Metal Effects Experiments: Bronze Anything With Paint!

I've been wanting to play with Modern Masters' Metal Effects paints for ages now, so last month John surprised me with a whole box of goodies from our local scenic supply shop.

These brush-on paints contain real metal flakes, so when you spray them with the brand's special "aging solution" the paints oxidize, giving you a beautiful, real patina. The three finishes I have to try are copper, iron, and bronze.

So first up, let's bronze something, shall we?

I decided to experiment on this heavy fairy statue I've had forever. I still like it, but it's not really my style any more - so if I ruin it, no biggie.

First I spray primed the statue in flat gray, which allowed the bronze paint to cover in just one coat. The bronze paint looks amazing going on, so I had to take a picture:

Use a soft artist's brush so your brush strokes don't show; heavy brush strokes can show up later in your patina.

And I wouldn't recommend using such a complex statue; there were a million little nooks and crannies on this fairy that took me forever to reach with a tiny paint brush. Not fun.

Once the bronze paint is completely dry and cured, it's time for the patina. Quickly brush on a second coat of bronze, and while the paint is still wet, spray on the aging solution. (The instructions say you can also use a sponge or brush, but I think a spray looks the most natural. They sell a special nozzle for the solutions bottle, or you can use a little travel-size hair spray bottle, like I did.)

The amount you spray is up to you, but I really doused the thing.

And that's when the magic happens:

Within about a minute you'll see the liquid solution start to turn a chalky blue shade. The more you put on, the more opaque that teal-ish blue patina will be.

If you're like me and can't leave well enough alone, you can use a cloth to dab at the patina while it's still forming, either to move it around or take off some of the excess. After messing with it, though, I wish I'd just left it alone; I had to keep going back later to fill in the spots where I took too much off.

The good news is you CAN fill in, though: just stipple or brush more bronze paint on, and then hit it with another squirt of aging solution. (Just let it dry between coats.) That gives it a less natural, more patchwork feel, though, so I'd recommend trying to get it all done on your first pass.

Of course, since my statue has so many hard-to-reach areas I had to go back several times anyway just for those. I think I took too much off the base, but I do like the way her feet came out:

So all in all, while I'm not thrilled with my statue, I AM hugely impressed with this bronze finish. It's easy to apply, beautiful, and works like a charm. I can see using this on everything from jewelry (make wood pendants look like old metal!) to furniture accents and home decor pieces.

Plus, the paint goes a loooong way. Coating this statue barely put a dent in my 16 oz jar of paint or the aging solution, so I could easily do a dozen more statue-sized projects.

If you don't have a specialty paint shop near you then you can order Modern Masters' stuff online. Amazon currently has their bronze paint for about $24 (it retails for $28), and the aging solution in blue or green (I used blue) for only $8. The green and blue solutions also work on MM's copper paint, so you get double duty out of those, which is nice.

And since I just realized I sound like a commercial: this is not a paid review. Heh.

I'll be posting the copper patina and super fun rusty iron finish later, so stay tuned for those!

And for my fellow pinners:

*****

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