Got milk paint?

Sunset, Nov, 2000 by Peter O. Whiteley

How to turn a piece of unfinished furniture into an heirloom

* The softly weathered, two-toned drawers of this tall bureau have a well-used charm found in many antiques. Yet the bureau is an inexpensive pine model purchased at an unfinished-furniture store. The character comes from layers of milk paint that have been sanded and then sealed with a final layer of beeswax (an alternative to beeswax is any paste floor wax). This paint-and-finishing technique has been used for centuries.

Milk paint is sold as a powder made from milk protein (also called casein), clay, natural pigments, and lime. Mix the powder with water to make the paint; more water thins it to create a stain. Unlike its oil- or acrylic-base cousins, milk paint, once mixed, has a limited shelf life. For a project such as this, make only as much as you need.

The paint dries quickly and produces a flat, almost chalky finish with a slightly uneven surface texture (because of small lumps left from the mixing process). Since the paint soaks quickly into a soft, unfinished wood (such as pine), it takes several coats to achieve uniform coverage.

Here, the idea is to paint the wood with a coat each of contrasting but harmonious colors, then sand through the top coat to reveal the lower one, thereby creating a time-worn appearance. Some furniture makers will even sand down to the wood to reveal a third color. The paint can be applied over a previously painted surface that has been scrubbed with trisodium phosphate (TSP) and lightly sanded.

Sources

Old Fashioned Milk Paint Company. Its paint is sold in bags that make a pint ($8.50), a quart ($14.95), or a gallon ($42.95). (978) 448-6336 or www.milkpaint.com. Real Milk Paint. Quart bags sell for $13.95, gallon bags for $44. (800) 339-9748 or www realmilkpaint.com. Sydney Harbour Paint Company. Imported from Australia, its milk paint (used in project shown above) costs $25 per kilo bag (which makes slightly more than a quart). Call for color sheets. (818) 623-9394.