Tool Chest Part V (Finishing)

 Finishing

To finish the Toolbox I used a casein tempera (also called milk paint). It is a very old recipe and a very resistant and long lasting tempera is obtained. You can buy a ready-made powder to simply dilute in water but I preferred to prepare it at home, also because the procedure is really simple and cheap. All you need is milk, lemon juice, and powder colors (alternatively, bottles of concentrated color that are used for wall paints work fine).

 

Milk and lemon juice must be at room temperature. Lemon juice has to be prepared fresh at the moment. It takes about 50-60 ml of lemon juice for every liter of milk. To get an idea of ​​how much it takes, I used about 2 liters of milk to finish the whole tool chest. During the curdling process it is important to keep everything in an environment with a temperature above 20 degrees. The home kitchen can be the right environment.

Add the lemon juice and wait the curdling at least within 12 hours

Then filter the curdled milk using a cotton or even better linen cloth that has a slightly wider mesh. Let it settle and then squeeze the cloth with its content to facilitate the release of all the serum.

We obtain such a cream like a yogurt

The casein varnish can be used without color as a transparent coat

Add the colors

 

Casein tempera quickly decays. In fact, it can only be stored for a few days in the refrigerator. To prolong its shelf life, a preservative can be added, such as nipagin. If desired, it can be frozen and reused within a few months. The appearance of casein colors is of the opaque type. Greater brilliance can be achieved with beeswax and/or oil. In this case I used linseed boiled oil mixed with 50% of mineral spirit. With this mixture I also treated the non-painted parts of the tool chest.

linseed oil with mineral spirit is used for the beech lid fittings

Part 1: Case

Part 2: Lid

Part 3: Skirts

Part 4: Drawers and Runners

Part 5: Finishing 

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