Say Hello To MilkGrip™
Our MilkPaint™ adheres beautifully to porous surfaces like wood, brick, tile, etc. It may need a little extra help to stick on metal, glass, painted, varnished, and/or lacquered surfaces.
That’s why we have MilkGrip™ Indoor Bonding Agent! This water-based additive gives your MilkPaint™ the adhesion it needs to stick to those hard-to-paint surfaces.
Let’s dive into all of the in’s and out’s of this ultra handy (and ultra grippy) product!
What Is MilkGrip™ Exactly?
Excuse us while we put on our nerdy pants for a minute.
Ahem…
MilkGrip™ is a water-based concentrated acrylic emulsion that increases the adhesive properties of mixed Miss Mustard Seed’s MilkPaint™.
Nerdy pants aside, it’s essentially an extra additive that we have in our line that enables your MilkPaint™ to stick to surfaces like glass, metal, tile, porcelain, marble and extra shiny/glossy furniture. We sell it a-la-carte because we want you to have the freedom to choose whether or not you need MilkGrip™.
For example, if you want to turn a mirror into a chalkboard, then you’ll need to add MilkGrip™ into your mixed MilkPaint™. (We’ll show you how in a second.)
Conversely, if you’d like your MilkPaint™ to chip, then keep your MilkGrip™ on the shelf. Remember, it increases the adhesive properties, which is the opposite of the chippy look.
Make sense?
MMS MilkGrip™ Is Eco-Friendly
Like the other products in our line, MilkGrip™ is safe for you and the planet. It’s almost odorless, making it safe to use indoors. (We’re looking at you, furniture refinishers!) MilkGrip™ also has low VOC’s, so you can breathe easy knowing there are no harsh chemical fumes.
Best of all, MilkGrip™ is non-toxic and food-contact safe! All of you craftspeople out there can raise the roof because you now have a 100% natural system for safely refinishing your handmade goods. Our MilkPaint™, MilkGrip™, MilkMix-EZ™ drops, MilkOil™ and MilkWax-ECO™ are ALL FOOD-CONTACT SAFE!
How To Use MilkGrip™
Ready to get your ‘Grip™ on? Here’s how!
Step 1 - Prep Your Project
Prep Clean
MilkGrip™ (and MilkPaint™ for that matter) won’t adhere to anything greasy oily or dirty. Start the prep process by cleaning the surface of your indoor use project.
(Did you catch that? MilkGrip™ Indoor/Bonding Agent is designed for interior use projects. For outdoor projects, use our MilkGrip™ Outdoor/Preservation Additive.)
Scrub the surface with a degreasing soap, like Dawn®, and water. You can also use TSP if you wish. If you do, make sure you do an extra rinse before moving on to the next step.
Prep Sand
Grab some sandpaper (150, 180 or 220 grit) and gently scuff sand the surface. The goal of a scuff sanding is to break the seal on the existing finish. You’re not trying to remove everything that’s on there. Just gently rough it up a bit and give it some “tooth”.
Oh, and make sure you wear a mask!
Step 2 - Mix Your MilkPaint™
Grab your chosen color of MilkPaint™ and open up the pouch. We’re using Ink Blue (formally named Artissimo). This is a rich and moody shade of blue, reminiscent of ink flowing out from an old fashioned fountain pen.
Add your desired amount of powder to your cup. This is 4 heaping tablespoons.
Next, add the same amount of water. We added 4 overflowing tablespoons of water.
If you recall, in our MilkMix-EZ™ post, we explained how the mixing process is a bit different because we have a much finer grind of powder. The stirring process takes a little bit longer, but you can use our MilkMix-EZ™ drops to help break the surface tension between the powder and water.
You can see that in the photo below. The powder is just sitting on top of the water.
These little drops are going to fix that!
Using a spoon, we mixed gently stirred for a few minutes and everything came together.
Step 3 - Add MilkGrip™
Next, add your MilkGrip™ in a ratio of 4 parts mixed MilkPaint™ to 1 part MilkGrip™.
Since we mixed up 4 tablespoons of MilkPaint™, we added 1 tablespoon of MilkGrip™.
To figure out how much you need to add, take the amount of MilkPaint™ you mixed up and divide it by 4. So if you mixed up 1 cup of paint, add 1/4 cup of MilkGrip™.
Make sense?
Now if you want an extra insurance policy for your MilkPaint™ to stick, use a 1 to 1 ratio. So if you mixed up 1 cup of MilkPaint™, you’d add 1 cup of MilkGrip™.
Our new MilkGrip™ does not change the color of your paint in the cup. It may go in a little milky white at first, but it turns clear as you mix. You’ll see how this batch of Ink Blue turned out at the end of this blog post. It’s as dreamy and inky as it should be!
We grabbed a battery-powered hand mixer to whip everything together in our batch of Ink Blue. There wasn’t any foam, because the MilkMix-EZ™ drops also serve as an anti-foaming agent.
No more MilkPaint™ lattes!
More About MMS MilkGrip™
MilkGrip™ essentially turns your mixed MilkPaint™ into a colored adhesive primer. We recommend mixing MilkGrip™ into every coat of paint you apply on your project for optimal adhesion.
As an alternative method of use, you can apply a thin layer of MilkGrip™ directly on your cleaned and scuffed project BEFORE you apply paint. Pour some out into a cup and literally apply it right on your project using a paint brush or roller.
Let it dry for 2 hours, and then begin brushing on your chosen color of MilkPaint™.
When it’s time to wash up, clean your applicator tools with soap and water. Since MilkGrip™ is water-based, this step is a breeze!
