Oh my – there i went and disappeared again!  I’m getting really good at that!

I hear crickets chirping – is anyone still reading this thing?!

But seriously – i introduce back  i think in July that i was coming out with my own line of milk paint and then i go missing….not the best move on my part but i have been so so busy!!  Sweet Pickins Milk Paint is going really well – good thing i have Facebook!  I just find Facebook so much easier these days – its just so quick!  Blogging is so not quick!

Anyways, as i was saying, Sweet Pickins Milk Paint is selling like crazy and we are having a hard time keeping the shelves stocked – that’s a good problem to have if you ask me!  I believe we are also in 8-9 stores right now too, even coming to Canada soon!  So – that’s super awesome to have my paint all over!!  I will be updating my site soon with all the retailer locations so watch for that :)

And did i even check in to tell you that my online store is up and running?  Yup, you can buy Sweet Pickins Milk Paint in the comfort of your underpants ;)

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Ok, Ok – finally getting to the 2nd part of the milk paint 101 post.  Well, i am going to talk about sanding after painting which i think is the most important step to a good finish.  Then we will get to the Extra Bond, waxing, glazing, top coating in other posts.

Remember the chest we left off with last time?  For a refresher since its been ions ago – see this Milk Paint 101 post here.

All caught up?

K – we left off with this chest that i painted with a couple coats of milk paint.  You can see in this pic that the paint in a lot of places is not exactly smooth looking.  I find that some colors over others, i will get these little chunks of paint.  But like i said, don’t worry about them because they will soon go away.

Every single time that you paint with milk paint, you must sand afterwards to smooth out the paint.  That’s one of the biggest mistakes i see with milk paint.  Milk paint when its dry is going to have a light texture, kind of a gritty chalky feeling.  And again – i notice that each color kind of paints a little different and some are a bit smoother to the touch than others.  Other things affect that though as well – how well you mixed it, how much water you did or didn’t add, your painting style, the brush you used, how many coats you painted, etc.

You really don’t want a gritty feeling piece of furniture right?  Plus it having any sort of texture will make waxing, glazing or top coating even harder.

A good painted and sanded piece will feel like butta!!

So – to smooth out the furniture you need to sand.  Wait until you have applied all the coats you need to and the piece is dry obviously.  Oh – and you can sand in between coats, but i don’t find it necessary.

Now – depending on the piece that i am doing i will either go with my orbital sander, or just use a sanding block.  A lot of times i use both on a piece.  If my piece has large flat areas i normally use the orbital sander on those and then a sanding block on the smaller detailed pieces or curves.

If, the milk paint is flaky and comes off easy, i just use a sanding block.  If the paint has stuck really well, i pull out the orbital sander.

I think sanding is pretty self explanatory but i have a few tips.  You for sure want to make sure on your orbital sander that you are using a fine grit paper – a 220 is perfect.  You don’t want to see those funny little sanding marks that you will get with a lower grit paper.  As for the sanding block – just a medium to fine is good.

In this case with the chest – the paint stuck really well and i really had to use my orbital sander to get the distressing in most parts.

If the paint was flaky, as was the case with this chair leg, i would just use the sanding block and rub away the flakes and then make sure the rest of the paint was smooth to the touch.

NOW – i get asked all the time, once the paint flakes are rubbed/sanded away, will the paint continue to chip/flake off – the answer is NO.  Once the paint is dry, whatever has flaked up already is all that’s going to chip off.  I’ve never had with the brand of paint that manufacturers Sweet Pickins Milk Paint ever continue to flake.  Once its dry, its done as long as you removed ALL of the initial flaky paint.  

During the sanding, all those little paint chunks and brush marks will just disappear and you will get a smooth as silk finish!  The feeling of milk paint is unlike any other paint – its has a very satiny smooth finish (as long as you have sanded it correctly).

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K – next post we will talk about the Extra – Bond!   And i so promise it will be in the next couple days – im making it my lifes mission not to up and disappear anymore!  I have SO MANY furniture projects to share!  In the meantime, to keep updated, you can always follow me on Facebook :)