She's an incredibly talented painter, too, - but I needed help mixing some colors together to come up with the perfect brown that I envisioned for painting the carving on this bed.
I planned on using MilkPaint, which I loveLoveLOVE to use on wood.
I keep a huge box of various MilkPaint pigments in my shop, and even though I've read that Milkpaint goes bad over time, I've never had any trouble using it. It comes in a powder form - how bad can it be?
Stacey gave me some tips for coming up with a deep chocolatey brown color, and I took her advice. Perfect. (Thanks Stace!) I started with some colors I knew I would use,
and then kept adding and mixing until I achieved this color - a deep brown with just a hint of reddishness.
I had to be careful not to grab the wrong cup when reaching for a sip of my coffee.
Time to unclamp the bed and get it ready for painting.
It's easy enough to paint the carving, and if you get a little sloppy, it really doesn't matter - you'll just sand it away after the Milkpaint dries. That little smudge on the second character will come right off when I sand.
While the Milkpaint was drying, I opened the package of bed rail hangers I had on hand.
I usually keep a few sets in my hardware stash; these have been in my shop for a long time - maybe eight years. Unfortunately, when I opened up the set of the ones I wanted to use - the 4" set of hangers, I discovered that two of the parts were missing.
@#$%&!!
I have a set of 6" hangers, but after laying one down on the bed, I know it's not going to work - it's just too big for this application.
I don't think I'd have much luck calling Rockler and telling them I'm missing part of my order from 2003, so I suck it up and order a couple of new sets, one for this piece, and one to keep in stock. I absolutely hate delays like this. This three day bed is turning into a longer project.
Note to self - next time, check your hardware when it arrives!
With the MilkPaint dried and the painted area sanded (to remove my sloppiness) - I gave the bed two coats of a handmade oil that I've started mixing myself.
It's a simple recipe - one part boiled linseed oil, one part varnish, and one part turpentine. Except for the bad smell from the turp, which disappears when it dries, I really like the way this stuff works. I love the protection it provides, and the finish it leaves on the wood is gorgeous. Here is the bed with two coats, which really makes the painted area POP.
Last step - making the side rails and installing the hardware. If I didn't run into this missing hardware issue, this bed would have been completed by now. It's always something.
