I’m just getting in from enjoying the beautiful Collegiate Peaks in Colorado, so I’ve asked our MMS Milk Paint Primary Educator, Abbe Doll, to share a tutorial with you. I haven’t had a chance to shoot or write a tutorial on using Wax Pucks, one of our new products, so Abbe, who is a machine, made one for me! Enjoy!
Let me just start by saying I love this little thing! It fits so perfectly in the palm of your hand and creates such fun effects.
Here are some benefits of using the wax puck:
- You can create smooth, precise distressed lines on edges.
- If you want to expose color under color without sanding down to the wood, this allows you to control the amount of distressing you get
- It will allow you to expose or bring out the details of that great wear and tear of an old piece, without covering it totally up
I found this primitive little dresser at an estate sale awhile back. You could tell that years ago someone had put some glossy white paint on it and over the years it started to peel and wear off.
I loved the age and wear on the piece, but wasn’t crazy about the dingy yellowed white glossy paint left on it.
After sanding some of the loose paint off and giving it a good scrubbing, I grabbed my wax puck and rubbed it along all the edges,
I wanted to see the layers of white paint and the exposed wood through my final coat of paint without having to risk sanding down too deep with a sander or sanding block. I loved the darkness of the wood and wanted to preserve that as well.
I also took the rounded edge of the wax puck and rubbed it gently across some of the worn off areas, hoping to expose it, retaining the age of the piece.
After applying the wax puck on all the areas I wanted white to show through I mixed up some of the new color Eulalie’s Sky and gave the entire piece one good coat. I adore this color. It is the perfect shade of aqua!
(This photo below is NOT accurate- it was a “late night/poor lighting phone pic” But I had to show you some of that peeling action.You can thank my talented friend Jen Logan for the pretty photos, or this is what you would get! Painter I am, Photographer I am not!)
When the Milk Paint dries, you can start to see that it might resist some on it’s own, but most of the time you will just need to gently buff the areas your wax puck was applied and the paint will just roll right off.
I like to buff my pieces with a fine grit sanding block before waxing, so when I do this, the waxed areas will just come right off too. Who doesn’t like two steps in one?!
The paint came off in a nice controlled line along the edges, exposing both the white paint and the original stained wood with stain. If I had sanded this by hand or with an orbital sander, I risked applying too much pressure and exposing raw wood. The puck prevented that from happening!
This technique revealed all that great texture from the age of the dresser, yet basically was 4 easy steps: 1. Apply Wax Puck 2. Paint 3. Buff/smooth 4. Wax
Still primitive, but with a new shade of happy!
And the Eulalie’s Sky? Well, that is just aqua perfection my friends. Nothing in my shop is safe from being painted that shade of greatness now!
As Abbe showed, the wax puck is just another tool when trying different paint techniques. It gives a subtle finish and has been one of my “tricks of the trade” for a long time, so it’s fun to welcome Wax Pucks to my line.
19 Responses
Oh I am looking forward to trying one of these. Hoping that you will be bring some to the Chapel Market in October.
Blessings,
Linda
I love my wax puck! It has saved me much sanding and smells great as well! It is much smoother than the wax candle I was using before.
Oh wow! I love the effect that the wax has on aging the furniture! I can’t wait to try this technique when doing my own furniture redos!
Aannd….I am absolutely in-love with that color! MUST HAVE!! What’s the shade? Eulalies??
I love that by using the wax puck you can eliminate sanding off more than what you wanted to. I will definitely have to give this a try!
Thanks for the great ideas!
Sadie
It looks great. I’d like to know if the bonding agent was used. I want to paint over latex and I want chippy. Do I wax the latex first? Thanks!
I love the idea of the puck wax! I like using wax to help distress as you talked about but I never feel like I have good enough control on a clothe. I have even used a tea candle to get into corners on an old dining chair. I can’t wait to try this! Another great idea from the mms team. Thanks!
I need one of those! I’m always distressing down to the bare wood and then taking a Q-tip to restain the edges. Thanks for the tips!
Jessi
I’ll make sure to get a wax puck next time I shop for MMS painting supplies. Sounds like fun!
Thanks for the tutorial, Abbe!
Lovely dresser! I purchased an old chippy screen door to use on my pantry. Unfortunately it was originally painted with lead paint. Should I try to strip it myself or give it to a professional? I plan to repaint with milk paint to get the old chippy look back. Thx for any advise you can throw my way!!
No. Please don’t strip the lead paint. The best thing you can do when you know it’s lead paint for sure is seal it. Don’t sand it, strip it or anything. Simply seal it with polyurethane or spray on water-based polycrylic, and then paint over that. Lead paint is very dangerous. If you know a professional in your area that’s willing to deal with it, that might be your best bet. Otherwise, seal it and go from there. Hope that helps!
I love this little handy tool!! 🙂
Would you be able to poly over a piece after using the wax puck?
What a great little tool! I will have to check my MMSMP retailer to see if she has any! Thanks for the tutorial!
I love this tutorial! thank you so much for sharing. I have a project coming up in the next couple of months (when ever I finish my current projects 😉 ) that involves my favorite stain and 2 shades of Milk Paint. This is exactly the look I was hoping to go for (only I will be building my piece so it wont have the preexisting aged look 🙁 ) This tutorial reconfirmed that I would be needing the wax puck to get the look I am looking for.
I hope that you have time to enjoy Mt. Princeton Hot Springs and. take your kids rock hunting at Ruby Mountain for garnets. These treats are near Buena Vista and the locals should be able to guide you in.
I cannot wait to try got it and some more paint and the white wax recently, thanks for the tutorial now I feel better about using it properly!
Love to try it. Just tried the white wax and thought it was super!
I anxiously await delivery of my recently ordered party pack of 15 colors as I have the perfect antique buffet in my garage in desperate need of some Eulalie’s Sky and a wax puck! Woowoo I feel another great week coming on!
Also works well for filling open grain on swamp ash guitar bodies. After applying Danish Oil, you rub the puck a little against the grain (to fill the tiny crevices) then rub extremely hard with a piece of cotton to melt it in and buff it up. The slightly darker colour helps the grain pop a bit, too.