misosouper, a shopping blog

Such a great idea!

We recently refinished an armoire for my daughter’s room. One concern I had was the off gassing and VOC in many paint finishes. I was thrilled to find “Original Milk Paint” in a neighborhood store selling bookshelves. Milk paint is obviously made from milk, it comes in a powder form and all you do is add water and mix. It is environmentally safe and does not give off any odors. The finish is transparent and gives furniture or walls a slightly aged appearance with a bit of transparency. The ingredients in the paint include: milk protein, lime, clay, and earth pigments such as ochre, umber, iron oxide, lampblack. The lime is alkaline (toxic) in powder form but becomes totally inert when mixed with the slightly acid milk. There is no lead, chemical preservatives, or fungicides. Milk paint contains no hydrocarbons or any other petroleum derivatives. We are thrilled with the results and my husband spent one entire weekend painting the armoire, as it needed two coats. I also plan to apply a paste wax finish to protect the paint and give it a pretty and subtle sheen. I choose Clapham’s Beeswax Polish. It is made in Canada with an old family recipe; museums and fine furniture refinishers use it. Best of all it has a slight lavender scent, but also comes in unscented if you are adverse to lavender.