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How to Make Milk Paint
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Now almost forgotten by home decorators, milk paint was
used in ancient Egypt and colonial America. With its
translucent patina, this non-toxic paint gives furniture and
walls a color-washed appear. Discover milk paint for
yourself and learn how to make it at home.
Milk paint is a non-toxic paint that
lets off no fumes and grants furniture and walls an antique,
translucent patina. Used as far back as ancient Egypt, milk
paint is perhaps not a new invention but certainly one worth
rediscovering.
Made with… you guessed it, milk, the
non-toxic alternative that milk paint offers home decorators
uses milk to bind pigments together instead of polymers,
which are found in the more common, home decorating latex
paints.
Today milk paint is often used by
craftsmen, because of its beautiful, antique colonial feel.
For home decorators who are looking for a non-toxic paint
alternative, milk paint is an excellent choice, especially
for vintage, shabby chic or cottage style decorating, which
encapsulating the memory of days gone by.
You can buy ready-made milk paint at
MilkPaint.com, but you can also make milk paint at home. The
following recipe for milk paint comes from Martha Stewart
(see references). Simple to make, this recipe will render
enough milk paint to cover a large piece of furniture or one
wall.
How to Make Milk Paint
To make milk paint you will need: a
lemon, 1 quart of milk, 2 large bowls, a cheese cloth, dry
color pigment (from an art supply store),
Step 1. In a large
bowl, mix the juice from one large lemon with 1 quart of
skim milk.
Step 2.
Leave the mixture overnight (at room temperature) to allow
the milk to curdle from the lemon acid.
Step 3. Rest a cheese
cloth over a large bowl and secure it loosely with a large
rubber band. Pour the mixture onto the cheese cloth. The
solid curds will remain trapped on the cheese cloth, while
the liquid whey will trickle into the bowl.
Step 4. Pour away the
liquid whey and place the curd in the bowl.
Step 5. Put on a
protective mask to avoid inhaling pigment powder. Add 4
tbsp. of dry color pigment to the curd. Mix until the color
pigment and curd become one.
And that’s it. Your milk paint is
done. It will have a sour scent when wet, but this will
disappear once the paint dries. Be sure to use your homemade
milk paint immediately. After a few hours, milk paint will
go bad.
References:
1. Milk Paint.com: Authentic Finish
2. Martha Stewart’s Living Magazine:
Ask Martha, Homemade Milk Paint. May 2007, #162, p. 40.
Questions? Comments?
Drop me a line.
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