Miss Mustard Seed’s paint comes in a variety of beautiful shades and is VOC free, making it a safe, environmentally friendly paint that contains only five natural ingredients. The best part is, milk paint (that is still in its original powder form!) will last indefinitely. It works beautifully on raw wood or even on pre-finished surfaces when mixed with the MMS bonding agent. It dries to a gorgeously matte finish that you may decide you love as is! However, on flat surfaces that get a lot of traffic (think kitchen tables, coffee tables, etc.) a top coat is a good idea. With MMS Milk Paint, you have so many options…keep scrolling for a pros/cons of each.

FURNITURE WAX

Miss Mustard Seed’s Furniture Wax is probably the most popular of her finish options and with good reason! It’s easy to work with, water-repellant, durable, and buildable! Did you know that you can apply multiple thin layers of furniture wax onto your piece to give it a more glossy look? It dries relatively matte on its own, but it can always be buffed for a higher shine look. The best part about MMS Furniture wax though is how easily furniture can be repaired after scratches and watermarks. All you have to do is lightly sand and apply another thin layer of wax.

Here’s the downside, waxing is hard work. We always warn our customers that painting is the easy part. It is a labor intensive process and it can be frustrating to get an even finish on larger flat surfaces (but doable, we promise!) If you plan to leave your piece outside, you should also know that waxing is not the best idea! It can seal in any moisture from rain or even melt in high temperatures.

TINTED WAXES

The tinted waxes (white wax and antiquing wax) work almost exactly the same as the clear Furniture wax. They can be applied either directly to the painted surface, or over top the furniture wax to allow you to control the depth of the tint. We recommend applying the white wax directly to the surface, but with the antiquing wax it really depends on the depth   of color and the effect  you are going for.

BEESWAX

For people looking for a completely natural top coat, the MMS Beeswax finish is perfect! A little goes a long way with this product, even more so than with the regular furniture wax. It leaves a beautiful sheen and is safe to use on raw or milk painted pieces. Beeswax is a great option for sealing children’s toys, butcher blocks, cutting boards or even rolling pins. It is completely non-toxic. It spreads beautifully over surfaces and in our opinion makes achieving an even coverage all the more easy.

HEMP OIL

The last of the MMS top coats is the Hemp Oil, which for obvious reasons is quite different to applying the waxes. It too can be applied to raw wood, stained wood, paint, metal, etc. and when used on MMS milk paint can really deepen and intensify the color. Unlike the waxes, Hemp Oil is best applied using a brush with the excess being wiped away with a lint free rag. Keep in mind, that where the wax allows for multi-coat applications, the amount of hemp oil will depend on how much your surface can absorb. Adding extra will only lead to a sticky mess. Although an oil-based top coat can be intimidating to try out, this one really does leave a beautiful finish that can be touched up as needed down the road. This has become one of Marian’s (the founder of MMS) favorite top coats to use. Give it a try!

Come and see us at our shop in Falls Church Virginia (address here) and talk to us about your project or BUY ONLINE if you are out of state! We have everything you need to complete your project. If you have questions email us shop@stylishpatina.com.

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