This post is all about how to paint a door with milk paint.

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Published July 19, 2024
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Cost to Paint a Door with Milk Paint

There are many varieties of milk paints on the market. In fact, it is such a fad lately that even name brand big-box stores are creating their own varieties of milk paint. Chaulk paint is also super popular in the flipping community that there are dozens of varieties of that style paint as well. In this post will be tips and tricks on how to paint a door with milk paint, especially using General Finishes Milk Paint.

At Home Depot, a 1-quart tin of Chalk paint is $24.98.

General Finishes Milk Paint is $40.00 for 1-quart.

The price difference is staggering, however, if you have ever used General Finishes Milk Paint, you know it is quality. The cost is worth it for the real deal. A hyper pigmentated paint that only needs two coats for optimal coverage. I have used General Finishes Milk Paint on six or more projects in our house and they are all standing up to the test of time.

Additionally, when you use the General Finishes Topcoat, you get a professional looking job that gives a durable finish

The first job we used General Finishes Milk Paint on in our house is the master bathroom. The vanity is the original to the house, built in 1996, and showed its age. I sanded the doors down and the cabinet base, then gave it all two coats of the Perfect Grey. I didn’t know about the Topcoat at the time, so this vanity has had only two coats of Milk Paint with no Topcoat for four years. There are no scratches in the finish. Literally. It looks brand new.

The second project I used General Finishes Milk Paint on was the master bedroom dressers, again with no Topcoat. They have also stood the test of time with no scratches or damage to the finish.

The third project we did was our second bathroom remodel. I used General Finishes Milk Paint in the color Dark Chocolate on the doors and vanity. On all three surfaces, I sanded the old finish off and did three coats of the Milk Paint and two coats of Topcoat. This remodel was by far my favorite transformation so far in our house. It went from a dark and actually disgusting room to bright and refreshed. This bathroom is the main one that guests use and so do our four kids. Our kids ages now are almost 15, 12, 8, and 5, and they beat the snot out of this bathroom. I mean, what kid doesn’t? And yet, the Milk Paint has survived and not gotten damaged. Well, except for the dog scratches. We had a babysitter who didn’t have her kennel and locked her in the bathroom and Lucy scratched the door in an anxiety fueled desire to get out of the bathroom. I still have to think about fixing that.

Epoxy Countertops, Recipes and Remodeling

The fourth project we used General Finishes Milk Paint was the basement bedroom additions. We cut out holes in the foundation, fixed a crack and scary wall situation, and installed two egress windows and added two bedrooms in the basement. Our house was a three-bedroom ranch, but now is a five-bedroom ranch with our two oldest boys claiming the new bedrooms. For their bedrooms, we used Milk Paint in the same Dark Chocolate color as the bathroom project to paint their doors, with three coats of Topcoat. The doors still look amazing four years later with no damage to the finish.

The piece de resistance is the kitchen. The entire house was the 90’s golden oak that has since turned orange. For real, orange. We do not have a golden oak house; we have an orange oak house. The kitchen was no different. The original oak cabinets were stained in a golden oak which at one point would have been stunning. However, at 26-years old, the oil-based finish used turns and goes bad causing the stain to turn orange-colored. So, we have a 26-year-old kitchen that has old cabinets that are slightly swollen from water damage, gouges out of the finish, and drawers that have seen better days. What is one to do without $8,000 to replace or renovate the entire kitchen? That’s right, a nice refinishing of the existing cabinets.

For the top kitchen cabinets, we used General Finishes Milk Paint in the color Snow White and the bases are Patina Green. Patina Green is the color that copper turns when it ages, exposed to the elements, and we chose copper pulls for the drawers and doors. The look is quite beautiful, except for the aged and outdated countertops and backsplash. I cannot wait to get in the kitchen and just gut the entire thing, starting fresh. But, alas, again, $8,000 or more to do that now. The last kitchen we renovated cost us $6,000 and that was back in 2016 or so. I cannot imagine the cost it would be today. That is a problem for future Monica’s Scratch Kitchen to worry about.

Another project we did was the living room bookshelves that my husband made from reclaimed materials. Again, I used General Finishes Milk Paint in the color Dark Chocolate and also painted two of the doors in the dining room the same. However, the doors in the dining room were painted at a different time. Not only did we get rid of some of the golden oak doors, but also the trim around the doors and baseboards were painted white. The look is much more modern and will eventually be like that all throughout the house.

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One of the best projects we did was to use Milk Paint to refinish the cabinets in the kitchen. Check out the Finished Kitchen Cabinet Milk Paint Project by clicking the link below.

This was a simple project yet created a large change in the living room. To see how my husband used reclaimed materials in the Living Room Bookshelf project, click the link below.

Materials Needed

What do you need to paint a door with Milk Paint? Below is a list of materials that will be needed.

• Sandpaper
• 2-inch Angled Paintbrush
• General Finishes Milk Paint
• General Finishes Topcoat
• Lint-free cloth

If you have an unfinished door, make sure to sand it down gently to remove any high surfaces or sharp edges. Once sanded, wipe it down with a lint-free cloth. When you paint over a rough surface, you will find those high surfaces will pick up the paint and then you have an even higher surface that will be noticeable. Don’t skip sanding!

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Steps to Paint a Door with Milk Paint

The first step is to sand the door down gently to get any high spots off and to make the surface smooth.

Using a lint-free cloth, wipe the door down to remove any dust or debris from sanding. If the surfaces are dirty, the paint will NOT adhere to the door and then you will be sad.

Open the can of General Finishes Milk Paint and then use a stir stick to slowly mix the paint. Make sure to scrape the bottom of the can and edges, mixing well.

Use a 2-inch angled paintbrush for this job. Trust me, I’ve used them all and this style brush is the BEST for what you need to get done.

Start on the top of the door, not the bottom. If you start at the bottom, you will rub it and get it all over you. Plus, you can manage to catch any drips as you go.

Dip your paintbrush into the Milk Paint, only about 1/2-inch into it and then wipe off one side of the paintbrush on the side of the can. Starting in the inserts, paint the dips in the wood first, making sure to get the paint all around the top, bottom, and sides.

Once the insides are done, paint the front faces of the panels. To make the paint not look streaky, paint it in two stages. The first, paint from the top to the bottom. Then in the second coat, paint from side to side. This not only helps to keep the paint smooth but also gives it a nice texture in the final finish. If you don’t want to do it this way, paint the panels the same both times.

Work around the door from top to bottom painting all of the panels before working on any other part of the door.

Now that the panels are done, paint the top section of the door above the panels in one direction and then between the panels. Then paint under the panels. Keep painting this way until all of the sides and areas on the door are painted.

Finally, paint the edges of the door and then retrace your painting and check for any drips and paint them away carefully.

Let the paint dry for 24 hours before painting the second coat.

If the door is hanging up, you can carefully paint both sides. If the door is off the hinges, lying on one side, make sure it is fully dry for 24 hours before flipping it and painting the backside.

After both sides are painted, if you are painting both the same, do the second coat of Milk Paint and then wait for it to dry for 24 hours.

After the second coat is done, paint the door with General Finishes Topcoat in the same steps as the Milk Paint. The Topcoat is tricky and much more liquid than the Milk Paint, so you will have to watch for drips more with this product.

This post was all about how to paint a door with Milk Paint.
~Monica

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