Customer Reviews

Rust-Oleum 241140 Dry Erase Brush-On Kit, White

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(21)

 

 

This product is a fantastic idea. We have a section of wall under a kitchen counter about 4 by 5 feet that seemed like a great space for the kids to use for drawing. I considered a chalkboard paint, but figured that would result in chalk dust all over the floor. Dry erase seemed like a much better idea, but it doesn't work quite as well as I'd like.

First of all, it says it goes on just like regular paint, but it is very runny. It's like painting with whole milk. It recommends at least two coats and after seeing how thin it is I wanted to do as many as possible. The directions say to wait twenty minutes between coats and not to use it after it's been mixed for more than two hours. It took so long to do each coat that I barely managed to get four done. You are supposed to wait at least two days before writing on it. We waited almost four, but the marks did not come clean at all. It didn't erase at all with a dry eraser and only faded when I scrubbed it with a wet wipe.

After about a month, I still really liked the idea of a dry erase wall, but the kids' artwork was getting harder to make out with various layers still visible. I decided to buy another box and add more coats. I believe I got on at least four more and we waited another several days. We've been using the surface for a few weeks now and it is working pretty well, finally. It still doesn't erase quite as cleanly as the picture on the box would have you believe, but it's not bad if you're not picky.

I bought one of these kits for my office, applied it as directed, and waited 2 days before marking on it. The mark wouldn't come off. After reading others' experiences, here and elsewhere, I started to get really nervous. It wasn't until I called the Rustoleum helpdesk that I found out what the problem was--the kit was old.

These Dry-Erase kits have a shelf-life of 2 years. Anything over that, and the paint won't mix properly. There's no way to check the date on the box, but there's a code on the bottom of the cans that can help you figure out how long your kit has been on the shelf. (The cans are stamped with a code that begins with a letter and a number; the number corresponds with the year in which it was packaged. For example, T9 or P0 would be 2009 and 2010 respectively.) For this reason, I wouldn't recommend buying this product online. Find it in a store and check the cans.

Another way to tell if the paint is old is to check its consistency. This is an epoxy, so it won't be as smooth as a latex-based paint. However, your paint stick should go through to the bottom cleanly. If there's an inch of gunk at the bottom, it's been sitting around a long, long time.

If you've gotten an old kit (and still have your receipt), you can contact Rustoleum (800-323-3584) for a hassle-free full refund. You can also remove the paint by using an epoxy stripper like Jasco Spray Paint Remover or Peel Away.

Now, for the good news. These kits--if you can find one that isn't archaic--work remarkably well. I managed to find a kit with a T0 stamp on it, applied it directly on top of the old kit, and it works wonderfully. I have noticed some colors don't erase as clean as others--red and green give me some grief, and the low-odor Expo markers don't work as well as the regular ones--but that's nothing I didn't experience with my old dry-erase board, and a few squirts of dry erase cleaner takes off 90% of any remaining 'shadows'.

This stuff is awesome! At first it was very runny trying to paint with it, until I realized I was using the wrong type of roller. MAKE SURE YOU USE THE TYPE OF ROLLER IT SAYS TO USE ON THE BOX!!! (I forgot which kind it says to use) If you try to use the wrong roller, it will go on runny, thin, and not at all consistent. I did the first two coats like that and it looked horrible. Then I did a couple more coats with the right type of roller and it painted on perfectly!

I used a magnetic primer underneath this, so now I have a magnetic white board! (see my magnetic paint review) I actually did this in our basement, underneath the stairs (that most people use as a little toy room area). I used three boxes of this paint for that whole area. However, I know two would have been fine if I had used the right brush at first.

I have had this finished for about 6 months now, and it still looks and works great. If it starts to look clouded up with markers (like all whiteboards do), I just use whiteboard spray cleaner and a paper towel on it. My kids, and all of the kids that come to our house LOVE drawing on our "walls."

I purchased this item some months ago and I love it.

Not only did I 'whiteboard' a bunch of smaller interesting surfaces but I covered my entire interior front door. Now my fiance and I leave each other messages for when the other comes in or goes out, notes to self, to do lists, and greetings to our friends - who come and go from our house a lot when we're not available. We live in a 3 floor townhouse so being able to leave a note that I'm in the garage means people no longer stop by and sit in the living room waiting for someone to come around.

The only issue with a whiteboard made with this stuff is that is doesn't come TOTALLY clean all the time. Some markers interact with it badly. I find that regular EXPO dry erase work best - low odor or EXPO2 leave marks. Other reviewers had this problem as well...but I have a secret! ***Kaboom Shower, Tub & Tile Cleaner, 22 Oz gets it COMPLETELY clean.***
It hasn't seemed to compromise the integrity of the surface yet, but I am still on the watch. Kaboom tends to eat away at certain materials and I don't feel confident that that definitely isn't happening at all, so use at your own risk.

All in all, good product - GREAT IDEA!

So I was reluctant to buy this stuff after all the negative reviews online, but ultimately I decided to go for it and I'm happy to report that it works perfectly. In fact it works better than perfectly. So why all the negative reviews? My guess is that people didn't bother to read the instructions or just whipped through the process as quickly as they could. So, for all of you who want this to turn out great, here's what I did:

1. I was painting over already white walls. I started by lightly sanding over the paint, just to make it a little smoother and get rid of any gunk that had piled up over the year and a half since the paint was applied. After, I lightly went over the area with a dry dish rag to wipe off any dust from the sanding.

2. I painted over the areas with latex primer. Behr Enamel Undercoater Primer and Sealer is what I used. One coat. I used a STANDARD roller for this. I let it dry overnight.

3. The next day, I painted on the whiteboard paint with a FOAM roller! This is going to make all the difference. No running. No spillage. I waited 30 minutes between coats and did three coats. The box says it covers a 7x7ft area, however I painted a 5x5 area and a 2x2 area with three coats each and still had over half the can left over, which unfortunately I had to throw away at the end of the process because the paint is only good for two hours after the two cans are mixed together.

4. WAIT! The box says wait 2 days. I went to Vegas for five. Painted it early Monday afternoon and tested it Saturday morning when I got back. Worked JUST like a dry erase board. I used EXPO BOLD COLOR ORIGINAL INK pens (apparently people have had problems with the low odor) and all four colors (black, blue, red, green) work perfectly. Wipes right off with a dry napkin. Don't need to wet it down. Don't need dry erase spray. Haven't tested it with eraser yet.

Another thing to keep in mind is that the paint expires. I found this out by reading some of the other reviews online. The paint I used had a 0 on the bottom of the small can representing 2010, and it worked fine. If your can has a 0 or 1 you should be good. If it has a 9, I'd stay away, but that's just my opinion. I believe the number you are looking for is the very last number printed on the bottom of the can, but refer to previous reviews for the exact info.

That's it! It works perfectly if you follow the directions and use your brain. I hope this review helps those of you who are a little iffy on using the product. I couldn't be happier! I may post a video of the board in action if some of you still need a little more peace of mind.

I am a hobbyist woodworker on the weekend and have painted more rooms than I can remember. I had high-hopes for this. For application, I did this in the garage, flat on a finishing table. I used a piece of birch plywood, sanded to 220 grit and wiped with tack cloth for a smooth, dust free finish. I primed with the Rustoleum Magnetic primer, using 6 coats, never reapplying until after 30 minutes or more as recommended by others on amazon. When the primer had dried overnight I tested it with magnets and it worked fine. I followed the can's directions perfectly and used a dense foam roller and even, thin, smooth coats. I did 3 coats as recommended for dark surfaces. I waited 30 minutes between coats as recommended. All coats were complete within the 2 hour window of opportunity. It looked great and I was excited I held my 3 year old back for 60 hours, then let him at it with a new Expo brand dry erase marker. A minute later, I took a paper towel to it and it only came half off at best. I figured that it wasn't a purchased whiteboard so I had to have realistic expectations. I used some whiteboard liquid cleaner and it had no effect. This product simply doesn't work and wasted 2 days of my time.

Our goal was to make a HUGE dry-erase marker board. We applied 4 coats of dry erase maker board paint on top of 4 coats of Magnetic Primer on a 10ft wide by 8ft tall wall. Flat thin printable magnets (like business cards) worked well.
We used it for 2 months. Some of the colors (red and black) bonded with the board and were very hard to erase.
After 90 days the Dry Erase Marker Board paint started to turn yellow "ish" and any marker colors were hard to erase after 1 day.
A call to Rust-O-Leum customer service lead us to their engineering dept, and they stated that the chemical make-up of the 2 paints were not compatible and can not be used together.
We now have a 4ft x 8ft Dry Erase board screwed to the wall.

I bought this paint after reading glowing reviews and applied it to a table we wanted to redo. We sanded down the table top and primed its surface. I left it alone for several days before applying the Rustoleum whiteboard paint. We managed to get four thin coats of paint on the table before our 2 hour window was gone. All seemed to have gone well. We waited a whole week before trying the paint just to make sure it cured. I let my kids doodle on the table and then we attempted to erase it.

It didn't come off. A wet paper towel worked but not well. We tried cleaners too and they'd remove the markers for awhile but eventually they too quit working. Now I have this ugly cracked and yellowed table that we keep a table cloth over while we attempt to sand it down. Attempt being the keyword here because it's very very difficult to remove and the sanding is slow going even with an electric sander.

To say we're disappointed with this product would be an understatement.

I was really excited to see that they had a dry erase paint. I previously used chalkboard but loved the idea of dry erase. I painted an entire door in my kitchen with the paint. It is a little runny but nothing that is not manageable. I did exactly as the directions stated and applied four coats. I tried to write on it and it would not wipe off, so I read some reviews and I bought low-odor, original, Expo, knock off, everything and nothing seemed to work. I tried all different cleaners to get it off also. Nothing would get the marks off. They are still VERY noticeable. Now I have dry erase markings on my door that will not come off and I have to re-paint it. I am just going back to the good ole chalk board paint. I would say stay away.

The reason for two stars is for its poor eraseability. Having waited the time suggested on the box and longer, the markers don't erase well at all. The surface is very nice, and the paint when dried definitely looks like a whiteboard. But the markers smear so bad when erased that I can't give this product a good review.