milk paint

[jimmykx250]

Im building a dresser and the client is looking for a genuine milk paint finish. Woodcraft sells the old fashioned milk paint and a clear coat by the same manufacturer. Does anyone have any experience with this stuff? Durablilty,ease of application?

[adamking]

It's indeed easy to mix and apply, BUT it isn't very durable. You'll have to rely on a high quality topcoat to add the durability you need for kitchen applications.

[thewoodwhisperer]

I honestly haven't played with it much, but I plan to soon. I have a Windsor chair that is waiting for its milk paint finish. Like Adam said, I would definitely topcoat it for the ultimate protection. But from my little tests so far, it pretty much paints like......well.......paint.

[tomsworkbench]

The finish milk paint imparts is nothing like - well - normal paint. You get a good color coverage that semi-conceals the grain, but you won't get a solid color finish.

Topcoating is the key to this stuff. Water based or oil based is fine. That does change the look of it, so if you are planning on going with the milk paint, I'd lean heavily toward doing up a sample board with space on it to show the different steps you will take. This way, you can follow along with the progress and see if you want to stop at a certain point.

One good thing - unlike oil stains, the stuff doesn't smell bad at all. Totally non-toxic.

[jimmykx250]

The finish milk paint imparts is nothing like - well - normal paint. You get a good color coverage that semi-conceals the grain, but you won't get a solid color finish.

Topcoating is the key to this stuff. Water based or oil based is fine. That does change the look of it, so if you are planning on going with the milk paint, I'd lean heavily toward doing up a sample board with space on it to show the different steps you will take. This way, you can follow along with the progress and see if you want to stop at a certain point.

One good thing - unlike oil stains, the stuff doesn't smell bad at all. Totally non-toxic.

When you say top coating do you mean clear coat? I did buy a quart of clear coat by the same manufacturer because i was worried about durablilty.

[bbast]

I use milk paint for a number of different items, I agree with the top coat for durability. If you choose not to use a top coat, milk paint will change over time and get a kind of patina. If you use it on an item that gets a fair amount of use the paint will take on a different appearance in those areas that get a lot of contact.