Milk paint - application, rub through finish, general tips

...piece of furniture and have not used it before. I'm going to lightly di= stress the maple, then apply a coat of deep red, then black, then some sort= of top-coat to seal it. I'd like to have a rub through finish in spots, t= hat will show a bit of the red, and a bit more of the natural maple underne= ath. Any suggestions? Can I spray this paint through my hvlp (4 stage Fuj= i)? Do I need a different tip? Is it worth it to spray, or should I just = brush it on, since I'm going to top-coat? Thanks for any suggestions. JP

I've never tried to spray it. Seems to be "authentic" it should have a few brushmarks :-).

OTOH, Generql Finishes makes a faux milk paint which is just acrylic in colors and sheen appropriate to real milk paint. I suspect it would spray OK.

distress the maple, then apply a coat of deep red, then black, then some so= rt of top-coat to seal it. I'd like to have a rub through finish in spots,= that will show a bit of the red, and a bit more of the natural maple under= neath. Any suggestions? Can I spray this paint through my hvlp (4 stage F= uji)? Do I need a different tip? Is it worth it to spray, or should I jus= t brush it on, since I'm going to top-coat? Thanks for any suggestions.

I have used it a lot just as you propose. Way to thick and granular to spra= y.

A few tricks\pointers:

1. You can apply a coat of shellac first. This will help to allow you to ru= b through to show the wood easier. It is just an option but something you c= an test.

1. I like to stain the wood first, then shellac, then paint, then rub.

2. A coat of shellac between paint coats can also help with seperation for = rub through.

1. Faux finishers tip is to rub a candle or other wax stick in a few locati= ons on top of the first color after it dries. Then after overpainting the s= econd color has dried, rub the waxed areas with scotch pad and paint will c= hip off where wax was. Great effect.

2. I know you aren't looking to do a crackel finish but it can be cool to d= o some spot crackle, maybe a few strips like an inch wide a few inches long= . Just paint on crackle underlay or elmers white glue diluted with water ov= er first color coat after it dries. Let the crackle mixture dry. When paint= ing the second color, paint over the crackle areas quickly so you don't we= t and mix the crackle underlay with the paint and in a few minutes as the n= ew paint startes to dry the crackle will appear.

1. You can use shellac as the final overcoat and rub it out with steel wool= to dull it a bit.

You can see one similar example, just a single color milk paint over pine r= ubbed and shellac overcoat dulled. On this page of my website, third row do= wn at the far righ, click to expand army green night stands.