76 Finishing the Windsor chairs with milk paint 2 of 2

Today we finish the Windsor Chairs we built last week, using a traditional finish called milk paint.

[@TheOnGridHomestead1]

I like your new video intro. The milk paint is an interesting idea for a finish which I've never tried myself. I like the look because it gives your chair a nice antique look. It sure looked like it was time consuming though. Hopefully you'll be able to fix the finish on your other chair.

[@MemphisApplegate]

I guess milk paint is one of the traditional finishes for chairs and other furniture from back in the day. I had never heard of it, but I guess it is used a lot in traditional craft-type projects. However, I can say it is wonderful stuff. Covers and works like a dream. It sure does give an antique look, doesn't it. It was time consuming, but most of my time was consumed experimenting and learning. After the prototype fail I launched into a learning frenzy, as I only had one prototype and it was used up. I'm guessing the time equation would be about equal with poly for a non-rookie, considering each coat of poly should be sanded out, and there are many hours between coats. I was going to send that prototype to the dumpster, but the wife really likes it!!! I know!! I don't get it either. Different splay on all the legs; all the spindles are different from one another; and the finish is a disaster. But she likes it. On Grid, thanks for watching. Oh, and that was a pretty fancy intro; Too fancy for old Memphis?

[@TheOnGridHomestead1]

***** I don't know a lot about mile paint, but apparently at one time it was made with milk and different pigments. I don't know if what we have now has any milk products in it, but for some time now milk paint seems to have come back into style. I'm glad you didn't send the prototype to the dumpster. It looks like it's a really nice chair and I'm sure you'll find a way to save it if you haven't already. BTW, the intro wasn't too fancy, it was perfect.

[@PidasianHippie]

I love the intro! It looks like you put a lot of work into it. Also, it is short enough that I won't be trying to skip over it to get to the video. (Not that I would do that on one of your videos. I would just use that time to get up and get another beer. Hahhah) I know you mentioned milk paint in last weeks video, but I had never heard of it before then. Is it very expensive? It sure didn't seem to take very much to complete the chair. Most of the time new wood really sucks up the finish and you end up using a lot. The chair turned out beautiful. No wonder your wife confiscated them. Did you do any touch ups to the prototype chair or is she using it as is? You should really be proud of this project. Most people would have to "apprentice" with another wood worker to be able to undertake such a project, but you tackled this on your own and mastered it.

[@MemphisApplegate]

No work on the intro. There are outfits that sell these intros for about $15 on the internet. Pick one; pick the pictures; type in the title, and bingo, they send you the video file. I'd never heard of milk paint either, but I guess it is pretty common in antique and retro furniture. It covers better than any paint I've ever used, and seems to work even better on bare wood. I offered to fix up the prototype, but she likes it just the way it is!!! I kind of apprenticed with myself, starting with the chairs we repaired a few months ago, then building the steamer and forms, then a week stumbling through the prototype. By then I had practiced building all the parts in the chair several times, so by the final build I felt confident. No pressure of filming. But the finishing with the milk paint was different, as you saw in this video, as I kept trying to figure the process out. I thought the finishing was going to be easier, but I was wrong. Did you make it to the Air and Space Museum? Thanks for watching and commenting. I look forward to your comments every week.

[@PidasianHippie]

***** I would say you got your money's worth on the intro. It is very professional. The one thing that struck me was how good the paint covered in one coat. It seems like it could be a very versatile product giving you a different look according to how you apply it and sand it down with the steel wool. Will you have to periodically redo the oil and wax coats? This is what I was talking about. You were able to teach yourself how to do the steps needed to build this chair. I am sure you had resources such as KZbin to learn the steps, but most people would actually need a person there to answer questions. You just went out to the shop and answered your questions by doing it and learning from the mistakes. I wish I could be more like that. Did you notice a big difference in the paint between kinds of wood like you would with some of the other stains you have used in the past? I bet the next time you use milk paint it will be a lot easier for you. There is a learning curve for everything. Yes I did make it to the Air and Space Museum and walked around like a kid in a candy store. If it had just been my older brother and myself, I am sure we would have been there all day, but the others weren't as enthralled as we were. However, my younger brother was a radar tech on the Nimitz and gave us a good tour of the air craft carrier area. That was quite interesting to learn about. The great span of technology in less than a century is what struck me the most. Just a few steps from the Spirit of St. Louis was a display of unmanned drones. Just think about it, the first plane to fly non-stop across the Atlantic is in the same place as a plane that is flown in the Middle East from a control room somewhere on this side of the Atlantic. Do you remember seeing the wooden chest that Amelia Earhart's husband had built for her? Unfortunately, I had taken so many pictures by that time that my battery was dead on my phone. It was beautifully carved in an Art Deco style with wings on the corners. Sorry about writing so much but I really enjoyed this museum. I will go back there again. To top off the trip, older brother and I went to Arlington in the morning before we came home. It was pouring rain, but that didn't put a damper on any of it. It is a very special place with a lot of history to learn about. And, No. We didn't get to see the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. We got there just as the one guard was leaving after the other had taken his place.