How To Prep Slick Surfaces

Milk Paint 101Techniques Tips and TricksTutorials
Written By Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint Team

How many of you have a piece of furniture in your house right now with a super glossy and slick finish? We’re talking about the factory-finished-high-gloss-formal-dining-room kind of furniture from the late 1980’s - early 1990’s.

We’re staring at a few choice pieces over in our neck of the woods too!

So how do you get Miss Mustard Seed’s® MilkPaint™ to adhere to a finish that feels as smooth as an ice skating rink? Do you have to power sand it down to the bare wood? Go to town with a super aggressive piece of sandpaper? Get out the goopy chemical stripper?

Nope!

All that’s needed is a good ‘ol fashioned cleaning and a light scuff sand.

Let’s dive in and see how it’s done, shall we?

 
 

Supplies Needed For Prep Work:

Before we dive into the “how”, let’s make sure you have the “what”. Here are all of the supplies you’ll need to prep a slick and shiny surface for a new MilkPaint™ finish.

  • Maroon Scotch-Brite Pad (Not the green ones you probably have under your sink right now.)

  • 150 Grit Sandpaper

  • TSP Powder/Liquid (You can find this in the paint aisle of your local hardware store.)

  • 2 Plastic Spray Bottles

  • Water

  • Denatured Alcohol (You can find this in the paint aisle of your local hardware store.)

  • Lint-Free Shop Towels (We love the blue ones in a roll, or the white ones in a box. Guess where you can find them? Yup! The paint aisle.)

MilkGrip™ To The Rescue!

Aside from a seriously thorough cleaning and scuff sanding, the other magic ingredient for painting a shiny finish is our MilkGrip™ Indoor Bonding Agent. You can read all about it here.

 
 

Mixing this into your MilkPaint™ will increase it’s adhesive properties and grip that shiny surface like a champ.

Prepping A Slick & Shiny Surface Tutorial Video

Now that you’ve got all your supplies, here’s how we recommend you go about prepping your slick and shiny piece for a MilkPaint™ finish:

 
 

A Side Table In Typewriter With MilkGrip™ And Hemp Oil

After a few coats of Typewriter MilkPaint™ with MilkGrip™ mixed in, our little side table was looking pretty good! To bring out the super rich color of Typewriter, we sealed the piece with MilkOil™.

 
Table top painted in Typewriter Milk Paint, Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint
 

How many of you have a piece like this sitting in your house? Have you driven past them on the side of the road? Hopefully now, you can tackle these slick’sters with confidence!

 
How to prep a slick and shiny surface to be painted, Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint
 
Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint Team

Miss Mustard Seed’s® Milk Paint is a story about a love of milk paint that is growing with each bag sold, each workshop taught, each piece of furniture that is transformed. It is a story that starts with natural ingredients, when it's mixed with water and the color of the pigments come to life, it becomes our very favorite paint in the world. We hope it becomes your favorite too.

Join us as we Move Mountains with Milk Paint™!

- The Miss Mustard Seed's® Milk Paint Team

Connect with us on social media! @mmsmilkpaint

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