Bonding agent by miss mustard seed’s milk paint
Miss Mustard Seed’s Milk Paint is a very simple type of paint. It has 5 basic ingredients – chalk, clay, limestone, pigments and powdered milk protein (called “casein”). This primitive style of paint is sold in powder form and is mixed with water. It does the “chippy” look like a champ, but some pieces are not suited to wear this kind of look. In those cases, a product called Bonding Agent is needed to help improve adhesion and prevent any paint from chipping away.
repainting my boxwood desk
To demonstrate how to use Bonding Agent, I’m going to show you how I repainted a kneehole desk.
Over a year ago, I finished this in a grassy green color called Boxwood.
While I thought the piece was pretty, it didn’t sell. Plus, those dated Chippendale ring pulls weren’t doing much for it in terms of style. Eventually, I took it home and plopped it in my basement workshop for over a year until I was inspired to re-work it.
Using Bonding agent
Because the Boxwood Milk Paint had chipped across the surface the first time I painted the desk, there was a strong possibility that it would happen again with a new coat of paint. So after separating the desk into 2 pieces and giving the surface a healthy scuff sanding (processes that took several hours and spanned multiple days), I mixed up a fresh batch of Miss Mustard Seed’s Milk Paint. This time, I used the color Trophy.
In addition to using a new color, I added a new product – Bonding Agent.
Bonding Agent is a water based acrylic emulsion that allows Miss Mustard Seed’s Milk Paint to adhere to metal, glass and painted, varnished or lacquered surfaces. It essentially improves the adhesive properties of Milk Paint, allowing it to stick to surfaces it wouldn’t be able to otherwise.
how to use bonding agent
Now that you know what Bonding Agent is and why you would need to use it, it’s time to learn how to use it!
If you’re still a bit fuzzy on exactly how much Bonding Agent you should squirt into your mixed Miss Mustard Seed’s Milk Paint, use a 1:2 ratio – 1 part Bonding Agent to 2 parts mixed MMS Milk Paint. Or basically use half the amount of Bonding Agent as paint that you’ve mixed up. So for example, if you have 1 cup of mixed paint, put in 1/2 a cup of Bonding Agent.
Using Bonding Agent will give a velvety luster to your Milk Paint. It makes it look a bit more modern, smooth and silky. It’s also nice to add in if you’re having trouble with a mixture of paint. Some mixes can be really gritty, and adding a bit of Bonding Agent helps smooth everything out.
trophy NIGHTSTANDS with bonding agent
The Bonding Agent worked beautifully on my nightstands. The Boxwood green was completely covered and all that’s left is a gorgeous layer of Trophy gray.
These nightstands are quite tall because they used to be the sides of my kneehole desk.
It’s really lovely seeing MMS Milk Paint looking smooth and modern. While this simple type of paint does the chippy look really well, it can also be uniform and full coverage.
Those outdated Chippendale ring pulls were swapped out for glass knobs (my personal favorite style).
Because the top of the desk wasn’t able to be reused, my friend Greg from The Furniture Fix helped me fashion new tops from two antique oak table leaves I had in my stash.
We attached them with pocket screws and I loved them just the way they were. All I added was a few coats of General Finishes High Performance Topcoat in Semi Gloss.
The wood grain is beautiful!
To round out the nightstands, my Mom helped me line the drawers with some wrapping paper in a modern gray print.
I typically don’t line the drawers of my pieces, but for this pair, I felt inspired.
This pair of nightstands will be coming with me to The Rusty Gold Antique and Artisan Show this Saturday, May 11th at The Lebanon Expo Center. I’ll be setting up a 10 x 20 space filled with fresh painted pieces, home decor, antiques, Miss Mustard Seed’s Milk Paint and General Finishes products.
The show runs from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM. If you’re local and able to make it out, I’d love to see you! I’ll also be doing a Miss Mustard Seed’s Milk Paint demonstration once things get rocking and rolling.
If you can’t make this market event, don’t fret. I’ll be coming back to the same location for another event – Witches Fly North – in October!
