Miss Mustard Seed’s Milk Paint Topcoats
In the Miss Mustard Seed’s Milk Paint collection, we have lots of beautiful and durable topcoats (aka “finishes”) for you to use on your projects. We’re breaking down all of our topcoats for you in this post so you can determine which is appropriate for the surface you’re refinishing. Plus, we’re sharing best practices for caring for your refinished furniture after your project is complete.
Read on, fellow Milk Painter!
Wax Finishes
We have several wax finishes in our Milk Paint collection. Some are clear while others are tinted/colored.
All of our wax finishes have a lovely natural scent and do not have strong chemical odors. They are easy to apply, spread beautifully and are buildable. (A buildable finish is one that can be built up in thin layers to provide extra protection.)
Our wax finishes provide protection on medium-use pieces. Those are your everyday surfaces like desks, chairs, dressers, etc. They have a medium absorbability, meaning they soak into the surface rather than sitting on top like a polyurethane.
Wax finishes are interior use only and are excellent options if you’re brand new to furniture refinishing. Let’s take a look at our wax finish options, shall we?
Clear Waxes
We have 3 beautiful clear wax finishes in our collection - Furniture Wax, Lavender Scented Furniture Wax and Beeswax.
Furniture Wax
Furniture Wax is made with a blend of beeswax and carnauba wax. This special formula makes it so easy to apply on your project. If you’ve ever experienced stiff waxes in the past and found them difficult to work with, you won’t have any of those problems with our Furniture Wax!
It has a pleasant natural scent, making it stand out from other smelly and pungent waxes on the market today.
Furniture Wax is not food-safe, so if you need one for surfaces that will come in contact with food, consider our Beeswax Finish!
Beeswax Finish
Our Beeswax Finish is exactly that - beeswax. There aren’t any other types of waxes mixed in, which makes this product food-safe.
It’s a bit stiffer than our Furniture Wax, and is great for applying over breadboards, wooden bowls, serving spoons, etc. Many of our woodcarving customers enjoy using our Beeswax Finish as their topcoat of choice for their beautiful creations.
Beeswax can also be used as a resist for creating the chippy look!
Have a favorite pair of boots? Consider using a touch of Beeswax to polish and protect them during the winter months.
Lavender Scented Furniture Wax
Our Lavender Scented Furniture Wax is a treat for the senses! It has the same soft and spreadability of our Furniture Wax, provides a durable finish with a beautiful luster and has a fragrant lavender scent during application!
Tinted Waxes
Our tinted waxes have the same spreadability of our clear Furniture Wax combined with gorgeous colors, providing you with endless possibilities for your Milk Paint projects! They are topcoats in and of themselves, so no additional sealers are needed.
Antiquing Wax
If you’re looking to add age and contrast to your project, then our Antiquing Wax topcoat is the perfect choice for you! It’s tinted to a warm brown, simulating the natural patina a true antique would develop over decades.
Antiquing Wax settles beautifully into recessed areas, carved details and little nicks.
It can also be applied directly over raw wood! It will stain the wood while protecting it at the same time.
Our Antiquing Wax topcoat can be applied directly over Miss Mustard Seed’s Milk Paint for a rustic aged finish. If a cleaner, more controlled look is desired, apply a layer of our clear Furniture Wax first. Then, apply Antiquing Wax. Having that clear layer of wax down first will help control the intensity of the Antiquing Wax.
White Wax
If you love a soft whitewashed look on your pieces, then White Wax is right up your alley!
Our White Wax topcoat has the spreadability of our Furniture Wax but is tinted to a soft shade of white. This allows you to create a gorgeous whitewashed or limed effect on your projects.
Like our Antiquing Wax, you can apply White Wax directly over raw wood to stain and protect it at the same time!
Here are the results of the empire buffet that’s pictured above. Miss Mustard Seed painted it in Shutter Gray with a hand-painted design on the front. She finished everything with White Wax.
Zinc Wax
Our Zinc Wax is tinted to a lovely metallic gray that mimics the look and feel of zinc metal surfaces.
Zinc Wax can be applied using a pouncing or stippling motion (moving your brush straight up and down), in a zig-zag or crosshatch pattern, or swirled in varying directions. The effects you can create are endless!
Zinc Wax crosshatched over Typewriter Milk Paint
Chris Hardine of Midwest Cottage and Finds is a member of our core administrative team here at MMS Milk Paint and a proud retailer in Illinois. When we first launched Zinc Wax, she found an old trophy and transformed it with Milk Paint and Zinc Wax.
Chris painted the trophy in 2 coats of Typewriter with Bonding Agent.
She then added our Zinc Wax to mimic the look of metal! Isn’t the transformation incredible?
Liquid Finishes
In addition to our wax finishes, we have liquid options for you to consider for your next project.
Hemp Oil
Hemp Oil is a natural oil finish that absorbs deep into the surface, protecting from the inside out.
Unlike our waxes, Hemp Oil is not buildable. If you apply layer after layer of Hemp Oil, eventually your piece will be saturated and won’t be able to absorb any more. It’s kind of like a sponge soaking up water. There’s only so much water it can hold before it starts to drip out! The same applies for Hemp Oil - apply as much as your piece can absorb.
Hemp Oil is an interior finish and can be topped with any of our waxes for added durability. You can’t go the other way around though. Think of how water beads off a car that has recently been waxed. If you try to apply liquid finishes over our wax finishes, they will simply bead off. That’s why wax is always last!
Here are some tips for working with Hemp Oil:
You may notice excess Hemp oil leaching out of the surface a day or two after application. Just wipe it down with a microfiber cloth. It will stop, but the surface has reached its saturation point.
In dryer climates, you may need to reapply Hemp Oil every few months for hydration.
One of our favorite techniques with Hemp Oil is "wet sanding". Apply Hemp Oil and don't wipe up the excess. Leave the surface wet and then sand right over top of it using fine grit sandpaper (like 320 or 400). Once you've finished sanding, wipe away the excess oil. The result is a buttery smooth finish like no other!
Here’s a helpful tutorial video on the process!
Tough Coat
Tough Coat is our water-based polyurethane finish. It provides the highest protection of all of our topcoats and is a great option for heavily used pieces like tables, desks and shelves. Tough Coat is self-leveling, which means that it tightens down and flattens as it dries, resulting in minimal brush strokes. It’s UV tested as a non-yellowing finish, even over whites.
Tough Coat is the perfect finish for extra chippy projects, like this oak washstand.
It also seals in existing chippy paint on old doors and fireplace mantles.
Tough Coat does prevent paint from chipping further, but it is not a lead encapsulant. You can read more about the EPA’s guidelines for handling lead paint on their website.
How Long Do MMS Milk Paint's Finishes Take to Dry and Cure?
Almost all of our finishes will be dry to the touch within a few hours. The exception is our Hemp Oil, as that takes some time to absorb into the surface. How long it takes will vary from one piece to the next. (A super dry wooden crate may be dry to the touch in an hour while a vintage dresser may take 2-3 days to be fully dry to the touch.)
All of our finishes take the industry standard 20-30 days to fully cure. Cure time is totally different from dry time. Cure time is how long it takes until the finish has finished settling out and is ready to perform as per the manufacturer’s specifications.
This means that you cannot expect the topcoat to perform at its best until it has been allowed to cure completely. That's like expecting a fresh manicure to hold up while you're fishing your keys out of your purse. We all know how that goes!
The finish needs to dry AND cure before it's heavily used. You can certainly use pieces the same day they are finished - just be gentle with them. Don't place things that are heavy or wet on top. Be careful as you're moving them and living with them. Use coasters, trivets and wipe up spills immediately.
You will notice a difference in the feel and durability of the finish once it has cured, so be patient!
Which Finish is Right for My Project?
Consider these questions when choosing a finish for your project:
What do you want the piece to look like i.e. chippy, whitewashed, antiqued, etc.?
How often/heavily will this piece be used? Every day? Once in a while? Hardly ever?
Where will the piece be placed? On a wall? In the bathroom? In an office? In a child’s room?
For example, if you have a nightstand that you’d like to refinish, this will be a surface that will receive daily use. It may be a good idea to use Tough Coat on the top to protect against glasses of water, your charging smartphone, a heavy stack of books to read at night, etc. The base of the piece can be finished in Wax or Hemp Oil, because it won’t receive as much use at the top.
See what we mean?
Considering these questions will help you determine which finishes are the best for your individual needs. We also have this handy chart that organizes all of our topcoats for easy reference. (Click the link for the document.)
Our talented retailers are happy to help you choose the right finish for your project, and so are we! Use our retailer locator map to find a MMS Milk Paint shop in your area. Or, email us at hello@mmsmilkpaint.com and we’d be happy to assist.
Can I Leave Miss Mustard Seed’s Milk Paint Unsealed?
Absolutely! Raw Milk Paint is matte, chalky and beautiful on certain pieces and in certain colors. Take this hutch that Miss Mustard Seed finished for example.
She decided not to seal this piece and leave Milk Paint in its raw state. Here’s another hutch she decided to leave raw.
The paint is Shutter Gray mixed with some Lucketts Green and Linen. It made a soft, blue/green/gray color that coordinates beautifully with her wall mural (also done in Milk Paint). She decided not to distress this piece at all, and left the milk paint unfinished. This will allow it to wear over time.
It is important to note that Milk Paint is porous and will absorb oils from your hands as you use your piece. You may notice these spots appearing over time around knobs, handles and doors.
