I love Rustic Red By Sherwin Williams. Great browny-red.

Is Farrow and Ball an option? I love their reds!

Farrow and Ball reds

BM Mars Red

Grand Canyon Red (BM)

then glaze it with a black or dark brown glaze to give it an antique look. Glazing is very easy.

If you're going to glaze it, I would use a red that is less antiquie and more bold as the glazing will tone it down. If you aren't into glazing another trick is to paint a base coat in black. Paint the 2nd coat in red and some of the black will show through or you can wipe a bit at the edges (or sand after it's dried). It's not a hard technique, but you may want to test it on a sample first.

Yikes, I'm loving these reds, especially the BM carriage red. Maybe just a tad more red in it.

Another question, do I use semi gloss or semi gloss enamel?

BM Cochineal Red, also from the CW collection

I use semi gloss when I paint furniture. Do you have a picture of a piece you're trying to mimic?

No, I only ever painted a cabinet front we made ( for an in the wall

bookcase) to cover a hole in the wall where an air conditioner was.

I painted it semi-gloss white to match the walls...it was the same

semi gloss that I used for the molding.

Carriage Red is gorgeous!

I vote for carriage red, it picks up the deepest red in the rug.

When you go to buy the paint make sure it is for cabinets. I wish I had done that when I painted the exterior of my front door.

Love the carriage red.

me too...loving that carriage red. Thanks so much.

Milk paint, does anyone have any experience with milk paint?

They have a barn red that looks like the carriage red.

http://www.milkpaint.com/about_art-fw.html

Glazing. Tell me about how easy it is. Can you do it to stuff painted a few years ago?

I have two red stools, nice strong, rich red, but too solid and primary looking. They need something and I need a project.

I don't but I bet you can find a lot of information about it on the manufacturer websites.

Linelle, glazing is as easy as wiping it on, letting it sit and wiping it down. You have to work it a bit to get the look you want but it's not hard. It does work best though if you use it on pieces with some kind of texture for the glaze to get caught in. That's why it's primarily done on either really ornate pieces or cabinets that have some detail to them. When you don't have the grooves and the surface is flat it tends to offer a more "dirty" look. (for lack of a better term)

Linelle, should work since you're not supposed to glaze until paint is dry anyway.

Lukki said what I was afraid of. These are garden variety milking stools with no texture, other than my brush strokes. :) They truly might end up looking dirty. I sure do love a deep antiqued red though.

You could put it on and then dry brush it to give it more of an intentional brushstroke look, Linelle :)

Use sandpaper on them. I did that with a cheapo little side table and it came out great. IF you want a used/worn look.

If you're up for a project go the base coat route. Repaint Black and then put a single coat of the red over the black. Hints of it will come through and you can sand just a tad around the ends of the seat and legs to let some of the black show through.

Oh and you need to use black mat or chalk paint for the base.

"black mat or chalk paint for the base"

Why is that? Would flat black fit the bill?

I'm not really looking for a distressed, weathered or aged look, at least not with a relatively new piece. I just like the richness, depth and verve of the non-uniform, deepened red.

mat is another term for flat, so use flat black, then paint the red over it. If you don't want the weathered or aged look just paint a thin single coat of red over the black without sanding the edges or anything. The black will bleed through the red some just like when you paint over a dark color on walls. That tones the red down and gives it the richness.

Just to be on the safe side, since you've never done this before, just pick up a piece of scrap wood from HD or the lumber yard. (they usually have a box of scraps anyone can pull from and take for free) and do a tester first.

Just to be on the safe side, since you've never done this before, just pick up a piece of scrap wood from HD or the lumber yard. (they usually have a box of scraps anyone can pull from and take for free) and do a tester first.

But of course. :)

lukkiirish, that red piece looks great.

Did you use regular flat black paint underneith then the red milk paint?

I've been looking at videos...did you use the clear wax and then the

dark wax after the paint dried? What's the brand name and color

of the red?

Thanks, Joann

Joann, are you in Michigan? Check out General Finishes Milk Paint...its really nice. It's not a true milk paint..doesnt require mixing and isnt meant to give that very chippy look like real milk paint.

No, I'm not near Michigan. I've been doing a lot of reading about milk paint.

There is milk paint and chalk paint...which one is better?

The true milk paint is meant to chip off furniture. Chalk paint is a very flat non-dimensional finish. It does look nice slightly distressed and glazing adds depth, as does the technique with painting the undercoat black.

A couple of things to know about true milk paint (powder that you mix with water) and chalk paint - neither one of them will add any protection to the piece on their own - they will both need to be top coated with a protective finish. Adding that protective finish will alter the color of your piece - for red it will darken the color significantly. The most often used topcoat for both is wax which will give a beautiful hand rubbed finish but doesn't offer a lot of protection. As you will be using this as an end table/charging station keep that in mind. As you are going over raw wood and not a previously finished piece it is not likely you will see chipping of the milk paint - possible but not likely. True milk paint when applied will go on very thin ( it is water after all) and will show variations in the color on the piece. Not a bad thing if you expect it. If you intend to sand some of the paint back (shabby look) both chalk paint and milk paint are super easy to sand back and don't gum up your sandpaper. Chalk paint is more 'sticky' and primer is considered optional. With true milk paint you wouldn't want to prime - need to keep the wood pores open for the paint. General Finishes Milk Paint (premixed in a can and not a true milk paint) behaves more like 'regular' paint. Adding a protective topcoat (if you choose to) will not alter the color. Finish is a satin look. Check out the General Finishes site for lots of tips and ideas for application and glazing. You can also search for a dealer in your area - there are lots of them. For GF Milk Paint and regular trim/cabinet paint like BM/SW/etc you really should use a primer to ensure a trouble free finish.

Joann, I apologize, I didn't do those pieces, I found them online to show what using a base coat would look like. However, I've used the base coat technique many times and on many different mediums. The way I do it (right or wrong) is I use a mat/flat finish paint for the base coat only and a semi-gloss latex for the top coat. I don't wax.

That said, we have a consignment store here that does amazing things painting furniture and they use several techniques. They offer classes to the public so people can paint and sell items through their store and they even sell the brand of paint (heirlooms chalk paint) they like to use. There are 50 colors including a red. I've attached a link, they welcome questions. Maybe you can call them to see if the paint they use can provide you with the look you are after. Digs Consignment

Linelle, sorry I know that seems like the obvious, but a lot of people reading this may not think to do that, so I thought I'd make sure.

Thanks lukkiirish, :)

Cliff, I've been painting furniture for several years and sell it at a local antique mall. Of course everyone likes a different look, and thru much trial and error, finally came up with a technique that *I* like, since it may not sell, and eventually come to live with me. I tried many types of paint *except* the chalk paint, since I didn't care for the end result, even with the wax. My final choice was an acrylic from the craft store, sold in a larger jar, not to be confused with the larger bottle. I clean the piece up with Windex(you read right!)which leaves the dull and clean finish I prefer to start with. Next I apply 2 coats of the paint, usually at least 4 hrs between coats. When completely dry, I apply a polyurathane, also from the craft store, in a satin finish~gloss is too shiny for my taste. I usually wait 24 hrs, and then apply a glaze since I prefer an antique sort of look. I believe it's Valspar, in Mocha, found at Lowe's. On some of my pieces I apply a little gold dry brushing, if there are decorative accents~I call my pieces 'French Inspired' and all furniture is blue.

It's quite an easy technique, and if you are planning to use a glaze, I would recommend you start with a bright red, as glazing will tone it down considerably. A rust color paint would end up looking very muddy. I really don't think you can screw up any paint technique, as you can always go back and start all over again. ;)

Patty-cakes, thanks so much. I am going to try your method.

is the poly water based? I think so.

To be clear, I should start with a brighter red than I want, as the glaze will

tone it down? I like that carriage red, you think I have to go brighter than

the carriage red? ...or is it possible to use the carriage red, and tone down the glazing?

Thanks again,

Joann