Years ago I did a lot of research on 18th century house paints, and one of  
the things that surprised me was the array of often bright colors; a second 
 thing I learned was that in the 18th century they liked shiny finish and 
would  often have several coats of oil applied.  There are records from Mt. 
Vernon  (George Washington's home - Jeff) indicating, for example, colors 
including  orange and bright blue.  I also learned that a lot of the so-called 
flat,  dull colors often associated with the 18th century came from in the 
1940's and  50's when existing original paint from the 18th century was taken 
at face value,  rather than clear understanding of how the colors had 
changed in 150-200  years.
 
In sum, I am confident that the paint palette available today could match  
period colors, and could have the gloss that seemed to be in vogue  then. 
However,  I was just thinking milk paint as I have seen nice  looking Windsor 
chairs covered in milk paint (and top finished with oil or  wax).
 
Cheers,
John
 
John M. Johnston
"There is a fine line between hobby and mental  illness." Dave Barry  

 
In a message dated 2/22/2012 8:27:17 P.M. Central Standard Time,  
seeligerc@g... writes:

On Wed,  Feb 22, 2012 at 4:29 PM, stephen wrote:
> If you want an authentic  finish choose an oil based paint, simply apply 
and
> let dry and it is  done, and period correct.

Well, by my understanding, the paint base is  accurate for the 18th c,
but the colors will be 'off' and the surface  texture will be too
bright.  What am I  missing?

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