Replies

1. 
   davamoore_ | Feb 12, 2002 08:43pm | #1

   *
   Richard --

   For a couple of country-look pieces I made for a relative, I recently used milk paint. Although my experience was limited, I thought it was a very easy-to-use product.

   I picked up the paint at my local Woodcraft store, but you can also buy it online at http://www.woodcraft.com and, I'm sure, lots of other sources (www.shakerworkshops.com being another). It comes in about a dozen colors.

   The brand I used from Woodcraft came with plenty of information in the instruction sheet, but it really comes down to mixing it with water to the consistency you want (thicker is tougher to spread, thinner may require multiple coats). If you're painting onto certain materials, they suggest using a special primer that's compatible with milk paint, which is also available through the same retailers that sell the paint. I was using it on plain ol' pine, so I just used a few dabs of shellac to seal the knots and otherwise painted it directly onto the sanded wood (after the fact, I could see no difference between where the shellac had been applied and where it had not... except for the physical shape of the knots).

   Milk paint alone is not durable nor is it water resistant... it's easily scratched and rubbed off -- which may be part of the appeal, if you want to "age" a piece. It also has a very dull, almost "dusty" matte appearance.

   In my case, after the paint had dried completely, I topped my mom's pieces off with a couple coats of gel varnish, just to add a bit more durability and give a little more sheen (just a bit... I toned down the gloss by sanding down the dried varnish with a maroon sanding pad, or you could use #0000 steel wool, I imagine).

   Anyway, as I said, not a product that I would use frequently for my own work, but for these projects it was simple to use, relatively flexible and was just what the doctor (mother) ordered.

   David

1. 
   Gretchen_ | Feb 12, 2002 11:22pm | #2

   *http://www.milkpaint.com/Here is a site for the Old Fashioned Milk Paint Co. I have used their products--very good. You can also mix your own colors using several of theirs.If you want to you can delete the duplicate post since no one has posted under it. Otherwise it will just sink and that is OK too.

1. 
   David_Heinlein | Feb 16, 2002 06:07am | #3

   *David,I found a good varnish to use is "dull" finish which leaves no sheen. The paint neds to be lightened beforehand to compensate for the darkening of the varnish. The brand I used was Pratt&Lambert #38 or 39, I forget which, now.Dave

1. 
   davamoore_ | Feb 17, 2002 04:46pm | #4

   *David H --You raised a good point, which I forgot to mention: topping off the milk-painted surface with a varnish does indeed result in a darkened final color. I'm glad you mentioned that... and thanks for the tip re: the "dull" varnish... as I remember, I brought the sheen down with the maroon sanding pad, in my case. (I used the gel varnish because I happened to have it on hand.)David