Drum Art:Trials & Tribulations of Period Milk Paint

[Zouave Rooster]

I have been toying with the idea of using period correct "milk paint" to reproduce a contract eagle variant on a reproduction snare drum. For effect, I have been practicing my art work on raw maple planks to get the image I desire prior to setting off on the actual drum shell.

The ?Question? that I didn't quite figure out is, will milk paint hold on the current shell sealent (not sure if polyurethane or similar...) Has anyone had experiences with milk paint they like to share?

Regards,

Erick Gustin
51st OVI Co.B &
Cleveland Zouave Light Guards

[33rdaladrummer]

Re: Drum Art:Trials & Tribulations of Period Milk Paint

There were two types of paint used in the 19th century, milk paint and LINSEED oil based paint. Milk paint is commercially available today, but modern oil paint is different than linseed oil paint since (synthetic) alkyd oil is the base. I have experimented with milk and linseed oil based paint. In order to replicate the look of period paint, both hue and gloss are important. The primary pigments used to obtain the red seen on original drums were vermilion (mercuric sulfide) and red lead. Red lead was the cheap substitute for vermilion (chinese red), which was mixed with other pigments to imitate vermilion. Neither vermilion nor red lead is practical today due to cost or toxicity. I found that a shade of red milk paint called salem red is pretty close to the color on some original drum hoops. But milk paint probably wasn't used as much as oil paint. Maybe milk was used on home-made drums, which were seen more in the Confederate army.

I am trying to reinvent the wheel by coming up with a recipe for oil paint. I have found that the georgian brand of artist's vermilion hue mixed with a tiny amount of lamp black added is a pretty close match to the orangish red found on surviving drums.Artist tube paint is really thick so I have tried thinning with turpentine and boiled linseed oil and some japan dryer. The result is very slow to dry and not as durable as is needed. From what I have read, adding varnish will make a harder enamel-like paint. This again is difficult since few period resins are available (and affordable) to make the varnish. I just got some dammar I'm going to try.

Not sure if you wanted all that, but to make a long story short, milk can be used for hoops if you rub with straight linseed oil after the paint dries. I also wax the milk-painted hoops, but I suppose a topcoat of varnish could be used. As for an eagle, I would use artists' oil tube paint, but be sure to varnish after the paint dries.

Depending on how picky you are, a modern oil paint (maybe a semi-gloss or eggshell) could be used to imitate the linseed oil paint. Almost all makers of repro drums use a hue and gloss of red that is closer to that seen on sports cars. Just look at repro and compare to an original in good condition and the difference is obvious. Imagine a drum straight from a factory 150 years ago. The old fashioned ingredients could no way produce the look made possible by modern technology.

[Hank Trent]

Re: Drum Art:Trials & Tribulations of Period Milk Paint

Some of the milk paint companies warn you, and I found it to be true, that if it's painted over oil paint, it will shrink more than the oil paint and may cause the underlying paint to loosen. Don't know what it would do, if anything, to a typical drum sealer.

Just curious about the choice of milk paint. Was that what was used? Somehow I just figured it would have been oil paint, since it was pretty typical for artists.

Hank Trent
hanktrent@voyager.net

[Zouave Rooster]

Re: Drum Art:Trials & Tribulations of Period Milk Paint

Will- Many thanks for your advice and help in my barrage of questions of late. I am new to the drum and I'm striving to keep it as real as possible. The little info I have tracked down points to the fact I can't get my paws on period correct Linseed paint(as you pointed out of synthetic additives), but found that milk paint was potentially a viable option and may have been utilized for hoop color. This was more of an assumption on my part, meaning it was utilized quite a bit in period furniture from what I have gleaned from period furniture references and the net. There are quite a few "recipes" out there for milk paint and several companies where colorant powder can be had.
Thanks again,
Erick Gustin
51st OVI Co. B
Cleveland Zouave Light Guards

[Spinster]

Re: Drum Art:Trials & Tribulations of Period Milk Paint

My favorite milk paint is this:

http://www.milkpaint.com/

Favorite being based solely on the fact that I can walk into a store about 30 miles away from here and buy it without waiting on mailorder. The store is also about 3 miles from my favorite catfish joint.

It is, of course, a mixture of various pigments and powdered milk. The product sheet tells you a good bit more http://www.milkpaint.com/prod_bullet-mp.html

The reality is--unless you are painting on to properly prepped bare wood, this stuff is going to peel quickly. On a slick drum surface, I'm thinking that if you painted it Saturday morning, by Sunday night, your paint is in little flakes on the floor.

They do mention some stuff called 'extra bond' to add to the paint. I used it once and saw a marginal difference.

Artists oils will be more flexible on a surface that will be subject to vibration, colors are blendable to get the shades you want, and an inquiry with a good restoration specialist should produce a source for older receipt artists oils--there is entirely too much conservation/restoration work being done on paintings of this age, so the materials are out there.