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I am so sorry for the abundance of pictures in this post, I just couldn’t get over how beautiful this milk can was in it’s raw, original state. It almost didn’t get sanded down, but I was concerned about all of the rust eating away at it.
After taking lots of pictures of your finally-acquired, beauty of a vintage milk can, you can get started with the restoration.
I decided to try and sand the whole can down and get rid of all the rust.
This did reveal some fun details that weren’t visible originally. Like this etching…
But after a week of sanding, and not getting much of anywhere, I discovered this wonderful product! {Rust-Oleum Clean Metal Primer
Now you’ll need to prime the whole milk can…over top of the rust.
Once the primer is dry you can paint it any color you’d like. I wanted to go with a silver look to go back to the roots of the milk can, but a bright vibrant color would be really fun to bring some life into a space.
I’m currently using our milk can as a side table of sorts in the family room. It’s great for when we have a lot of company over and people need a place to set their drinks.
I really like your blog.. very nice colors & theme. Did you design this website yourself or did you hire someone to do it for you? Plz answer back as I’m looking to create my own blog and would like to know where u got this from. cheers
Check out ThemeForest.net! I did a lot of personalization on this blog, but they have a lot of great options.
After I open up your Rss feed it seems to be a lot of junk, is the issue on my part?
It seems to be working well for me. :-)
Did you brush paint or air spray the can?
I used spray paint. There’s a link above to the Rustoleum primer I used, and once that dried, I just used a silver spray.
I know this is an older post, but hoping you can help. The can I’m working on has a lot of chipped paint, stencils and rust. Should I not sand it at all?
I would work on removing the pieces that will come off easily and then sand just to create as much of a smooth surface as possible!
If my milk can Is painted already should I try to sand it off first before doing this ?
If the paint is chipping badly, you should remove the parts that are loose before painting. I would sand it down just to try and smooth it out after that. But, if the paint is in good condition I would just leave it.
Does the primer spray cover up the original wording on the can?
Also if you don’t mind me asking how much did you get yours for? I want to make sure I am getting a good deal for one.
It doesn’t cover up the raised print, but it does cover the paint.
Honestly, I don’t remember how much I paid – but I know it was under $25.
Do you have a suggestion in removing a decal from a milk can
Here’s a great tutorial that I think would probably work well! http://www.wikihow.com/Remove-Old-Decals
i have an old ice cream can and want to keep it in orginal colour with the faded red paint …is there a clear coat paint I can use to keep it this way I don’t wish to colour paint the can in anyway
I believe rustoleum makes a clear paint that should work just as well as the colored ones!
My dad was a dairy farmer and I have 4 milk cans in our barn that I have been saving to give to family members. They are totally and evenly covered with rust. Will your suggestion of Rustoleum Primer work on them after I wash and dry them off?
Bonnie
From Ohio
You most likely will have to do some sanding, and they may never be fully even, but as long as the rust isn’t creating holes, you should be good!
I have an old milk can that has been in our family for years. It had been painted black with an eagle decal sometime in the 80’s. My great, great grandmother’s name and the town and state are etched on the top of the can. What is the best way to restore this and would you recommend repainting it? Thank you.
It’s really up to you! In my experience, it’s very time-consuming to sand. Personally, my recommendation would be to remove any chippy pieces of paint and sand lightly to make a smooth surface. Then you could always paint it with a fun color or metallic silver to make it look more original.
I have two old milk cans that are pretty rusted. I’d like to preserve them and paint them a distressed white. What would you recommend. Also, I have these outside.
The milk cans I’ve dealt with that were really rusted had to just be painted over with rustoleum primer. In your situation, I would use the rustoleum primer and paint to make them whatever color you want. And then I’d use a clear coat for extra outdoor coverage. You might even want to redo the clear coat every year or so.