Using Miss Mustard Seed’s® Curio MilkPaint™ As A Stain
If you have been visiting thrift stores or flipping furniture for any length of time, you know that there is a lot of orange furniture out there! Hello, 80’s and beyond! Like many, I prefer the warm brown or soft pine wood tones. But what do we do when we find dated orange furniture that is beautifully built, ornately constructed, and in wonderful condition?
Well, there are lots of options for updating furniture using Miss Mustard Seed’s® Milk Paint, and today we’re going to discuss a newfound favorite technique! Believe it or not, this table was once orange! I’m going to share how to use Miss Mustard Seed’s® Curio paint as a stain.
You can follow along with my written tutorial here, or jump to the end of this post and watch my video.
If you have used Miss Mustard Seed’s® Milk Paint for a while and are looking to expand your skills, I highly recommend giving this a try! I particularly love that I could get the look of a stain while using eco-friendly products and avoiding the toxic chemicals found in traditional stains!
Materials Needed To Replicate The Look Of This Project
Shop towels (or lint-free rags)
MilkWax - ECO™ Onyx
Sander
220 grit sandpaper
Prepping To Stain
As with every painting or staining project, cleaning is a vital step in prepping well! For years, Krud Kutter has been my go-to product for this as it does a great job of cutting grease and removing grime!
You can see here how much a simple cleaner is capable of! After cleaning with Krud Kutter, be sure to rinse well with water to remove any residual chemicals.
Sand Before Staining
Once cleaned, rinsed, and dried, it’s time to sand! I used 220 grit sandpaper and did a quick sand of the tabletop and underneath the leaves too! I wanted to be sure the final look was cohesive. I didn’t want to have a beautifully refinished top, and then have the original finish on the underside of the leaves. It would be unsightly when one of the leaves was down. After sanding, I removed any dust as I usually would.
How To Mix Curio To Create A Stain
Now to the fun part! To create the stain, I mixed one part Curio to 4 parts water and added two drops of the MilkMix-EZ™. I needed just 2 tablespoons of Curio for this project! It’s amazing how such a little bit of paint can go such a long way!
Applying MilkPaint™ As A Stain
When applying the Curio stain to the raw wood, I used a chip brush and worked in small sections. I applied the stain so that it fully coated the surface without it being drippy or streaky. You want nice, even coverage for this application. Remember to work with the grain, just as you would if painting. After applying a row or two of stain, grab your shop towel or lint free cloth to wipe the stain in the direction of the grain, removing any excess paint. As the paint dries, you will notice the color deepen.
One trick I found for removing the Curio stain in tight corners was to use a foam brush instead of a rag. This allowed me to work with great precision and control! Once you’ve repeated these steps of painting and wiping back across the entirety of your project, allow your piece to dry for an hour or so, and then repeat. I applied three coats of stain for this particular project.
Once the last coat was dry, I used a fine sanding pad to knock down any texture leaving an incredibly smooth surface behind.
Applying Wax Over Curio Stain
After I removed the dust, it was time to wax! I chose Miss Mustard Seed’s® MilkWax™ in Saddle Brown for this tabletop as the warm brown tones found in this wax beautifully compliments this Curio stain finish.
The base of this table was painted traditionally with Typewriter, lightly distressed, and sealed with the Onyx MilkWax-ECO™.
The Curio stained top and Typewriter base of this table give this previously dated- but exceptionally beautiful- table a whole new look and feel. I love the industrial look of this stain and paint combo and am excited to tell you it is now available for purchase and can be shipped nationwide!
Curious to see how the Curio stain would look paired with Ink Blue?! Head over to The Upstream Home on Instagram to see the desk I recently finished in that combo! Spoiler alert: it’s gorgeous.
What color will you choose to pair with a Curio stain?! We love to see your projects, so please share and tag us when you’re done!