Milk Paint: Is a 100% natural paint that’s been around for hundreds of years. It’s called milk paint, because one of the ingredients is casein, which is milk protein. 

Annie Sloan Chalk Paint: Was developed by Annie Sloan and is named Chalk Paint for its “chalky appearance” when dried. It is the most amazing paint. 

Milk Paint: Comes in a powdered form and has to be mixed with water. 

Annie Sloan Chalk Paint: Comes in quarts, premixed and ready to use. Smaller jars of chalk paint are available for small projects and as tester pots.

Do you have to use primer?

Milk Paint: No, but there is a bonding agent you can use to mix into the paint if you want the paint to grip to non-porous surfaces. But if you love the chippy old world look then just go ahead and paint.
Annie Sloan Chalk Paint: No. Annie Sloan Chalk Paint grips really well and a primer isn’t necessary.

No for both paints, but it’s a good idea to do for both paints if the surface is really glossy. I have painted melamine and have not wax it yet and the piece has held up just fine. 

Do you have to use wax or a topcoat?

Milk Paint: No, but I would suggest it. You can use either a wax or poly topcoat to protect the paint from moisture and wear.
Annie Sloan Chalk Paint: No, but I always do. The only time I don’t use wax is on a piece that won’t get a lot of wear and I don’t mind if the paint gets distressed naturally. I also wax my pieces to keep them from getting dirty from everyday touching and for easy cleaning. I use the Annie Sloan waxes in both dark and clear – dark for added distressing and ageing and the clear to seal it in, or only the clear to give it the most amazing velvet feel and make it soft to the touch and to keep dirt out.

Yes, the colors from both paint lines mix beautifully. You can soften the colours by adding white to green for a soft pale green for example.

How can you apply the paint?

Both paints can be applied with a brush, roller or sprayer. It all works.  With milk paint you need to be sure that it is mixed really well – I use a milk frother I bought from the Crazy store for R24.00 and it works perfectly – if not you will have lumps and clots in the paint that has not dissolved and will cause havoc on your painted object.

Milk Paint: Milk paint is unpredictable in how it will distress. At times it grips really well and just comes off in a fine powder. Other times the paint cracks and flakes away creating a fabulous  chippy look on some areas only. You just have to go with it and see what happens. Once it chips I would seal in that chippiness to keep it from happening even more and preserve the look you are happy with.

Annie Sloan Chalk Paint: Comes off in a fine powder when sanded before waxing. It’s easy to control the amount of wear and results in a soft, distressed finish that looks amazing. You can control how much you distress it and what look you are after. I use an electric sander for the first bit to get most of my distressing done, and then switch to a small block covered in sanding paper if I need more distressing in certain areas or on edges.

No you don’t have to distress it – you can leave it as is and it will at some point distress from wear and tear naturally. The effect is amazing and distressing happens on areas where it will get used the most. I love them both for different reasons and applications. Chalk paint adheres to anything and you don't need a primer, it's virtually odorless and very safe. Milk paint I love because it is unpredicatble and spontanoues. Because of this you never know how it will chip and react to whatever you are painting and until it dries and chips or not chip it's all a bit of a wait and see game. I am so thankful to The Wholesaler who took a chancve and brought these in for me to play with - I needed more stash of this and I hope you will also fall in love like i have.

Currently I am using the Milk Paint line from American Crafts/Imaginisce to paint some background boards for a project. Where you would normally mix 1 part powder to 2 parts water, I used four parts water to get a wash rather than a paint. And my next project will be Milk paint on a layout for this week - can't wait to show you what i have done!

To view the range available head on over here

Come December I am hoping to finish off the furniture pieces i started and tackle some more!

The opinions expressed are my own after having used both products extensively. I used Annie Sloan Chalk Paint for the comparison since I have used this product for several years. I use Annie Sloan waxes for all my painted furniture. Please remember that the comparisons in this article is what I experienced and know about the products.