apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Vanessa & Quentin Bell and Duncan Grant used earthy milky colors. I would suggest using either a milk paint product, or just get a good (I prefer Benjamin Moore) quality latex paint and thin it out just a wee bit for light coverage. You can easily "build" coats of paint for intensity.

Sand with fine grain sandpaper in between coats. Finish with matte polyurethane and - something that works wonders - last finish with car paste wax. You'll have a durable yet non-shiny finish.

Their colors were very "tentative". Nothing was heavy or intentional looking.

Ann --
If you want paint, but also want the grain showing through, you can just make a "stain" from watered down latex paint. I did this on an armoire once and it worked perfectly

First be sure you sand the table well, so any kind of wax or finish on it is gone (and it's relatively smooth). Then make the "stain" with 3 parts paint to one part water (or more water if you think it needs it -- test a board or the underside of the table first). Brush it on and wipe it off immediately with a cloth, just like you would with any stain.

After that dries, gently sand the table again -- maybe use a couple of grits of paper, going from rougher (150-grit) to fine (220). Finish it with a marine varnish, which is made to stand up to water on boats. Put down two or three coats, sanding in between with a very fine paper (220) or even a fine steel wool (000 or 0000). As long as you remember to use a tack cloth to get off ALL the dust in between coats, you'll end up with a really smooth surface when you're done.

Any acrylic artist's paint will work. If I remember correctly, the Bloomsbury folks used tempera a lot, but that won't take a polyurethane sealant. If you want more of a matte finish with the acrylics, use a matte medium with the paint. A good artist's supply place will be able to advise you.

To seal the top, any furniture-grade sealant will do, but you want a polyurethane finish for the kitchen, two or three coats (or top with glass...not authentic, but replaceable if scratched, without hurting your painting).

Re: milk paint. The look is right, but to my knowlege, a milk paint won't take a (brushed-on)polyurethane finish (could be wrong here). But perhaps you could spray a finish on, and then top with a brushed-on coat? Milk paint is very, very thin.

Thinned out latex will be hard to control if you have a tight design (too watery and streaky). If you go that route, you might try a glaze medium (the kind used on all those DIY shows for faux finish walls). This also extend drying time, so you can wipe off mistakes.

Might I add this to my post and the others?

Whichever approach you decide to take, sanding inbetween coats - particularly polyurethane -is imperative. Otherwise, there is no "tooth". Tooth is needed so one layer can adhere to the prior layer. Every minute imperfection in your paint or poly will be magnified otherwise.

And the colors were very muddy....

Sometimes I accidentally sign as jmarieb(jackie) - sorry.

Here is a product that enhances flow of acrylic (or any) paint. So you can thin and have a nice bond. There are other brands on the market.

http://www.ceramicadditive.com/acriflow.html

The artist's acrylic paint idea is excellent. This can be expensive and if not done well the paint can easily "blister" beneath the poly.

I've done countless pieces of furniture and my best suggestion would be to try any approach you consider on a separate piece of wood that is similar to your furniture.

One might hope that Curtis sees this thread. He and I discussed finishes at the AT party last week, since we have both done it professionally. His opinion on this would be invaluable.

Also, if you use a glaze of any type mixed in with your paint, your finished effect after poly will be a patchy sheen. You might not want that. Always test everything first. And, sand, sand, sand or you'll end up with little teeny bubbles that will look like golf balls beneath several coats of poly.

But, really, its very easy and fun to do.

Not to be a crank, but doing this to a pine chest and then using it in the kitchen is going to make the chest look bad, fast. Painting a solid color and sealing the paint will look better longer. One slip of a knife, metal spoon, mixing bowl and the top will look distressed beyond whatever effect you've applied.

Topping with glass will look much, much better and will preserve your handiwork longer.

Hi there,
Well, I used to work in a paint store and am a Fine Artist too so for once thi is something I can comment on :-) You can use Milk Paint (which will give you the effect you want) however, you will not find it as hard wearing for everyday usage even if you use the required sealant (for whichever brand of Milk paint you are using, will be acrylic based). I would most probably use a matt or low sheen acrylic paint with an extender or not more than 5% water to thin and then put a non-yellowing sealant to make suitable for everyday use (oil based will yellow).
You could of course leave it unsealed though it will wear and scuff quickly - though this may be what you want but there is distressed in a good way and distressed in a bad way :-)
Additionally, a matt sealant, while it will look better, does not have enough 'plastic' in it to protect the surface against spills, stains and general wear so just be aware that if it IS a matt sealant it will not wear as well. The higher the shine of a sealant the better it will protect and wear.
Well, I think I have rattled on enough, hope this helps.
Blessings
Kitty B

Oh, one more thing, of course, sanding is CRUCIAL and you will get better finish if you sand and wipe down with a damp cloth inbetween each coat. If you decide to go the most authentic route you can use natural wax (not the furniture polish kind which is yellow but a white beeswax made soft with the addition of turps in it - premade this way) over milk paint (but apply the milk paint thinly, it looks transluscent when wet but will dry opaque and if you apply too thick you get this yuck gunky effect). You will need to reapply the wax from time to time and rebuff but will of course NOT be able to put anything hot directly on the surface or the wax will melt. Beeswax and Milkpaint is the most environmental.
Blessings
Kitty B

If you're topping the table to be used with your knives in any way, glass is a bad option. It will really crunch your blades.

I had a look at the book cover and the paint seems quite thick with no grain showing; and I have never seen this furniture 'in the flesh'.

If you want both a painted pattern and the grain showing through, have you thought of using water-based wood stains?

Try this fabulous store for EVERYTHING about wood (Rocklers Rocks!). This page should have gel stains and milk paint:
http://www.rockler.com/CategoryView.cfm?Cat_ID=108

and this page bright colours http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=5348

this one seems very NON toxic www.rockler.com/product.cfm?Offerings_ID=6292&TabSelect=Details

Rocklers return emails promptly, so if you have questions about prep & final finish etc they will help.

The Australian version www.wattyl.com.au/DIY/Products/ProductSearch/Product_Details.htm?Id=710 comes in a tube, handles like artists paint, but lets the grain through - wood colours only.

The Oz version of www.flood.com - sells an orange-scented indoor stripper - no hosing needed - special neutralizing wash - have to open all windows & doors - totally brilliant if you live in an apartment. You will have to finish with scrubbing it along the grain with soapless steel wool which you get from a hardware store. I stripped a cabinet in my living room - with thick cardboard & newspaper covering **everything.**

I would also suggest getting some pine and trying anything/everything out first. Some of the world's great art was painted on (sealed) timber, so I hope you post the result.

here it is in the USA www.citristrip.com/

You really will have to strip off the old surface, although you could use low stick masking tape on any surface the isn't the top, and wrap legs etc.

Citristrip is a gel - can't begin to tell you how much I liked it - I am asthmatic and it didn;t bother me.
You will also need: non plastic container eg glass jar; old paint brush; lots of newspaper to wrap the stripped sealer or paint particles - let them dry - wrap into parcels and into bin. Dab it on - went through 9 layers of paint in 15 mins - no gloves needs. Then the scrubbing ..... rubber gloves needed to avoid steel splinters in hands.