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Chalk Paint vs. Milk Paint; Which is Better for Painting Furniture

This is a detailed post about chalk paint vs milk paint and which is better for painting furniture. I’ve also included painted furniture examples with each.

I remember the first time I purchased chalk paint. I was in a little boutique about 30 miles north of where I lived. I kept staring at all the furniture painted with this new “chalk paint” style and I had to try it. My thoughts were “wow, am I really going to pay Forty dollars for a quart of paint?”  And what would I paint? All I knew was that I loved this style and I had to try it.

This was the beginning of my furniture painting journey. Fast forward a few years (ok maybe like 10) and I’m going to share all about Chalk paint vs. milk paint and which is better for painting furniture.

Chalk Paint or Milk Paint; Which is Better for Painting Furniture

Let me share one more thing about my trip to that little boutique.  While I was perusing the isles of painted furniture, I found a really neat vintage chair.  The owner had apparently repainted it with white chalk paint and recovered it with a scripted fabric.

chalk painted chair

I loved the vintage style and farmhouse look of it. The ironic thing was that the chair was $42, and the chalk paint that I was about to buy was $40.

Disclosure; this post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. This does not affect the price you pay. This disclosure statement refers to the rest of the Amazon links in this post.

The owner then asked if I wanted to take her class on “how to chalk paint” for $50. I decided I would buy the chair and the chalk paint and study how she applied to chalk paint to the chair. Was this cheating? Maybe? But I had a limited amount to spend and I wanted that chair 🙂

So I purchased my chair and a can of chalk paint and on I went to start my furniture painting journey!

A few years passed and I started hearing about a similar product called milk paint. I knew both paints were made of different ingredients, but both were still primarily used to paint furniture. 

Chalk Paint or Milk Paint; Which is Better for Painting Furniture?

Milk Painted TV Stand before and after

Above is a before and after picture from my milk painted tv stand project.

Before I give you my opinion, I want to share some facts about chalk paint vs. milk paint and their differences.

What is Chalk Paint and why do you use it?

  • One of chalk paints biggest draws is that it does not require a primer because it will stick to almost any wood finish. In the furniture refinishing business this was huge. You could paint over polyurethane, wax, even glue and it would stick! Gone were the days of stripping and sanding and preparing wood for paint
  • Chalk paint distresses easily with a little sand paper. It comes off in a fine powder, which also makes it very forgiving.
  • Chalk paint is {mostly} made of latex paint, calcium carbonate and water. The calcium is what makes gives it the chalky finish.
  • Because chalk paint “dusts” off easily, I always recommend adding a top coat of wax or varnish.  Speaking from experience, the paint does not hold up well to without a top coat.
  • You can make your own chalk paint, but most people buy it already mixed in a quart size can.
  • You can mix chalk paint colors easily. The paint can also be diluted for a smoother finish or for use in a paint sprayer.
  • A little chalk paint goes a long way. I was fearful when I purchased the $40 quart size can that I was wasting my money, but I covered about three full pieces of furniture with it!
  • For those of you who like the convenience of a spray paint, you can find chalky spray paint in any big name store.

What is Milk Paint and why do you use it?

  • Unlike Chalk paint, milk paint has been around for years. The ingredients are natural and eco friendly.
  • You will find a lot of milk paint products in the powdered form. All it requires is to be mixed with water.
  • The main ingredients for milk paint are quark (Quark is a type of fresh dairy product made by warming soured milk) and lime. The downside to these ingredients is the smell!
  • The powdered form of milk paint will require the addition of a bonding agent if you don’t want the “chippy” look.
  • Speaking of adding a bonding agent, this is the bonus for vintage lovers like myself. If you want the aged chippy wood look, all you have to do is apply milk paint without the boding agent and you will find that the paint will chip naturally over a period of just a few hours.
  • The downside to the powdered form of milk paint is that it can be rather tricky to mix the perfect consistency.  Most new furniture painters would rather buy milk paint in a ready to go can. There are a few brands that come already mixed like General Finishes milk paint.  unfortunately, with the “ready made” milk paint cans the bonding agent is already mixed in.
  • In my opinion, milk paint with the bonding agent does not always require a top coat. If the piece of furniture I’m working on doesn’t get a lot of wear and tear, I rarely use a top coat.
  • I have found that milk paint does show brush strokes much easier than chalk paint. It does not “self level” as well as chalk paint.

Disclosure: this is my opinion and some of you might disagree. I’ve tried to lay out all the facts first and then form my opinion to give you guys a good knowledge base about chalk paint vs milk paint.

Which one do I prefer? Chalk paint or Milk paint?

I love the smooth finish of milk paint and the fact that I can create that chippy look by forgoing the bonding agent. I even used milk paint to paint my laminate cabinets.

On the downside, milk paint does show brush strokes easier than chalk paint and does not bond as well (in my opinion).

Back to the question, which paint do I prefer? It depends on what I’m painting.

I do prefer applying chalk paint to a furniture piece that has many layers of old paint or varnish.

In my opinion I think chalk paint is the best paint for furniture because it covers previous paint and sealer without lots of prep work. It also gives a better coverage and more “even toned” look.

The only downside is that it will require a good chalk paint wax or top coat for a lot of use.

chalk painted kitchen table

The kitchen table above is my chalk painted dining room table that I’m still super pleased with.

Milk paint is my go-to paint for that chippy look. Otherwise, I prefer using chalk paint because of its better coverage and ability to hide most brush strokes.

milk painted chippy paint technique

A close look at the chippy paint technique that I applied to this vintage fireplace mantel with milk paint.

I hope my thoughts about chalk paint vs. milk paint help you figure out what paint to use to repurpose or up cycle something of your own!

You might also be interested in this post about how to paint furniture the right way the first time.

If you enjoyed this post and want to save it for later I would love for you to pin it to Pinterest.

Lindsey**

Rhonda Beals

Sunday 20th of June 2021

Could you use chalk paint on kitten cabinet doors? Do you have any pictures of cabinets that you have done?

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Tuesday 22nd of June 2021

Yes you could! Just make sure to prep the surface and then put a high traffic top coat on it. Here are some posts to get you started; https://repurposeandupcycle.com/how-to-paint-melamine-or-laminate-cabinets-without-a-paint-sprayer/ -----You can use this same method even if your cabinets aren't melamine or laminate. https://repurposeandupcycle.com/how-to-seal-furniture-high-traffic-surface/

Rosemary

Friday 16th of April 2021

I'm fairly new at painting with chalk paint. Never used milk paint. I'm getting ready to paint a tv stand. I think I'll go with chalk paint. I don't think the chippy paint would look good in this room

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Saturday 17th of April 2021

I love chalk paint! I just published a post that might be helpful to you; How to paint furniture the right way the first time- https://repurposeandupcycle.com/how-to-paint-furniture-the-right-way-the-first-time/

Jenny Nichols

Friday 28th of August 2020

I like your article. I have spent many years upcycling furniture in the past. One thing that I have taken into account, is off-gassing from latex paint (as long as 10 years). There are zero VOC versions, but even those still have chemicals that you breathe in when you paint (none are truly zero VOC, just below a certain established limit). I think as upcyclers many of us get into this with the thought that this is more planet-friendly. This is true. In addition, it's affordable and looks great. I just can't help thinking though about the overall impact of our purchasing choices to support cleaner options for our homes and for the planet.

John Resendes

Monday 3rd of February 2020

Can you apply milk paint (with bonding agent) over chalk paint. I don't like the shade of chalk paint and want to use milk paint over it.

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Tuesday 4th of February 2020

Absolutely!

Charlie MacDonald

Sunday 17th of November 2019

I just found your post about milk and chalk paint. I haven't used chalk paint personally, but did make a china hutch that I covered in General Finishes milk paint. I used a color called Basil - very light green and covered that in Tung oil. I made it out of clear pine and added distressing to it before painting it. I also accidentally dropped the top half off my bench which added unexpected results. It has held up very well for 10 years, not a mark on it even after vacuuming and kids toys banging into it. I would suggest painting everything you can in the horizontal position to allow paint to lay as flat as possible and use the best brush you can. I wish I had some gray primer available at the time to eliminate any bleeding of the white primer.

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Sunday 17th of November 2019

Good tip about painting everything horizontal! That's awesome that your piece of furniture has held up so well. I painted our kitchen island with milk paint and it has held up like a champ! Thanks for stopping by the blog.