Here are the rules:
Entry # 1: Leave a comment.
Entry # 2: Follow @IdeaPaint and @OfficeSupplyGee, then tweet the text below minus the quotes, and Leave a comment here with a link to that tweet.
“Enter to win @IdeaPaint dry erase paint from @OfficeSupplyGee http://bit.ly/97Cyxs #giveaway”
Entry # 3: Become a fan of IdeaPaint and OfficeSupplyGeek on FaceBook, and tell your friends on facebook about the contest using the bit.ly link (http://bit.ly/97Cyxs). Once you have done that, Leave a comment here.
The contest ends March 31st, 2010 at 11:59 PM, so have all 3 of your comments in by then. The winner will be announced on the morning of April 1st, April Fools Day. 
Good luck to all, make sure you get your 3 entries by leaving 3 separate comments. Combined comments will be counted as one entry, and again, US Entries Only.
© 2010, OfficeSupplyGeek. All rights reserved.
this sounds so cool! i wanna try it.
My girlfriend would love this. Count me in!
Wow, this is some crazy stuff!
I’ve been wondering how this works. Thanks for the review!
This is the kind of thing I would never buy without a review… but now I’m thinking about the possibilities for my kitchen renovation.
OK, I followed “Entry #3.” Now win me some paint!
This would be very cool for Mathnasium. Math on every wall, and erase the mistakes!
How well does it erase? Does it leave a shadow?
That looks really handy. Seems like there are lots of possibilities for it creatively and it looks like it works well and provides great functionality.
What crazy stuff! I love it! It would be cool to do a IdeaPaint tabletop for doing art shows and craft markets. You could fill the tabletop with product and marketing / pricing info.
I love the idea of applying it to the Circa cover. My mind is racing with applications.
http://twitter.com/itsmeKatie
Sounds amazing!
Have twittered.
http://twitter.com/asifwecanchoose/status/11006861590
Entry 3 can be fulfilled just by putting the link in my status, yes? If so, it’s already done.
I’d love to try this next to my desk. Thanks for the contest!
I tweeted it. :] http://twitter.com/chinarose/status/10977508433
This is the first time I’ve heard or seen this product…oh, the possibilities! I’m planning on an attic remodel for an office/craft room and this would be perfect.
Following you both on Twitter & I tweeted:
http://twitter.com/auntiethesis/status/11018140506
I’m now a Facebook fan of you both and I shared:
http://www.facebook.com/#!/AuntieThesis?ref=profile
Michelle Hudak
Sounds like a pretty cool product. Wonder if parents might use it to create suitable wall painting surfaces for toddlers. Though might might not be such a good idea to let kids play with dry erase markers too soon.
sign me up!
I’d love to win this!
Following you both on Facebook as “Jay Cee,” and posted the contest to my wall: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?v=feed&story_fbid=112166712133308&id=100000195939837&ref=mf
I tripped across this paint a few months ago on-line. I’m excited to hear how great your experience was. I think it will be a great solution to our conference room woes.
Followed @IdeaPaint and @OfficeSupplyGeek on Twitter
Tweet Link:
http://twitter.com/mlcottingham/status/11064687850
Fan of IdeaPaint and OfficeSupplyGeek on FaceBook
Wall Feed link:
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?v=feed&story_fbid=109196032440682&id=589298504&ref=mf
Coolest new product I’ve seen! Thanks for posting about it.
James
https://twitter.com/bikeohio/status/11084884245
I told my daughter about this and she can’t wait to have part of a wall in her room turned into a dry erase board!
Couple of weeks ago I was saying that if I stayed on this job- the company was just bought- or in my next job, I will have my office painted with idea paint. It will actually save me some time.
This is so cool! I hope I get to try it sometime.
This looks like fun stuff. It would be great in my upcoming office renovation.
for the walls of my partners art studio and for my home office wall – what a way to think outside the box! We tried to blackboard paint but the chalk was too messy in an office.
RT Enter to win @IdeaPaint dry erase paint from @OfficeSupplyGee http://bit.ly/97Cyxs #giveaway
Can’t figure out how to leave a link to my tweet but its’ done. On to Facebook.
Tweet done. befriending done and Facebook status updated. Bring on the paint!
I would love to make a shaped dry erase board on one of my classroom walls. We still have yucky chalkboards!
Thank you for the review! The photos are so helpful. Did you know this stuff comes in blue? I can have a blue whiteboard.
Pick me, pick me!
I’m fanned on Facebook now, too.
Oh, oops, the paint I claimed is blue is actually green. Now I feel like a moron with a bad monitor.
I Tweeted. Not sure how to link to that, but it’s been done.
This seems like an interesting product…so many uses!
You have inspired me to think of all the uses I could try with this paint.
I’ve wanted to try this stuff for sooooo long.
Wow! I would love some of that!
lets pray I win this time. I have a whiteboard project that I am dying to make