Milk Paint Recipe 2

Yellow plus blue equals green

The body of this box is painted with a custom green milk paint that I made.

Judged by how often I use it, green is my favorite color. It certainly goes well with the North American hard- and softwoods that I use when making furniture and boxes. It’s also the first custom color that I made by mixing different milk paint colors together. I don’t recall why I made a green when Old Fashioned Milk Paint Co. sells several different green paints, but I suspect it’s because I wanted some green but was too impatient to order it and then wait for delivery. In the years since that first custom mix, I’ve probably made 10 different custom greens. I shared one not too long ago.

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The first custom green that I mixed was based on elementary color theory: Add green and blue together to create green. I’ve seen many different recipes for making green from yellow and blue, and they are a different than the first one I used. I know I didn’t do it wrong, because I got green, so it seems that exact ratio is not critical as long as it’s in the ballpark. Here’s mine.

• 1 part Marigold Yellow

• 1 part Federal Blue

I love the shade of green this produces, and it’s the one I use the most often. I mix the powder dry and then mix the paint. The dry powder is generally close to what the paint looks like after it has dried and been sanded. I recommend sanding milk paint between coats and after the last coat. If you want to bring back the darker color, top it with shellac or something like Watelox or Osmo. I don’t use boiled linseed oil or anything like it, because it tends to muddy or cloud over time.

I love that when you sand a custom mix of milk paint, you sometimes get the ingredient colors showing through. Here it’s a bit of white from a mix of white, yellow, and blue.

If you don’t like this green, but still would like to make your own, you can change it a few ways. First, you can use a different yellow or blue. Instead of Federal Blue, use Soldier Blue, or replace Marigold with Lemon Drop. Second, you can first mix the yellow or blue with white. When it comes to milk paint, I use either Oyster White, Buttermilk, or Light Cream to lighten colors. The Snow White color is just too cold for me. You can also darken it by adding black. By changing the ratios of the colors mix, you are able to create a wide range of tints and shades based on the hue.

The touch of green hidden in the pull recess compliments the Douglas fir and blue fabric.

Making your own paint colors is pretty easy. All you really need is some paint and a bit of courage. There’s nothing to lose. If you don’t like the color at first, just add some more white, green, or blue.

Thanks for reading, and subscribing. I appreciate that you take time from your life to read my somewhat esoteric thoughts about furniture making. Of course, if you really like it, please consider becoming a paid subscriber.

One final note: I am going to Sweden soon for a 10 day vacation, and I doubt I’ll be able to post when I am there, but I’ll try to schedule a post or two for that time.