Categories: Crafts & Hobbies

Introduction to Milk Paint

I first came across milk paint a few years ago in a flea and antique shop. I could believe there was another type for paint out there that I did not know about. Milk paint has been around for hundreds of years and is a very useful and fun product to work on craft projects with.

Milk paint is perfect for furniture. I guess that is why I found it so prevalent in antique shops and flea markets. They sell it in powder form and it is very inexpensive. You can buy milk paint in a variety for mellow colors that are perfect for the vintage look.
Specifically, Unfinished furniture can be given a distinctive antique look with milk paint. This paint finish was very popular a century ago. You often find may antiques with milk paint finishes. These antiques are very valuable today.

Now, I the early and mid-1800s furniture was often painted as opposed to being stained. This paint, milk Paint, was often made from a mixture of milk, lime and natural pigments. These ingredients were available to most people. Wood stains were reserved for the wealthy and those with cash.

Today powdered milk-paint formulas create a durable and vintage looking paint finish on furniture. Milk paint is available in colors ranging from red to almost ny color you can name. They may be used to create an antique or vintage finish that is exceptionally durable. Milk paint also makes a great primer, which speaks for its durability. Milk paint is a great way to add a new look to less expensive woods such as pine and fir that aren’t considered valuable. You would never paint a valuable piece of oak or maple furniture.

Now, you can make your own milk paint form these powder mixes that are sold. They are often sold at home improvement stores a swell as the before mentioned flea markets and “antique” shops.

Most milk paint recipes call for you to measure equal amounts of powder and warm water in separate containers. You then add the powder to the water. Now, stir until the milk paint mixture reaches a smooth consistency.

For a thinner paint all you need to do is add more water. You should always allow the milk paint to stand for about twenty minutes. This thinner mixture is a great way to create more translucent coats of milk paint on your furniture for wash treatment.
Just as with other paints, you wood furniture should be lightly sanded and cleaned before applying the milk paint. Because it acts as a primer, you do not need to apply traditional store bought primers that other paints require.
You can Use a foam or synthetic-bristle brush to paint with milk paint.

If you want to create a cakes on paint look or even stencil with milk paint you will need to add more powder to make the milk paint thicker. This trick is what makes milk paint so useful and handy.

Milk paint is a great way to stencil a wood floor or even a piece of wood furniture.
You can use sand paper to rough it up and antique you piece of wood furniture. You can also streak on other colors of milk paint on top of existing colors.

Now, you will wan to seal you milk paint with a coat of water based polyurethane if it is to be on a piece of furniture or wood floor that is used a lot. Milk paint reminds me very much of flat paint, which is not ht easiest to just wipe dirt away with. If you use water you will reactivate the milk paint and even wipe so of put away.