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I never understood the attraction to milk paint.
?- Is it just that it approximates old technology? for those who are looking for retro styles?
??- Is there some other benefit ? a better or longer lasting finish?
??? - Is there a fashion or fad behind using it? a special "look"?
???? - Is it "environmentally cleaner" ?
Just curious with an open mind considering all the modern technology coatings and resins available.
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Here is a comparison chart for various finishes.
![[Image: PaintChart.jpg]](https://www.familyhandyman.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/PaintChart.jpg)
Infaniate?? Really.
Full article:
https://www.familyhandyman.com/painting/...g-project/
No animals were injured or killed in the production of this post.
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The "real" stuff, that made with casein bonds like the dickens and the usual sort of stripping solvents don't touch it. It can finish quite smooth, all in the prep and post work. And you can get a very wide (not "Infaniate" but certainly sufficient) range of colors.
What it doesn't stand up to is abrasion without a topcoat. Also surface sheen is controlled by the topcoat.
Whomever wrote that article doesn't know what they are talking about.
That said, acrylics, enamels and latex formulations tend to be easier to work with. I've used it several times (both the casein based stuff and the acrylic from GF) for a specific look. Nothing more complicated than just wanting a particular look from the finished piece. Just another tool in the toolbox for finishing.
Don't sweat the petty things and don't pet the sweaty things. -- G. Carlin
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06-04-2019, 09:09 AM
(This post was last modified: 06-04-2019, 09:10 AM by RKMBrown©.)
(06-03-2019, 07:28 PM)wood2woodknot Wrote: I never understood the attraction to milk paint.
?- Is it just that it approximates old technology? for those who are looking for retro styles?
??- Is there some other benefit ? a better or longer lasting finish?
??? - Is there a fashion or fad behind using it? a special "look"?
???? - Is it "environmentally cleaner" ?
Just curious with an open mind considering all the modern technology coatings and resins available.
Yes. Yes.
Yes. No.
Yes. Yes.
No.
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06-05-2019, 02:48 PM
(This post was last modified: 06-05-2019, 02:54 PM by Scoony.)
What's the attraction to any paint or finish product for that matter?
All depends on the look and protection that you want the final piece to have.
Milk paint has a reputation of being tenacious. Pretty much have to sand it off as heat and scraping will not work, and I am not sure that a paint stripper will work either.
I happen to like the matted appearance of milk paint.
What I don't like about milk paint is the trend to the newer fashion colors the companies have going to. GF milk paint had some great colors that are no longer available.
As for the real milk paints available in powder form, there are 2 companies that I know of. I don't care for the paint from one of them (will remain un-named) as it is very chalky and most of every coat comes off while burnishing. This requires more coats of paint. Seems to me that they skimp on the casein and add more chalk or lime into the mix. I have made my own using casein protein powder (weightlifter stuff) and it burnishes fine without loosing much material. Only problem I have had is when using black pigments. The particle size of the black pigments seems to clog up my sprayer while the other colors will not. Yes you can spray milk paint (well some at least).
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Thanks for the replies. I learned a few things that may someday give me cause to choose milk paint for a project. There are a few characteristics I was not aware of. On the other hand, I don't think there is anything that will make me an instant fan of it at this time. Sort of strange stuff to me.
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06-06-2019, 10:27 PM
(This post was last modified: 06-06-2019, 10:30 PM by Phil Thien.)
Late to the game...
The true milk paints leave a finish that is part film and part in-the-wood. I tend to top-coat these with oil-based poly.
The acrylic milk paints tend to be very high quality acrylic paints that I also like.
The two sorts have very different appearances, and I like them both.
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11-17-2019, 12:16 PM
(This post was last modified: 11-17-2019, 12:19 PM by hbmcc.)
Later yet....
I paid a fortune for the least amount offered by one online [and] brick store brand to do some exterior finish. Added tung oil to make it exterior. (Comes in fancy plastic containers.) The tung oil they provided curdled the paint into a gummi-ball mess. The finish, white, blossomed into black mildew immediately.
A complete waste of money, time, and ruined the piece I used it on. Next experiment will be a homebrew.
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(11-17-2019, 12:16 PM)hbmcc Wrote: Later yet....
I paid a fortune for the least amount offered by one online [and] brick store brand to do some exterior finish. Added tung oil to make it exterior. (Comes in fancy plastic containers.) The tung oil they provided curdled the paint into a gummi-ball mess. The finish, white, blossomed into black mildew immediately.
A complete waste of money, time, and ruined the piece I used it on. Next experiment will be a homebrew.
Not sure that I would mix tung oil directly to milk paint. I have used it over dried milk paint with success.
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11-21-2019, 12:55 PM
(This post was last modified: 11-21-2019, 04:05 PM by adamcherubini.)
I think there are a couple attractions to milk paint:
1) you don't need any special equipment to get a good finish
2) you can use it to approximate an old looking paint finish. Very difficult to do this with modern paint.
3) you can mix it and control it in terms of pigment, opacity.
4) You can rub it, burnish it to produce different layers of sheen.
I think its more for people looking for an antique or ye olde timey look. But you can use it to make like a wash or stain/dye to color wood. I mixed up a pumpkin pine wash for a plain pine thing I made that gave it a shaker kinda look. Turned out pretty good.
