My First Milk Paint Experience…

Well, I tried it! After reading so much about milk paint and how it finishes out so nice, I HAD to give it a go.  I bought a package of white milk paint from WoodCraft (on May) in OKC.  I will say that next time, I will probably order online from Homestead as WoodCraft was almost too much of a “man’s man” place and they kept telling me I wanted something else…an almost $20 MORE something else.  Other than that, I was excited to get started.  So, here is the process I used from start to finish.

Step 1:  Prepping your piece

Milk Paint will adhere  to porous surfaces without sanding or priming, however, for less porous surfaces, experts recommend you use a milk paint bonding agent.  You can normally buy this where ever you buy milk paint.

My step 1 was priming the piece I was painting. This table was a nasty, nasty Texas burnt orange color…and you know how us Oakies feel about Texas orange…so I primed it with a coat of Killz first to ensure that color did not come through. I did not invest in a bonding agent since the table I was working on was so scuffed up and I really wanted to keep that look, versus sanding it out and making it smooth.

Step 2:  Mixing the Milk Paint

This was the un-fun part.  Milk Paint comes in two varieties (or two that I know of): liquid or powder form.  I chose to use the powder form for no other reason other than it was less expensive and I wanted to make sure I liked it before making a larger investment.    With the powder milk paint, you mix equal parts of the powder with water. I knew I was going to use the full amount, so I mixed 1.5 cups (the entire package of powder) with 1.5 cups of water. You can mix this in any amount, in any container. I chose to use an old mason jar incase I didn’t get to use it all at one time, it would be inside an air-tight container.

Now, here is the biggest down fall I found with this Milk Paint…it was HARD, and I mean HARD in all capitals and a few exclamation points (and a few unlady like words I must admit), to mix.  A paint stick was not cutting it, a spoon did not cut it, so finally I robbed my utensil drawer of a whisk and went to town inside that mason jar. It honestly took a lot of whisking, but I did finally get it to a desirable consistency…or so I thought.

Step 3: Applying the milk paint 

Milk paint can be applied with a brush, roller, or sprayer.  Most professionals recommend using a sprayer to apply milk paint as it gives it the smoothest finish.  Since I was just trying it out on one piece, I did not want to mess with the sprayer.  I first tried brushing it on, really just playing with it to get a feel for its texture, etc. It is very thin and milky…so it showed every brush stroke and I quickly put the brush away. Next I tried the foam roller and this did give better coverage, however, after 2 coats, I could still see through the milk paint to the dark wood underneath.  I also noticed as I rolled, that the paint was still clumpy. I mixed and mixed this paint, but it was still showing little clumps randomly. That was a little frustrating, but not a deal breaker.

Step 4: Top Coat

After 3 coats of milk paint, I just did not like how the dark wood was appearing, almost streaky, from underneath the paint. So I do what all us DIYers do, I decided to experiment and prayed for the best! 🙂 I took 1/2 cup of CeCe Caldwell’s Santa Fe turquoise paint and added it to 1/2 cup of the milk paint.  I honestly have no idea if this is “ok” or if it is a little unknown “no-no” but I did it and I love how it turned out!! I applied one, thin, top coat of this.  I let it cure about 6 hours (it did not take that long to dry, I just began working on other projects).  You can see how thin the top coat is…now this is actually shown after I distressed it, but hopefully you can make out how light the turquoise is.

Step 5: Finishing

To finish out this piece, I took a 220 grit sanding block and really distressed the turquoise out.  I was a bit more careful around the outsides of the dark wood spots…with milk paint, known for its ease and classic distressed look, I wanted each spot to  look as though it was slowly worn off over time, pulling away from the worn spots.  An example is shown below:

Once I was happy with the distressing, I applied my usual dark wax mix (CeCe Caldwell’s clear wax tinted with Hershey brown) over the piece. I did NOT apply the clear wax by itself before or after this…mainly because it was such a small piece, and because I am comfortable with the dark wax (so not worried as to use too much or about streaking it).

Here is the finished product:

Overall, I am very happy with how the project turned out.  I really wanted to do the whole piece in milk paint, but sometimes you just have to go with it and be creative as you go! As for milk paint, I am glad I tried it and I do have a dresser that I am ready to tackle next…but this time I am ordering my milk paint from Homestead, mainly because they have MANY, MANY more colors to choose from and because I am hoping their milk paint is easier to mix.  Please leave any suggestions you have for milk paint!!! I would love to read about your experiences with it.   Also, be on the look out for Ms. Mustard Seed’s new line of milk paint…she is the queen of everything paint, and I am confident anything with her name on it will be great!

Happy Painting!

Painting Workshops now available!

Southern Charm Designs now has painting workshops available!!! 

I have spent a lot of time reflecting on how I want to grow Southern Charm Designs, my overall goals and what part of this business I love the most. All leads back to refinishing, painting, and teaching.  To be very honest, painting became a life saver for me in my darkest hours. It gives me an outlet and helps me contribute to my family financially without having to be on job site for a set number of hours each day. After many years of practice,  learning, work shops, and trial and error, I am ready to begin teaching others how to become a DIY Warrior too (with paint that is) !

Here are the details:

• Private sessions held in my workshop or your home (outdoor space or garage required)
• 3-4 hours of one-on-one hands-on learning time (time depending on how big your piece of furniture is)
• I supply all paint and paining supplies
• $135 within 25 miles of Weatherford,OK…$155 for workshops outside of this mileage area.

I prefer to stay West of the OKC/Edmond area as I have some great painting BFF’s that offer workshops in these areas and out of the spirit friendship and professional courtesy,  I choose not to cross territories 🙂 If you are in that area or East, I am happy to get you in touch with these amazing gals!

I also love to buy other people’s “junk”…which I normally see the beauty in. Now I’m not talking your dirty ‘ol mattresses here! I mean more along the lines of dressers, night stands, metal, vintage doors and windows, etc. I love to search through scary barns and estates, so please let me know if you have either!

Please feel free to email (southerncharmdesigns@live.com) or call (580)515-6494 for additional details. Thank you all so much for stopping by and happy painting!!

 

Distressing…not worth stressing over!

I received a panicked email the other day from a friend who had “over distressed” a piece she said. Now, to me, you can never over distress…that is like having hair that is too big…just not possible in Oklahoma!  Once she sent me a picture though, I fully understood why she felt this way as she used multiple methods and it had ended up looking as though she had “tried too hard” instead of that natural, aged look we want our pieces to have.  This gave me the idea for my next post as I think we forget to mention this aspect of refinishing. Here are my simple tips for distressing. Again, please note these are just my opinions and what I find works for me!

First, pick your method.  There are as many ways to distress a piece as there are brands of paint. There is not necessarily a right or wrong here, it is just your preference.  You can use sand paper and sand by hand, you can use an electric sander, you can use a razor, wax method, paint remover, or with some paint, you can simply use a rag and water! Each method requires a bit of work and some planning!!!

1. Sanding by hand:  I often prefer this method as I feel it gives me more control on where and how much I am sanding.  I normally use 220 grit sand paper and I hit all the edges and corners first. Then I’ll move to the “heart” of the piece-the top and drawers or doors.  I honestly do not draw out a plan of where and how much I am sanding….I just start on edges and go from there.  I like to hit any flaws a little heavier so that it really draws out that aged look.  If I want the bare wood to stand out in a spot, I sand that spot with a heavier hand. If I have a color underneath the top coat I want to show through, I sand with a delicate hand and do not over press.

2. Sanding with Electric Sander: First, let me say that electric sanders are expensive. So only consider this method if you a. already have an electric sander or b. you plan on going into the furniture refinishing business and will get your use out of it ( or c. if you just have a whole lot of money sitting around and are looking for ways to spend it….in this case, CALL ME!!)  I do use my sander quite often…at the beginning of a piece if using Latex paint, and at the end of a piece if I want it to look HEAVILY distressed.  Now, I do not at all claim to be a pro at this…this is just what I have learned from experience.  I have almost NO control over my sander….it tends to lead me around, so this is why I say I prefer to hand sand 🙂 Please see picture below of a heavily sanded piece. I wanted it to look really worn, aged, and wanted the raw dark wood to have a presence on the dresser.

This can also be accomplished by hand, it just takes more muscle and patience.

3. Razor Method: Honestly, I have never been a big fan of this method. You have to have a very steady hand for this method as a razor will actually cut through the wood you are distressing and leave permanent cut marks and scratches in the wood.  If you choose to use this method, I only recommend doing so on edges and corners; doing so only with light pressure. I normally have 2 small kiddos with me while I work, so having a razor blade lying around is not an option for me 🙂

4.  Wax:  Here is another method I tend to steer away from.  I just never could get it to work how I had planned and the finish never worked out.  The basic idea is that you apply the wax UNDER the paint and then when paint is dry, wipe it off over the spots you applied the wax, giving it a distressed look. However, this takes major planning and sketching as you need to know exactly where you applied the wax.  It will bubble a bit or look streaky where you applied the wax, but it is easy to miss a few and then you lacquer over a place that you missed and you have a mess.

5.  Paint Remover:  Third method I stay away from.  Fist off, there is nothing worse than the smell of paint remover. YUCK! It is such potent stuff and you need to wear gloves, etc.  Chemicals are not my thing, so I stay away as much as possible.  Secondly, this actually wipes the paint off, so if you aren’t careful,you get a spot that screams “hey, I just wiped some paint off this spot” versus a jagged, rubbed, worn spot that sanding leaves.  I can tell when remover has been used 99.9% of the time, it just looks obvious and like you took a cloth and wiped it off. This is definitely not the ideal method if you have glazed a piece. It just wipes the glaze off and ruins the look of a glazed piece.

6.  For Chalk Paint, you can simply use a rag and water!!! This is another reason I love the Chalk Paint so much. You can simply wet a rag (not dripping wet, just damp) and rub it across the areas you want to distress.  Using your hands allows you get into the corners, cracks, etc and still looks worn and rubbed through versus just wiped off as mentioned in the above post.  Once you apply the wax over your piece, it really brings out that area that you distressed.  No sanding saves a lot of time, dust, and muscle power.  For me, the biggest plus is no dust.  Here is a piece that I simply used the rag/water method.  Please note, this ONLY WORKS WITH CHALK PAINT!! I use CeCe Caldwell’s Chalk Paint and love how it finishes out after I distress it.

Hope this is helpful! Happy Distressing!