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Oldest is sometimes safest! Finishing furniture safely.Oct 25 '01 Write an essay on this topic.
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The Bottom Line As far as safety goes, milk paint is a great idea. It doesn't chip or peel; so it's ultimately safe to use around the little ones.
I have been on a quest, recently, to make our home more environmentally friendly, and to cut down on the number of scary chemicals I use there. My latest conquest is our new entertainment center; made of unfinished pine, it is huge, and incredibly heavy, and with the nasty weather in these parts, I knew I had to finish it outdoors. The thought of traditional stinky varnishes and stains made my head spin. I was browsing around on the internet, looking for a safe indoor solution, and stumbled on to milk paint. Apparently, people have been using milk paint for time immemorial. In the old days, folks would pay a painter to come to their home and mix the finish they wanted. These days, you can order it online! You buy it in powder form; it's a mixture of lime, casein (found in milk), clay, and pigment. When you open the package, you combine it with water in a one-to-one ratio, and stir it up. Voila! You have milk paint. Since it's made of such natural ingredients, milk paint doesn't emit dangerous fumes when you're using it. In my experience, the pine scent of the wood was far stronger than the paint itself. Speaking of air quality, there's no need to worry about sawdust or sanding with milk paint. If you're amenable to a rougher finish (as I was) there's no need for any sanding with milk paint. I used a wet cloth to rub down the piece, and raise the grain of the wood. That's all I needed! The milk paint containers warn that the lime in the paint can irritate the skin on contact; but I didn't have any trouble with it at all. Milk paint also doesn't require any special equipment. You can use any paintbrush, roller, or sprayer. I mixed mine in an old plastic cup. This paint doesn't splatter much, either. I completed my entire project without a drop out of place, by putting newspaper on the floor around my work. As it turned out, the newspaper didn't get painted at all, either. Milk paint soaks into the surface quickly, so you have more control of it than you would with latex. You also don't need to use any awful, smelly primers with milk paint. The first coat will do it for you, if you're painting on bare wood. It's not just wood, though. You can use milk paint on many different surfaces, including fresh wallboard. I will definitely try that next time I have fresh walls. When I mixed the paint, I was a little concerned because it doesn't combine homogeneously. It was a bit lumpy - but I trusted the directions, and started to paint. I'm not an experienced woodworker, but I was amazed at how easily the finish went on. I followed the grain of the wood, and basically smeared the paint as evenly as I could. My first coat soaked into the pine very nicely; I could have left it that way, if I wanted the lighter finish. I was going for a nice soldier blue, though, so I opted for another coat. I used a Q-tip to fill in the dovetailed corners where my paintbrush wouldn't reach, and then put a nice clear coat over the top, to keep moisture from fouling the paint. Done! I couldn't believe how easy it was. Milk painting is a very quick process, too. By the time I finished my first coat, I was able to start my second. The entire project took less than 2 hours. The only downside to milk paint is that you can't change your mind later. The paint soaks into the wood, and an ordinary paint thinner won't touch it. Also, if you somehow manage to get milk paint where it shouldn't be, it will be very hard to remove. It's like a dye more than a paint, in a lot of ways. The end result of milk painting for me turned out really well! The finish is smooth and slightly lustrous, and the wood grain is delicately visible underneath. Other folks (more artistic than myself) have used crackle coats and fancy sanding and polishing techniques to achieve all sorts of different looks. If you'd like to create your own personal antique, this seems to be a great way to do it. When you're thinking about your kids' safety, especially infants and toddlers, milk paint seems to me to be a great idea. It doesn't chip or peel; so it's ultimately safe to use around the little ones. It's also all-natural, and won't fill your house with fumes while you're applying it. If you want information on milk paint, check out www.milkpaint.com . There is a list of dealers there, as well as some hints on how to use it best.  |
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