Milk Paint with a Mind of its Own!

Like many of you, Marion at Miss Mustard Seed has been very influential in inspiring my decorating style and furniture restoration ideas.  So when she announced the Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint label, I was intrigued.  I'd heard of milk paint before, but had never used it.

I recently ran across a vendor who carried the paint and decided to try it.  My first experience was on this cabinet.  The first time you try something there's always a learning curve, so I knew I'd try it again.  Last week I picked up some more colors of paint and decided to try it again on this piece.

I've had this fabulous high boy for several years and was ready to renovate it and sell it.  I decided to use Ironstone Milk Paint on her.

I watched Marion's instructional videos to refresh my memory on how to mix and apply the paint and then went to work.  I decided to strip and refinish the top in a darker stain.  That would be the perfect contrast to the white paint!

After one coat of paint the milk paint was already starting to chip!  I was so excited since my first experience hardly chipped at all!

I applied a second coat, let it dry, and the lightly scraped the loose paint off with a putty knife.

Love it!

Then I moved to the side.

When I finished knocking the loose paint off, there was almost none left!  This was NOT the look I was going for, and certainly didn't match the effect on the front.

Now what?

I went back to the Internet to search for answers.  I found one blogger that said if too much paint chips off, add some bonding agent to the paint and try again.  

That was a problem.

The closest stockist to me is 150 miles away.  I could order some, pay for shipping, and wait 4-5 days for it to arrive.  I could wait until I go to Dallas next week and pick some up then.

I'm not good at waiting!

I decided to experiment with another solution.  If it didn't work, I'd pick up bonding agent next week.

So I pulled out some primer and used a craft brush to apply it to some of the bare wood areas in a splotchy manner.  I figured that if the milk paint would stick to the primer, there would be less chippiness and it would be more compatible with the front.

Then I repainted the entire side with two more coats of milk paint.

Surprisingly, the milk paint not only stuck to the primer, but it stuck to places that it previously chipped from!

Go figure!

I wasn't about to argue with it, though!

I love the contrast of the beautiful, dainty form with the rugged wear of the paint!

I topped it off with a coat of clear wax.

So she's gone to the shop amidst rave reviews.

And she looks good from all angles!

Sharing the saga here:
Shabby Creek Cottage