Replies

1. 
   peter28 | Oct 16, 2007 03:30pm | #1

   Michael,

   Milk paint is an interesting finish, sorry to hear about your dilemma.

   It's possible the film of paint was a bit too thin and that is why the grain is showing. It's hard to say without seeing it.

    I remember the article you spoke of. If I'm not mistaken, Mr. Dunbar wrote another a while later saying he no longer used an oil over the milk paint.

   When I have done milk paint finishes, the last thing I liked to do was to rub it down with a gray scotch pad for example,  to burnish the surface. It rubs down very nicely to a soft glow. I must admit I've never oiled a surface.

   It sounds like you'll need to bite the bullet and do it over. The linseed oil is the intangible here. You'll need to ask the paint company if the bonding agent will, in fact, lock it in. If not, I would apply a thin coat of shellac, in this case SealCoat (blonde shellac) to isolate the oil and then put the bonding agent over it.

   Personally  I would recommend you don't add another oil after it's done. If you were to do it though make a large sample first. You may find you need to add another coat of paint or maybe your mix was too thin etc.

   This is an unfortunate part of the finishing learning curve.

   Good luck and keep me posted.

   Peter  

    

1. 
   selbert | Oct 18, 2007 05:11pm | #2

   Peter,Thank you for your response. I am intending to take your advice and not use oil after repainting. For what it is worth, however, I had consulted the folks at Old Fashioned Milk Paint about this problem as well. They said that they recommended Tung Oil as a finish coat, if anything, but also questioned the need for using paint thinner and pretty strongly implied that they wouldn't use it.While I had tested a small area, I was hasty about completing the job and now it has taken much longer to complete. I wonder if I will ever learn.Thanks again,
   Michael Kite

1. 
   peter28 | Oct 19, 2007 10:14pm | #3

   Michael,

   "Will I ever learn?"

   You already have.

   I've used milk paint as a base and then various color washes over it to simulate dirt and grime but I have never used an oil, tung or otherwise. I really don't see the need for it.

   If you want to further darken the surface consider a colored wax judicially applied. Obviously the wax will contain some solvent that is an oil but it won't be as bad as adding a very wet coating as before.

   You could also consider glazing it with a water soluble glaze. You can find water glaze base in any good paint shop. To this uncolored base you can add small amounts of artist acrylics or latex paints to make color washes. This is where you can get very creative. Water based glazes dry very quickly so keep that in mind. Be sure and read the directions on the can.

   Many of the finishing books out there describe the glazing process. The key is to use a light touch and the right product for the job.

   Have fun

   Peter