Popular Woodworking 2007-12 № 166, страница 17

Ugly at first. I snatched the brush out of Genevieve's hand to snap this picture. The first coat always looks terrible. Runs, sags and lost brush hairs are irrelevant with milk paint. We're going to rub this finish out later. So put on one coat, let it dry for an hour or two, then see if you don't like the second coat better.

Knock down the chalk. Milk paint has a chalky texture when dry. But it can develop a pleasing sheen when rubbed out. I prefer to rub the surface with a cloth, or even something as abrasive as a used Scotch-Brite pad to remove the tooth of the milk paint. Just be careful not to rub too hard or you'll rub right through the paint.

Grunged-up. I think the key to obtaining a believable milk-paint finish is oiling and waxing it after the chalky texture is rubbed out. Oil will darken the finish, and I've added a little shoe polish to simulate a few years of grunge. Concentrate your grunging on upper surfaces where dirt would naturally collect.

Pulls. On desks with lopers (the pull-out desk-flap supports), the narrower upper drawers' pulls usually line up with the lower drawers' pulls. I followed this convention for my desk.

Hardware. This hardware from Londonderry brasses is very authentic and very beautiful. I think it's the finest reproduction hardware available. But it's so authentic that you may have to fiddle with it to get it to work!

Peek inside. The inspiration for my standing desk came from a late 18th-century tool chest. Cabinetmakers sometimes decoratively veneered the undersides of their chests' lids. Some chest interiors are beautifully appointed, rivaling the finest furniture of the time. A painting in Jay Gaynor's "Tools: Working Wood in Eighteenth Century America" shows an 18th-century cabinetmaker's office complete with a standing desk. But the desk is closed. I wonder if an 18th-century cabinetmaker might apply the same rough exterior, fine interior to other pieces of shop furniture besides his tool chest. This desk is my guess at how such a desk might look.

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