Woodcraft Product Spotlight – Milk Paint

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Introducing General Finishes 2014 color palette for Milk Paint, adding 14 new colors to the premixed line it calls “furniture paint with soul.”  The popular high-tech

acrylic furniture and project finish can be mixed, lightened, distressed, glazed, layered for different colors and antiqued.  It’s perfect for unfinished furniture, upcycling or
repurposing furniture.  Available in 28 mixable colors.

Always test a small area first when going over other products to ensure the paint adheres well to the surface.  Before you start, carefully read the directions on the back of the can.  Test the color to ensure it’s what you want.  All the Milk Paints have a low luster sheen, are easy to apply, very durable, and all are rated for interior and exterior use.

Milk Paint is popular with DIY’ers as an inexpensive yet artistic way of transforming the look of a single piece of furniture or an entire room into something quite extraordinary.
Here are just a few examples of what you can do with General Finishes Milk Paints from Woodcraft,

Five cans of General Finishes water-based milk paint in colors Coral Crush, Klein Blue, Holiday Red, Patina Green, and
Milk paint color chart showing 24 labeled swatches including Antique White, Patina Green, Holiday Red, Coastal Blue, and
Wood dresser transformed into bathroom vanity with sink cutout and painted finish.

The dresser to bathroom vanity with Snow White Milk Paint is by Oregon Cottage, and the rocker was upcycled by High Style Restyle using Lamp Black Milk Paint.

Black-painted wooden rocking chair with spindle back and armrests on a patterned rug

Flippin Junk upcycles a mirror, and The Distressed Fleur De Lis gives an old table a new look using Patina Green & Snow White Milk Paints.

Two ornate wooden mirror frames, one gold and one painted turquoise with milk paint can labeled Patina Green in front
Before and after comparison of a hexagonal wooden table with carved fleur-de-lis top, showing natural wood finish and

Several colorful tables are done by Number Fifty-Three, (left).  Phoenix Restoration (top right) re-creates an end table in Klein Blue Milk Paint, and Restyled Vintage Design combines Java Gel and Linen White Milk Paint for a fresh yet old fashioned appeal.

Small wooden side table with barley twist legs shown in natural finish and painted green, black, and distressed blue
Two painted wooden furniture pieces showing milk paint finishes: a smooth blue side table with brass handles and a

In this video, General Finishes Tom Monahan explains the Chocolate Milk Paint, in comparison to the Java Gel application.

Vintage-style logo with a cow illustration and text reading The Genuine Old-Fashioned Home-Made Milk Paint
Boxes and containers of powdered milk paint in blue, yellow, and red with corresponding paint piles on a white surface

Additionally, Woodcraft offers Old Fashioned Milk Paint products.  This product comes in 20 colors and has a base with no pigment (you add your own).  Best for porous surfaces such as bare wood and raw masonry. (Adding Extra-Bond into first coat will help adhesion to most clean, sound non-porous surfaces.)  Packaged as a powder, you add water to make a pint, quart, or gallon. Additional information HERE.

You’ve got some ideas from the projects above.  There are a ton of DIY’er upcycling websites,Facebook pages, and plenty of other examples on Pinterest.   You can do this, and we’re here to Help You Make It All Work.  Show us what you upcycle, no holes barred, it’s all about your creativity!

auf Wiedersehen!…Frank

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