Contents:

• Press Release
• Distribution

Press Release:

Painted for centuries, the traditional way

With traces of it found in King Tutankhamen's tomb, milk paint is the oldest form of paint known. Until as recent as the 1930's, many craftsmen still painted furniture with it. Antique lovers, and people who have tried to strip old furnishings painted with milk paint, know this vibrantly coloured, flint-hard surface well.

When Diether Etzel, a Cape Peninsula-based designer, heard about an "unstripable" painted table, he was tickled pink. Referring to D.I.Y. handbooks, he found out that the table must be painted with milk paint, and that the furnishing may be worth more with that painted surface than without. Further research indicated that milk paint was a purely natural product, non-toxic, cured to a resin - which bonded with sanded wood, and that it lasted for ages. He researched a number of formulae for milk paint, ranging from kiddie's "condensed milk paint" to "I think it's just milk and poster paint". Not convinced that a resin will form from milk and poster paint, Diether combined folk-wisdom with the theories of his chemistry book. He sourced various ingredients, and started experimenting in his workshop as well as on his own furniture, and eventually was satisfied with a pleasing end-result. Assistance from various suppliers, including Serina Kaolin (Pty) Ltd, who made available their product and laboratories, came in the form of raw material and moral support.

"I was very interested in this traditional paint, because my wife often prefers painted wood, whereas I dislike the idea of covering wood with modern chemical products," said Diether, who makes and restores furniture as a hobby. "Milk paint is a product for the purist, and it is ideal for furniture makers, restorers, DIY'ers, hobbyists, interior designers, and those sensitive to chemicals and / or the need for protecting the environment."

The unique texture of cured milk paint, which leaves a hard matt, slightly streaky surface, can be sanded, distressed, oiled, waxed, polished to a velvety sheen, or simply varnished. It dries within two hours and also provides that genuine lime-washed effect by mixing the paint - which comes in powder form - with double the amount of water. Milk Paint can be painted onto freshly sanded wood without the need for a primer / basecoat.

"I've done quite a lot of paint effects on furniture using oil-based paints, with lovely effects - but, with modern paints, it's like putting gift-wrap around the object. Milk paint becomes part of the furniture, like satin-polished marble . . . " said Diether.

Even though unused paint in its powdered form will last up to ten years, it is recommended to only mix enough liquid paint to be used within a day or two. The milk casein base of the paint is odourless when it is fully cured (24 hours). Once cured, the calcium caseinate resin, which bonds the earth pigments and the wood, is totally harmless. The paint is fully bio-degradable, and contains no volatile organic compounds. Brushes, containers and unused paint can simply be washed in the sink.

Presently the colour range comprises nineteen deep rich colours, all of which can be safely intermixed to achieve endless hues, tones and shades. As milk paint is a natural product using earth pigments, the colours are all based on mother nature's hues such as "banana", "paprika", "blackberry" and "moonlight".

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Distribution

Based in the Western Cape, South Africa, The Original Milk Paint Co. distributes nationally and internationally by way of airmail or surface mail - please use our email form.

For local distribution, please contact:
Frith Etzel on 082 573 2807
or email us
or write to
PO Box 1331, Sun Valley, 7975