It's been a LONG time since I posted on here, but I think you guys might be able to help me.
White paint seems so simple a thing to ask about, but I've had such a difficult time figuring it out.
I'm looking for a white paint that has to meet certain criteria. And... I'm not sure as to if this should belong in the furniture section, but it relates to finishes that can be applied to furniture. If the need is felt to move the topic to another area, I don't mind.
Okay, NOW to the body of the question, and info.
I have a folding carriage parasol from the mid 1860s - I believe it was made in France or England. I've had it for three years and I've just now commenced a restoration on it. I
Part of that restoration meant clamping and gluing a split in the upper part of the shaft, which necessitated sanding the repair smooth, which meant losing the original VERY worn surface paint. Normally, I'm not a big fan of refinishing, because so few people do it correctly (Furniture refinishers on this forum will know what I mean when I say that - you've all seen awful jobs done by "do-it-yourselfers" and inexperienced, or just plain ignorant 'restorers.'), but I decided I was already going to lose part of the original finish, plus, considering that the cover was going to be replicated in new silk (including the scalloped pinking, done with a scalloped pinking iron), and the maltese bobbin lace flounce cleaned and repaired, I thought it would just look better, overall, if it also had new paint on the handle.
But, I've had no luck finding a white paint that has the correct "feel" that is similar to the original glossy paint. I've been doing paint testing on a test dowel, but nothing I've tested has had the right feel or when the feel is closer, it doesn't have the right look (Like the absolutely crazy idea of using artist's white gouache with a layer of neutral shoe polish over it.)
So, what paint finish do you know of that:
A.) Dries hard with absolutely NO latexy-feeling left over after drying.
B.) Dries glossy.
C.) Can withstand some handling (as it's a parasol, it would be carried, plus the slider to open and close the frame would be sliding up and down it.
D.) Isn't BRIGHT BRIGHT white, just a kind of non-bright white, but not drab.
I don't mind if it's not absolutely opaque in one layer, so long as it's opaque once you put a few coats on it. I also don't mind a finish that requires another layer of something that will "gloss" it, like a shellac or a wax.
So, not too much to ask for, eh?
Thanks for whatever help y'all can offer me.
