So, how did my first experience with milk paint go? ย Ummm…not good.
I mean, there are parts of it that are not horrible. But, this was definitely not the look I was going for. I wanted to control the distressing, and instead the milk paint chipped so badly that I was left with a half painted nightstand. I tried to recover it using antiquing wax (on the door), and that just made it ten times worse. ย Sigh.
I started out so very hopeful about this project (see previous post). I had my Miss Mustard Seed’s Milk Paint in Layla’s Mint and other supplies all ready to go. In the end I decided not to use the wax puck (thank goodness), because there would have been even less paint on the nightstand!
Prepping the Nightstand
I had roughly sanded up my nightstand so that the milk paint would adhere, as was recommended by many sources. ย The bubble on the top of the nightstand was easily sanded away, too.
Mixing Up the Milk Paint
I mixed up the milk paint using a hand blender (which was recommended by many milk paint users), and let it sit for the required 15 minutes. This milk paint is definitely thinner than other paints I am used to working with.
The First Coat
Here is the nightstand after the first coat. ย Marian from Miss Mustard Seed always says to have patience with the first coat, because it won’t look good. ย The second coat is where the magic happens. ย I was feeling pretty good about the way things were going at this point.
But here is where things went terribly wrong. ย After the first coat dried, I found areas of paint literally falling off in sheets.
More Coats
It was like that all over the piece. ย [Insert lots of profanity here.] ย So, I sanded off the chipping paint and sanded the area some more, figuring that it just wasn’t roughย enough in some spots for the milk paint to adhere. ย I applied a few more coats.
The second and third coats continued to chip! And then I had to mix up another batch of milk paint, and the color just did not match. ย Grrrrrrr! ย See the color difference in the picture below?
So, I cried a little bit and gave up for the day. ย I knew I had to salvage this project somehow, so I decided to give milk paint another try and order the Miss Mustard Seed’s Bonding Agent, which would ensure the paint would stick the next time. ย I also had to order another batch of the milk paint itself (Layla’s Mint).
Next Steps
I’ve re-sanded down the chipped areas, and I’m hoping the milk paint and bonding agent will be able to cover the nightstand completely. ย I admit I’m not feeling very confident about how this is going to turn out, but I’m willing to give it another shot.
I’ll write another update once I try again with the bonding agent. ย This experience has been soooooo frustrating, but I guess that’s just the way these things go sometimes. ย Milk Paintย Tip forย Readers: Always use the bonding agent with milk paint, so that you control the distressing process!
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