Chippy Finish With Milk Paint – Guest Post from 2 Little Superheros

Hi everyone!

I’m on a little blogging vacation this week and some of my fabulous blogging buddies are filling in for me. Make sure you check out their amazing creativity over at their blogs, and please make sure you tell them where you’re visiting from!

First up is Danielle from 2 Little Superheros!

Like Shanna I love to refinish old furniture. I found this piece last year at a flea market for $40. It was in rough shape but nothing a little milk paint couldn’t fix.

I’ve used milk paint a handful of times (kitchen shelf, toy cabinet). And I know milk paint is supposed to be unpredictable. But if I’m going to go to all that trouble and expense to use milk paint, I want it to chip. Like really, really, really chip.

I’ve only been able to get milk paint to chip this way once before.

The other times I’ve tried to help the milk paint along by sanding, scrapping, spraying with water, leaving it in the sun, and I even used a blow dryer on it once thinking the heat would help the chipping process. But none of that has worked. Until I stumbled upon this little trick today. I can’t believe I didn’t think of this before.

I’ve had this cabinet sitting in my garage for exactly a year. This was the same cabinet I striped using a garbage bag, you can read all about that process here.

Anyways, have you seen the new milk paint line from Sweet Pickens yet? Well it’s awesome. And much cheaper than other brands. I paid only $14 for 6 oz (which is more than enough to paint a large dresser). I ordered some this week and thought the Sea Green would be the perfect paint for this little cabinet.

I loved working with Sweet Pickins milk paint. It mixed up so easily. With other brands it always seems too runny or too thick and I can never get it right.

It immediately began to chip. But not as much as I wanted.

And this is when I discovered the perfect method for getting the paint to peel. I had used Frog Tape when painting the insets of the cabinets with Miss Mustard Seed Grain Sack and when I pulled the tape off it gave me the perfect aged look. Took off just the right amount of paint.

So that’s what I did, just took strips of painters tape, stuck them all over and ripped them off. Just like a band-aid.

You can also wrap some tape around your hand (I swear I have a pinky finger in this photo), sticky side out. And lightly tape it along the parts of the cabinet that you want to age.

On the parts that had already flaked I used a putty knife to easily scrape that paint off (no need to waste Frog Tape on that).

I had to sand the really intricate parts.

And of course finish with some furniture wax. Sweet Pickins also sells her own versions, I just already had this in my stockpile. But once it’s gone, I’ll be buying Sweet Pickins.