Log cabins make cozy alternatives to modern homes, providing a touch of nostalgia whether used as a vacation spot or full-time dwelling. To enjoy your log cabin fully, however, you want to keep it looking as near to authentic as possible. One way to do that is to use Real Milk Paint as your primary log cabin paint inside and out. In use for over 20,000 years and popular in the heyday of the American frontier for covering everything from furniture to dwellings, milk paint has been used by homeowners to attain a custom look thanks to its readily available ingredients and hard-wearing properties that help it look fresh over time. If you’re considering painting log cabins to match your personal preferences, consider Real Milk Paint for both indoor and outdoor projects.
Log Cabin Paint That Lasts
Real Milk Paint has numerous advantages over more modern formulations, especially when it comes to painting log cabins. One of the main benefits is that Real Milk Paint allows both interior and exterior surfaces to breathe and contains no volatile organic compounds (VOCs). When dry, Real Milk Paint is odorless, so it works well for those with sensitivities, and it dries quickly to help speed up your construction or remodeling projects. The deep, rich colors it offers are also blendable, making it simple to create personalized palettes that suit your style, and its dead flat finish stays put over time, reducing or eliminating the need for touch-ups. Designed to adhere to virtually any clean, porous surface, nontoxic Real Milk Paint is environmentally safe and resists bacteria to help further protect the interior and exterior of your log cabin.
Preparing Surfaces for Real Milk Paint
Preparing for painting log cabins with Real Milk Paint starts with scrubbing away any old paint that adheres to the surface. To do this, use a scraper to remove all the old color you can, then continue scrubbing or sand with sandpaper until you achieve a fully matte appearance.
Next, use a brush to remove the dust buildup and reevaluate the surface. To be sure the surface is perfectly prepped after scraping, sanding and scrubbing, consider going over the area again with Tri-Sodium Phosphate to ensure its cleanliness. After that, be sure to tape off areas you don’t wish to paint and put down drop cloths to keep your work area neat and tidy and reduce the need for after-project cleanup.
Painting Log Cabin Exteriors
When painting a log cabin exterior with Real Milk Paint, you may find that mixing your color with Outdoor Additive adds staying power. This additive decreases tannin leaching to reduce discoloration risks, and it also helps surfaces resist mold and mildew growth for added durability. This additive can also be used on the interior walls to help reduce those pesky knots from showing through your freshly milk painted walls.
Real Milk Paint arrives as a powder, allowing you to mix as little or as much as you need for the sections you’re painting. It requires only water for mixing, but you do need to mix it ahead of time to let the foam disperse or mix it with our Anti-Foam Agent if you’re in a hurry. Once mixed, work in sections with a natural bristle brush to cover the area quickly, then go back and add another clear coat quickly.
After two coats, wait a bit to see how it looks before adding more to get the amount of coverage you like. To achieve a longer-lasting surface, try mixing your top-coat formulation with a 20% of Pure Tung Oil. (You can also seal the exterior milk painted surface after the fact with Outdoor Defense Oil.)
Painting Log Cabin Walls
Painting log cabin walls on the inside is usually a pretty straightforward task. Since interior surfaces aren’t exposed to inclement weather, additives aren’t necessary to ensure long-lasting performance. You likely need to tape around your log cabin’s windows, doors and other spaces you don’t wish to cover to protect them as you work. Simply mix the amount of Real Milk Paint you need for the areas you wish to cover and coat those surfaces with Real Milk Paint by using a natural bristle brush, then coat them again to get the coverage you desire.
Once the walls dry, you may need to add another coat to get the perfect look. After that, consider mixing Real Milk Paint in complementary and contrasting shades to cover the doors and windows you taped over during your main paint job to create a well-balanced aesthetic. Once all the Real Milk Paint dries completely, you may want to complete your project by adding one of our finishing oils to help the color stay true and bright over time.
Log Cabin Paint Tips and Tricks
When performing a log cabin paint job, a few tips and tricks come in handy. First off, if you’re painting log cabin exteriors, check the weather in your area and shoot for a precipitation-free stretch to ensure the Real Milk Paint and any top coat you use has time to properly dry and cure before rain arrives. Next, be sure to test the Real Milk Paint colors you choose on an out-of-the-way spot to ensure it looks as intended when dry. This means you don’t cover an entire wall or section with a color you don’t like and helps you perfect color blends to improve satisfaction with your finished project.
Testing before you start also ensures the material properly absorbs the formulation. If you find that the Real Milk Paint you mix doesn’t bond with the wood like you want, you can always thin it down with a bit more water to a consistency that works for your log cabin. On the interior, if you want to give certain areas a more vintage look, check into our Natural Crackle Paint Finish for larger spaces or our Chippy Paste for smaller areas. Different finishing oils, waxes and pastes provide different qualities to your cabin paint job, so it helps to test them out beforehand as well, so you know exactly what you’re getting.
Log cabins offer a rustic feel that’s hard to replicate with any other dwelling type. Due to that timeless appeal, it helps to decorate them in a way that does justice to their heritage and history. Real Milk Paint and related products from The Real Milk Paint Co. help you achieve that vintage look without lots of time and effort, making them a great choice for both novices and experienced log home remodelers alike.
