Since we’re discussing casein glues and paints (and don’t forget that it can, bodied with French or Bologna chalk or marble dust, make a fine gesso), I went back and found the recipe for making the stuff ALMOST from scratch, from Sinopia. I only did this around twice, but the results were quite good, I have to say. I thought it the better part of valor and practicality to start with the already-processed curds. And note that there are ammonium formulas for the stuff which have slightly different advantages and disadvantages over borax.

Here is the link to the recipe:  https://www.sinopiamilkpaint.com/recipe/ <https://www.sinopiamilkpaint.com/recipe/>

And a comment. I mentioned earlier several of the good companies that make pre-made milk paints which are real casein. Now a couple of caveats.

First, ‘milk paint’ which is not milk paint (casein). General Finishers makes ready-to-use paints they call ‘milk paint,’ and it’s important to know that they are, technically speaking, nothing of the sort. They are most likely some form of acrylic, formulated to get a slightly matte finish suggestive of that made by the real stuff. It can in some situations actually be quite nice to use, though you do not have the luxury of pure colors made directly from commonly-named pigments. Back to the greyish case of modern housepaints where you start with a white base and add color tints, and don’t have pure color. But I have occasionally used them (the reds are better, I think, than the muddy greens and blues) and they can be decent. But they’re not milk paint.

Second: I am very reluctant to criticize a product which might be very useful in some contexts, but which was something of a disaster for me trying to use it on a couple of harpsichords. This is the current line of finished, liquid milk paints sold by the very same Sinopia that sells the raw materials and has published a good recipe (above). The color pallette of the Sinopia liquid milk paint is lovely. But what they have done is make an emulsion of genuine casein paint and linseed oil. The result is a soft, rubbery texture which has no toughness, and is intended to be vulnerable to the kinds of inconsistencies and flaws which WE might find utterly unacceptible, but which, for those who are trying to cultivate a “distressed” look on refurbished or repainted furniture, is probably just the thing. The stuff never ever ever got really hard, and when I tried to sand between coats, it just pilled up in bits of rubbery good. When I complained about this, I was told that this soft rubbery texture was the paint’s virtue; feature not bug. Didn’t work for me.

When all has been said and done, the proprietary genuine-casein powders-ready-for-mixing which I cited earlier, have given me my very best results.

Your mileage may, and probably will, vary.

owen



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