Imagine that you’ve mixed up your absolute favorite light shade from our collection. You’re in the middle of a furniture painting project, and your first coat is drying.

All of a sudden, you notice stains appearing all over the surface of your beautiful project! Some are pink while others are brown. There are rings, streaks and splotches.

You try to apply coat after coat of paint, but they keep coming back!

What’s a furniture painter to do?!

Have no fear, fellow Milk Paint lover! We’ve got a fabulous tutorial to help you when you find yourself in a pickle like this one.

Video Tutorial - What Is Bleed-Through And How Can You Fix It?

MMSMP Team Member, Jenn Baker, recently went live on our Facebook page to discuss this pesky little problem known as bleed-through.

During the broadcast, Jenn covered the following topics:

• What is bleed-through?

• What causes bleed-through?

• How can you prevent it from happening?

• How can you troubleshoot it when it occurs mid-project

• BONUS - Tips for how to get a bright white paint finish!

In addition to this Facebook live, we’ve written an extensive blog post that summarizes what Jenn showed in the video. You can check that out by clicking the image below.

What Happens When You Can’t Control Bleed-Through?

Try as you may, sometimes, you’ll come across a piece where the bleed-through cannot be controlled. As you throw every trick in the book at it, the piece spits it right back. You want it to be white, and yet it keeps turning pink.

Again…what’s a furniture painter to do?!

First of all, we totally understand if you want to drag it to the curb and cry in a corner. We’ve been there!

Every furniture painter will eventually come across THAT piece that gives them a super hard time. It’s normal and we’ve all battled with our fair share of troublemakers. So rest assured, you’re in good company!

The fact is, not every piece of furniture can be painted white (or some other light shade). Some simply can’t accommodate the bright finish we have in mind. In the end, you may need to change your design plan and pick a darker color.

Such was the case with Jenn’s washstand. Her goal was to paint it in Ironstone, but stains wouldn’t stop appearing on the surface. Luckily, we have a gorgeous assortment of rich colors, and she decided to use one that fit the decor in her home office - Ink Blue (previously named Artissimo).

Pivoting From Ironstone To Ink Blue

To go from Ironstone to Ink Blue, Jenn sanded off all of the products she had applied during her Facebook live. Using 100 grit, she removed all of the layers of Ironstone, Schloss, white tinted primer and wax-free shellac.

She started with a bare wood surface to ensure Ink Blue would adhere properly. It took 2 quick coats to cover her piece, and the stains weren’t visible through the rich midnight blue!

To bring out the depths of Ink Blue, Jenn used Hemp Oil on both the body of the washstand and the freshly sanded down oak top.

Even though the piece wound up being a different color than intended, it proudly wears a fresh MMS Milk Paint finish that Jenn is absolutely loving in her home office!

It holds “desky” things like stamps, pens, printer paper and binders.

To compliment the raw wood top, Jenn added these rustic wood drawer pulls with matte black posts. (You can get them from The Home Depot).

It’s our hope that this “worst case scenario” furniture makeover has encouraged you! You’re not alone when you come across frustrating pieces like this washstand. Heck, even members of the MMSMP team aren’t immune!

If you have to change your design plan, we have plenty of dark and gorgeous shades for you to use instead.

Most importantly, we have an incredibly supportive Facebook Group filled with talented artisans, fellow furniture painters, and MMSMP Team Members who are ready and waiting to cheer you on.