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Tip Index
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| Straining Milk
Paint: Straining is an effect I use for final
coats. I lay down base coats mixed pretty much as advertised with a little
bonding agent(white glue watered down to "sizing"). After scrubing base coats
down I smooth with the appropriate pads, I like to apply a top coat. IE:
red base with a black top coat. It gives you a black finish but it has a
tortise-shell effect when you follow up with oil. I can achieve similar results
by adding more water but then the top coat is too light,sometimes it remoistens
the base coat. and it doesn't have the texture I like. I can't take credits
for originality on this, I picked this up from another guy who's chairs were
stunning. I'm still perfecting the technique. All in good time. DO
3/2/04
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| Glue as
Bonding: In the earlier response/discussion
I mentioned that I use white glue to increace the adhesion of the milk paint.
The paint suppliers sell bonding agents for roughly 10 dollars for a pint.
When you smell it and play with it a bit I think you'll find it very similar
to white glue and some of its properties. Alphatic glues make very good "sizing"
solutions. I used it years ago outside on brick prior to painting and applying
a stucco material. Simply stated it seals and increases the surface tack.
With milk paint I have had some surprises when applying it on top of anniline
stains/dyes from time to time. One of the finish effects I like is to create
a see thru appearance without cutting thru entire sections of the paint and
going to the next layer outright. In the process of rubbing layers of milk
paint, I have gone down to the wood (maple) on my legs and revealed a bright
white spot. Personal taste: I don't like the way that looks. So I have gone
to a brown dye for the times I go thru the paint. I think it looks like the
wood is aged a bit.
Back to sizing: I have had good luck watering down white glue. At 12
dollars a gallon, I use this stuff with reckless abandon. Give it a test.
Put some right in the 1:1 milk paint (base coats) cut back 5:1 water to glue
and spread your paint on. It will improve the adhesion and it also helps
if you put it on a surface theat is not bare wood. Get some scraps and give
it a try.DO 3/5/04 |
| Sizing:
Sizing. Yes I put the watered down glue right in with the milk paint. When
I use this, I reduce a little of the water for the standard mix. Why do it
on a clean piece of wood? Most of the time I have my new chair covered with
a medium brown anniline dye. I rub my finish and sometimes I rub thru the
milk paint on the sharp edges of the leg features or the arms. This is nice,
but, I don't like the look of white maple peeking thru a black/red finish.
So I have found the dark water stain makes the wood look older when it shows
thru. In that pursuit, I have found the addition of a sealing/sizing agent
works very well to bond the paint to the chair when applied on top of the
dye. I rarely get paint chipping off and an added bonus is it really reduces
the bleed thru from pitch pockets and knots when using pine. This alone prompts
me to use it in my finish. If you have seen the tell-tale signs of latex
filler under milk paint, you might appreciate the addition of a sizing mixture.
DO
3/5/04
|
| Milk paint
can be uneven. I mix mine thoroughly and then
strain through cheesecloth. Even on woods which are somewhat harder than
pine, like the basswood I use for my seats, it shows blotchy after a couple
of coats. If you don't mind darkening the color a bit (sometimes a lot depending
on the color), spray or brush on a satin poly, that's what I do. If you don't
want to do that, I'd try a spit coat of shellac on the seat either before
the first coat or before the last coat. WKG 8/2/98 |
| Milk paint
is often blotchy after the first coat, seldom
after the second and I can't imagine it after the third. Milk paint should
be mixed to the slightly creamy consistency, brushed out well and sanded
lightly with fine paper, steel wool or scotchbrite pad before a second coat.
I've never had to do a third coat. I've also had great luck with boiled linseed
oil instead of Watco, it's cheaper, does a great job and doesn't have the
all the noxious stuff in it Watco does. You can also add to the finish by
rubbing it out with 0000 steel wool and furniture paste wax. JT 8/10/98
|
Using Shellac over
Milk Paint
Question: I have a
sack back I've just made. Milk paint with a 5 to 1 linseed oil and paint
thinner sealer. I've heard about putting shellac over milk paint for a finish
coat. Can I use shellac over the oil finish with good results? If so.....what
sort of shellac are the chairmakers using...in the flake, or from a can?
Thank-you. MT 1/24/00
Reply: I would never use shellac
from a can. I always use the flakes. Shellac is dissolved in alcohol. After
a few months, it is dissolved so completely that it changes its chemical
composition and won't dry. Its impossible to know how long ago the shellac
has been mixed when you buy it in the can. I buy the super blonde flakes
(the super blonde is de-waxed so it will adhere to just about anything) and
mix it up in small batches. It takes about 24 hours to dissolve the flakes.
If the oil on your chair is completely dry the shellac will probably stick
to the chair. Personally, I wouldn't use shellac as the final coat on a chair
for 2 reasons: It will gloss up the appearance of the chair, and since it
is dissolved in alcohol, it will re-dissolve in alcohol. So if someone spills
a drink on the chair, the finish is dissolved. I do use a thin cut of shellac
as a first wash coat on the seat. I wipe it on with a rag. It helps seal
the wood and even out the absorption of paint. WKG 1/28/00 |
Antique Wear-through
Finish
QUESTION:
I am attempting an antique see throught finish using wax over walnut
stain. I've applied the wax to the wear spots, then applied the first color
of milk paint. At first I wasn't sure if I had to rub out the wax prior to
the paint so my next layer went a little different. I'm unsure of this rub
out step in between layers or if the wax needs to be reapplied between each
coat. Possibly some people simply apply the initial wax then do 3 coats?
Any ideas that can be shared? Thanks, JDG 2/19/03
REPLY: This is
an area where there is no right or wrong. Try it both ways on a some test
pieces and see what you like. It's easy, fun and rewarding to come up with
your own methods. JT 2/19/03
REPLY: I don't
use the wax method to achieve an antique look. I, as you stain the whole
chair. After it's dry I go ahead and apply two coats of milk paint to the
whole chair, usually giving it a light buffing between coats to smooth the
paint.
After the last coat dries a bit, around an hour or so, I take a Scotch
Brite pad and rub down the areas I want to show through. If you're having
trouble cutting through the paint coats, dip the pad in water and its easier
to achieve the desired affect. Be careful if you have used a water based
stain, its easy to remove it exposing bare wood. Generally, I coat the chair
after a day or so with boiled lindseed oil and turpentine mixed about 4 to
1. Let sit an hour, wipe off the excess with a rag, let dry a day or so and
wax and polish with sucessive coats until you're satisfied or decide to start
another chair. Careful with the lindseed oil soaked rags, they can self ignite
if left in a pile. BG2
REPLY: This is the method
I use to cover the milk paints and stain. Difference: I use naptha or japan
dryer with the warmed linseed oil. It will accelerate the drying time and
leave out the lingering turpentine smell. DO 2/20/03
QUESTION:
Right now my formula is: wet the piece, sand it; stain with a waterbase
stain (which I still haven't found a color I really like), light sanding
again then a few light coats of shellac,sand again then the 3 coats
(green,red,black) of milk paint-rubbing out inbetween with Scotch Brightpads
to cause the "antique" wear I want to show then a few coats of Robsons Tried
and True danish oil.I have also tried putting wax on the anticipated wear
areas then painting,or use a torch to crinkle the paint (didn't have much
sucess with the antique crackle finish from the milk paint company).When
it's all done it looks good but not GREAT- what more can I do? KT 3/7/03
REPLY: Before the danish
oil and wax, try dying the entire piece with a walnut colored water base
dye, wiping it off immediately as you go along. That will give the bare wood
areas, as well as the entire piece, a nice patina. Then I'd skip the danish
oil and go straight to wax. BG 3/7/03 |
| QUESTION:
What kind of stain would take if wood is
first coated with linseed oil. That is to say would a dye show the grain
better than if you would use pigments. I experimented with a piece of maple
ie gave it one brush coat of linseed and allowed it to dry several days.
The analine dye doesnt seem to take to the wood like when the wood is bare.
It appears ok but can easily be scraped off or rubbed off. I should then
probably use a sealer? LF 7/2/04
REPLY: Why wouldn't you
put the stain on first? Any kind of oil will act as a blocker. If you want
color, first apply the dye (I prefer analine dye) then put the oil on top
of it. Just on FYI...when the dye dries it will look HORRIBLE! It will all
come together when you add the oil. Prepare for the smiles! Then you can
use additional coats of oil as a protective layer and/or shellac on the top.
SS 7/2/04
REPLY: You're off on
the wrong foot. Ultimate finish your trying to achieve is unclear.Are you
to use Milk paint? Common knowledge here is Water base Aniline dye on new
wood,(dark walnut)... seal with Shellac if you like.2 coats of Milk paint,
and a finisher of shellac or what-ever,lindseed oil, urethane. I no longer
use lindseed oil at all in the finish, at any point....it just doesn't have
a protection factor what-so-ever.And really doesn't have any "reproduction
value".I am a particular fan of setting a piece on fire though. MWT
7/3/04.
REPLY: I have spent
at least a decade on learning how to dye, stain and finish, and I'm still
learning. You need to inform at to what you're intending to finish. Is it
a chair? or something else. By the way, even though I am a fan of shellac,
I quit using shellac before milk paint. It seems that the milk paint needs
raw wood to really attach well and and stay that way. BG-WKG 7/3/04
REPLY: On your sample
piece of maple, you might want to try a Transtint die, available from Highland
Hardware. It mixes with oil, alcohol, or water. There are just a few Transtint
colors but they can be mixed to offer a wide range of color. You might want
to try the die with linseed oil and turpentine - 50/50 - or even more turpentine
than oil, if you want the color to penetrate. It will also work with shellac
(I'd use superblond dewaxed so you have continuing finish options). I also
like it with lacquer and lacquer thinner - sprayed on. Haven't used it with
water, but it should be fine, but not over linseed oil. Oil and water don't
mix unless you use water first, and then oil. Linseed oil is not a strong
protective finish over the long term, but it is oil and it will prevent water
and probably alcohol from penetrating the wood surface. BG_WKG 7/6/04
Rather than sanding try this technique. Apply the first color and let
dry as you normally would (over night?) then apply a good wood wax in the
areas where you would want to show wear. Apply the second color as you would
normally do to the whole chair. Let dry. Go over the chair lightly with a
scotch Brite pad; this will knock off the second layer of paint giving a
worn appearance. If you want to have bare wood show through put some wax
on before the first layer of paint. If you want bare wood to show through
it is recommended to stain the whole chair first with a dark stain (walnut)
so the exposed would looks old. |
Waterspot/Varnish
REPLY: When one
of my chairs gets waterspotted, I just use more linseed oil with some fine
steel wool or scotchbrite pad. There is no reason that you can't varnish
over milkpaint. Ive done that and shellaced over to also. i still prefer
the oil in general it doesn't hide the subtle varitations in the milkpaint
like varnish or other ropcoats do. JT 10/3/02
REPLY: I recommend a
brushing lacquer made by Deft. You can brush or spray it on. It comes in
satin, semi-gloss,and gloss. Satin provides a very good protective coat but
is still soft to the touch and does not look "plastic" like polyurethane.
Alternatively, I'd use a good past wax, like Goddards, over the linseed oil
after I made sure the oil was dry. It is my experience that it takes a long
time for oil to dry over milkpaint, likely because the paint doesn't allow
the oil to penetrate into the wood pores. If the oil isn't dry, the wax will
just float over the oil. If you use the steel wool like JT says that will
help, but I only use oil over raw wood. Shellac is another option but it
is dissolved by alcohol, so if somebody spills a drink on your chair you've
got to refinish. BG10/4/02 |
Paint Not Adhering
QUESTION: After
finishing a pair sackback chairs, one appeared to have some patches where
the milk paint did not absorb into the wood ( perhaps glue residue ). The
problem is, I didn't notice these until after applying linseed oil and later
paste wax. Is there a way to fix, short of sanding down the entire chair
and starting over? Thanks JW
REPLY: The wax and the
oil have to come off to repair the areas that are bad.I would, only in the
areas of concern,scrape away to bare wood....and repaint there. Milk paint
in my experience feathers back in pretty well. Scrape the areas out a little
larger that just where it has failed. I've experienced all kinds of finish
problems in the past, as I'm always experimenting (on chairs I keep), and
never have refinished a whole chair. MWT. 12/23/04
REPLY: Wipe the sanded
(or scraped) area of bare wood with alcohol (just the sanded bare area) to
make sure whatever is there, which caused the milk paint not to adhere, is
removed or it may well happen the second time. Don't get the alcohol on the
waxed area beyond the bare wood because it could make the wax real gummy.
(Incidently, wiping down an unpainted chair with alcohol right before painting
will help the wood absorb the milk paint and also remove hand and tool oils
which you may not see but which will interfere with a good bonding of the
paint - my guess is that's your culprit.) BG-WKG 12/23/04 |
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