A guy at a yard sale in Eugene changed how I look at old paint

I was picking through some junk last fall and saw a beat up dresser with this thick, ugly green paint. I told the owner I'd strip it, but he stopped me. He said, 'That's milk paint from the 40s, you can't buy that color now. Sand it smooth and clear coat it, let it show its age.' I did exactly that, and the piece sold for double my usual price in two days. Now I check for original finishes before I even think about removing them. Anyone else find a hidden gem under what looked like a bad paint job?

3 comments

3 Comments

ryantorres2mo agoTop Commenter

My buddy found a dresser with weird orange paint... turned out to be from the 70s and super cool.

terryg472mo ago

Come on, it's just an old dresser. That orange paint was probably a bad choice even back then. Not everything old is automatically cool.

ryantorres2mo agoTop Commenter

Okay calling out my bad orange paint taste, that's fair. I once painted a bookshelf lime green thinking it was retro, looked like a highlighter threw up on it. Maybe I just have a thing for loud furniture colors that don't work out. You're probably right that most old stuff is just junk, but I still get excited digging through it.