My first Milk Paint! GO BOLD, or go home!

So excited to show this dresser. (For you color haters, I'm afraid you will gasp in absolute shock!)

This was my first time using milk paint. I have been coveting the color of a dresser that I saw months ago from Stiltskin Studios. It's the cobalt color antique dresser off to the right side of their page.  

Anyhoo......When the UPS man showed up, it was like Christmas!! I'm sure he thinks I'm an

absolute lunatic. I do a happy dance every time he brings me packages.  Whatever. 

I got all these goodies from the Real Milk Paint Co.  This is my first time using

any milk paint product, but after seeing how this came out, it's not my last! 

The wreck below was just that. A wreck. Showed every bit of it's 90+years.

Hubs shored her up from the back. 

Now those of you that have seen my other stuff, know I usually preserve the wood tops. Not happening on this baby. Why people insist on carving into their furniture or leaving it outside to get wet and warped is beyond me....I sanded quite a bit and put a fresh coat of stain on the top and drawers.  This was before I thought about what color I was going to do.  Enter Milk Paint!  This paint loves bare wood and this baby was stripped to bare bones.  Perfectamundo!
                                                     

Ready?? Put on some sunglasses.......

HOLEY MOLEY BATMAN!

PHOTO ALERT......Grab a snack and a cup 'o joe,,,lots o' pictures ahead.

Guh-head....I'll wait. 

                         

                                    Cobalt Blue is my all time fave color. 
                                                   
 I have it throughout my yard......

This is one of our three koi ponds. The outside of our house is a Mediterranean/Spanish style and this pond is in the front patio/courtyard .  I had the wall stuccoed and then painted it this vibrant cobalt. The rest of the house is a rich gold with hints of terra-cotta. I know a lot of people just cringe at these colors. But hey, I love bold!  My yard is filled with flowers and plants with vibrant foliage.  I'm just coordinating with nature!

This is the side patio with the smaller pond for the smaller koi. 

Saltillo tile inlaid with hand painted Mexican Talavera tile....in cobalt and marigold of course!

Cobalt color
glass mosaic
 tile line the
 back drop
  for the
  waterfall.




To the right
is the largest
of the ponds.
There is a
sprinkling
of cobalt
in the pots and flowers around the pond.

  Just a pic of one of one of my favorite guys.  No, he isn't cobalt. I like him anyway. 

        Back to my dresser......

Painting with milk paint is almost identical to chalk paint.  I'm used to mixing my homemade chalky paint, so mixing this was no biggie. Simple directions. The rep at the company told me it will keep in the refrigerator for a few weeks. It will thicken, so just add some water before using.  Good to know!

I kept all the original hardware. Shined and polished and some parts were sprayed a bit. 

After sanding I wipe the whole thing down with naphtha. (I have to buy it in the neighboring state..Calif is sooooo air conscience)

"Judy" was kind enough to model the before and after drawers.

So. This is the second coat.  The first coat was, um, scary. The wood just soaked it up. I had an "oh-oh" moment. Until I read that is normal. The 2nd coat goes on like a thick latex paint and you can actually see the color. It dries just like chalk paint.

Here is the top after one coat of paint and sanding. 

 This is during the 2nd coat.  Just so you know, Milk Paint will not "fill in" any cracks or divots, you must apply wood filler to those prior to painting.

This paint dries super fast. You can seriously knock the whole thing out from start to sealing in a few hours. Instead of sealing with wax, the manufacturer recommends natural tung oil (or their burnishing paste). It's completely non-toxic, same as the milk paint.
Tung oil is very thick so I thinned it with their citrus solvent (also non-toxic) to make it spreadable. You can use mineral spirits if you want, but that will remain toxic until the spirits evaporate.  It's the same with the paste wax. The solvents are added to make the wax pliable. After the solvents evaporate, you are left with your hardened wax. 

After applying the oil, the color deepens. They recommend 3-4 coats of oil. This was one. 

The oil goes on very easily. You put on a thick layer, let it soak in for about 30 mins, and wipe off.
Depending on how porous the wood is, will determine how many coats of oil. It's a lot easier than waxing. However, you can still apply a coat of wax over the oil finish if you desire a more polished appearance.  If you look at their website, they give you how-to's on their products.   

The tung oil is great for many things. It revives any type of wood. The tung oil they sell at Real Milk Paint company, is 100% pure oil.  I know you have all seen the tung oil, Danish oil, etc, at HD or Lowes,,,read the label,,,it says tung oil finish, Danish Oil Finish.....very little if any natural tung oil or Danish oil. That stuff is filled with solvents and other nasty smelling stuff.  Don't ever use that finish stuff inside of drawers. The smell will transfer onto clothing or whatever you are keeping inside.   

This was not the mirror that came with the dresser.  I had this from a previous piece and the owner 

did not want it. 

I played around with the other two colors I ordered. I painted them on first and then layered over 

both with the ultramarine. When I sanded, I got peeks of the turquoise and cobalt (they call it 

cobalt but it looks like aqua).  These pics really don't do it justice. The layering effects are 

gorgeous!

I will be lining the drawers with this fabric.

I wanted to get a few pics without the mirror. 

Doesn't it go great with the Mexican patio I have?? And my mosaic pot I made years ago??

If you are wondering if this color has been photoshopped,,,the answer is no.  This is really
what it looks like. Definitely not for the faint of heart! 

Adios Muchachos!  

Thanks for visiting. 

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