An ‘antique’ milk paint finish

There are some projects that you want to look nice, new, and flawless once they’re complete. But others may have a little more character if they looked like they were decades or even centuries old. The farmhouse-style bathroom cabinet shown above is a good example.

I transformed it with milk paint and some simple aging techniques.

Old, painted furniture usually didn’t get painted just once. And often the original finish wasn’t even paint. It might have started out with a stain and clear finish and then, when it began to look a little shabby, it got a coat of bright-colored paint. And through the years it got a few more coats of paint of one or more colors. Add some wear and tear to the mix, and you end up with the finish shown at left.

You’ll see a little bare wood here and there, and in other spots you get a layered look, with one color showing under the other. (As the paint ages, it shrinks and starts to crackle and maybe chip off.)

To give my aged-paint finish a really authentic look, I decided to use the real McCoy — old-fashioned milk paint. (You can use flat latex paint and achieve a similar look.)

Before the days of pre-packaged paints, milk paint was often the only paint available locally. It was basically just a mixture of milk, lime, and pigments and could be mixed up whenever it was needed. Why milk? Well, the casein in the milk acts as a binder in the paint. And if you’ve ever tried to strip milk paint, you know how well it works.

Milk paint may be centuries old, but it still offers some nice advantages. First, it’s fast-drying — you can recoat in an hour or less. This is because it’s water-based — it comes in a powder form and is mixed on the spot. It’s also non-toxic and has little odor. And finally, it’s available in a variety of bright colors.

The techniques I used are basic, but the result is great. When you’re all done here, you want people to admire the project and then ask whose attic it was hauled out of.

An old, well-used piece of furniture has lost its crisp, new appearance long ago. So first you want to add a little bit of wear and tear. I didn’t go overboard — no chains and hammers, just some coarse sandpaper.

Start by softening all the sharp edges and corners and then add some extra wear in spots. Just think about where the piece would normally show its age. The edges of the door and the frame around the door are good examples. And the feet would surely show a fair amount of wear. There’s no formula for this. Just use your imagination and you really can’t go wrong.

Since milk paint is water-based, it will raise the grain of the wood. You can avoid this by starting out with a thin coat of shellac. This also allows you to use a quick-drying, water-based stain without worry.

The stain job doesn’t need to be neat. I just brushed the stain on and didn’t wipe it down. It’s only there for another layer of color. A second coat of shellac will keep the stain from bleeding through the paint.

Now that you’re building up some “history” you need a way to expose it as you add more layers. Some paraffin wax does the trick. Just rub a few of the “wear” areas you’ve identified and the paint won’t adhere. The edges of the side panels, around the base, the corners of the top and maybe a few random spots here and there. The area around the door knob is sure to show some good wear.

But don’t get carried away. A little wax after the stain layer and a bit more after the milk paint undercoat will create a variety of “wear.”

Now you can add some more “age” with a dark-colored milk paint. Milk paint is easy to use. Simply apply it with a foam brush. And don’t worry too much about the quality of the paint job. Two “color coats” will easily hide the dark stain.

After a little more waxing, it took three coats of white to cover the dark blue basecoat. At this point, you’ll start to notice some crackling on the surface. The paint might start to pull loose from the waxed areas.

If you want a little smoother look, you can apply thinner coats with more drying time in between.

After the final coat of paint is dry, you can begin to reveal the built-up “history.” This is when your “old” piece comes to life. With some medium-grit sandpaper, you don’t need to rub hard to expose the different layers. Wherever there’s a little wax, the paint will come off easily.

But take it slow at this stage and step back to judge your progress as you work.

This article originally appeared in our sister publication, Woodsmith and in our January issue.