Friday, March 1, 2013

All That Rusts is Not Iron

I'm an incurable bargain hunter. I love thrift shops, flea markets, and clearance racks-especially when they yield miniature supplies! The last time I was at the craft store, I found a few different Sophisticated Finish  paint kits in the clearance aisle. These are faux metallic finish kits consists of a paint which contains tiny flakes of metal, and a solution which corrodes the metal flakes. I'd tried the "copper" finish from the same brand, and liked it quite a bit. You can see the card stock lantern I used it on here. This time, I bought "iron" paint with a rust solution, and a bottle of "bronze" paint I've yet to try.

This little horse figurine seemed like a good piece to experiment on. I gave it several coats of the iron paint, and then a little of the rusting solution (unlike the copper version, the iron paint needed to dry before the aging solution was applied). I wanted it to look like it had been exposed to the elements for a while, without completely covering it with rust. The rust on the horse is far more subtle in real life, which I like. I let the rusting solution pool in places where water might collect.
I don't think I'd have purchased any of the faux-finish kits for full price, except possibly the copper kit.The normal retail price is a bit expensive for the amount of paint (normal price in my craft store is about $11, mine were marked down to $3). But now that they are in my supplies, I've used both the copper and iron paints on on a few little projects. 

8 comments:

  1. Hi Eliza, the piece looks stunning! Love that you thought about the places where it would collect water/rust if it where outside. Is the paint you used easy to work with? gr. AM

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  2. This is stunning! Beautiful finish! :D

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  3. Nice finish! I was looking at one of my books last night called Dolls' House Accessories, Fixtures & Fittings and the author, Andrea Barham, teaches a technique on patination.

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  4. I never knew such paints existed. I'll be looking for them here. The finish is really stunning.
    Hugs, Drora

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  5. To AM
    The paints aren't any more difficult to use than normal craft paint. I had to use a few coats to get the entire thing covered, but I think a darker primer would have cut down on the number of coats needed. The hardest part of the iron paint (for an impatient person like me) is waiting for it to dry completely before putting on the aging sollution. The copper paint gives quicker results, since the aging sollution is supposed to be applied to the wet paint.

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  6. Hi Eliza,

    I love what your doing with your little figures and the paint. I have used a lot of that rust paint on our out door surfaces, it works wonders. It really is a great effect on your horse, when you compare it to your pull toys the difference is amazing!Completely different looks.The pull toys are really cute by the way.

    ML Fi x

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