Gray is my favorite shade to use when I’m refinishing furniture! It’s calming, soothing and matches just about any style of home decor including coastal, transitional, modern farmhouse and contemporary. General Finishes and Miss Mustard Seed have the most beautiful shades of gray paint and stains to choose from. Here are 5 ways you can use their gray paint and stains on your next refinishing project!
1. General Finishes Milk Paint Shades of Gray
In the General Finishes Milk Paint line, there are several beautiful shades of gray – all ranging in depth, warmth and richness.
Here’s an overview of their colors from lightest to darkest.
Perfect Gray is one color that I have used A LOT in the past, because it quite literally is the perfect shade of gray!
2. Miss Mustard Seed’s Milk Paint Shades of Grays
Miss Mustard Seed’s Milk Paint is a true powdered Milk Paint. It is mixed with water and can do the chippy look. If you’re unfamiliar with this type of product, check out my blog post that compares Miss Mustard Seed’s Milk Paint (a true powdered milk paint) with General Finishes Milk Paint (a pre-mixed acrylic paint).
Here are the gorgeous shades of gray in the MMS Milk Paint collection:
Of all these gorgeous hues, my favorites are Grain Sack and Aviary. I have them all over my home!
3. General Finishes Gray Oil and Water-Based Stains
Now that we’ve covered the shades of gray Milk Paint in the General Finishes line, let’s take a look at the gray stain options offered in this collection.
Carbon Gray Oil-Based Gel Stain Gray Oil-Based Gel Stain Ash Gray Oil-Based Gel Stain Onyx Water-Based Wood Stain Graphite Water-Based Wood Stain Graystone Water-Based Wood Stain
As you can see, General Finishes has cleverly given you water AND oil based options for every shade. For example, Ash Gray is the oil-based equivalent of water-based Graystone.
My personal favorite gray stain to use is Graystone!
4. Zinc Wax by Miss Mustard Seed’s Milk Paint
If you want to add touches of gray to your Miss Mustard Seed’s Milk Painted pieces, consider using Zinc Wax.
This tinted wax is a beautiful metallic gray that mimics the look of the zinc metal tops you’d find on primitive antiques.
You can apply this wax in all sorts of different patterns including cross-hatching, stippling and swirls. Here’s an example of Zinc Wax over Typewriter Milk Paint applied in a criss-cross pattern. You could even splash some drops of white Milk Paint over top and add some nail trim to mimic the look of the antique zinc table!
This cedar chest was refinished using Artissimo Milk Paint by Miss Mustard Seed with Zinc Wax stippled on top. (Stippling is pouncing your brush up and down, almost like a tattoo needle.)
You can see the stippled pattern in this close-up shot.
Dreamy, right?!
5. Mixing Antiquing and White Waxes by Miss Mustard Seed’s Milk Paint
Did you know you can mix Antiquing Wax with White Wax to get your own custom shade of gray?
You can play with the ratios to make whatever shade of gray you wish. It’s completely customizable!
Here’s an example of that custom wax color:
Jenn’s Gray Refinished Furniture
Here are some of my favorite projects I’ve refinished using different combinations of gray Milk Paints and stains!
Now it’s your turn!
Pick your favorite combination of gray tinted products and let your creativity run wild!
