One of the key areas of our decorative workshop is the application of decorative coatings that imitate aged brass or bronze. The degree of aging can vary quite widely. From a subtle patina to a dark, almost black finish with streaks of brass base. Painting brass or bronze is a complex process performed experienced craftsman decorator in a painting booth by applying several decorative layers of special paints.
You can choose the shade of the brass base and the intensity of the patina layer from the sample catalog. Or the coating can be made according to your sample with a high degree of identity. To do this, you must bring a sample of brass or bronze fittings, or another item with a clearly visible area of the original surface. It is also possible to perform coating based on a photograph. But at the same time, identity cannot be guaranteed, due to distortion of the light level, white balance, glare and other photography effects.
In addition to the intensity of the patina layer on the coating, several other parameters can vary. The combination of all parameters creates a unique brass or bronze finish.
First of all, this is a way to wear off the patina. After all, aged metal always or almost always has some traces of touch and use. In some cases this is a light polishing effect. Then in the middle zones the patina remains almost untouched, but the edges and corners show worn out places where the brass base shows through or shines. Scratches are not visible or almost invisible.
The most common option is medium-intensity abrasion with small scratches. This type of aging gives the product a cozy appearance of a solid, almost antique item. In this case, the edges and corners are more worn than the middle parts, especially on flat edges.
Directional decorative polishing of the patina is also possible. At the same time, parallel thin scratches are visible on the entire product. The intensity of the patina layer and the contrast of scratches may vary. Scratches may be barely visible, giving the surface a faint semi-matte silky sheen. Or they can be contrasting and deep, clearly distinguishable. This coating has its own unique antique charm. In addition to the listed parameters decorative covering, painting for brass or bronze can be done with either a matte or glossy surface. The glossy coating gives off a distinct glare, the product looks as if it is wet, the coating is smooth. The matte texture dissipates glare and gives the product a cozy velvety effect.
Description, for the description field: Painting products to look like brass, applying coatings that imitate brass
Coating products with bronze paint protects their surface from the damaging effects of moisture and the spread of corrosion.
Anyone with the skills can carry out painting. necessary tool and plenty of time.
Types of dye and their advantages
Previously, bronze paint contained organic solvents. This resulted in a strong odor coming from the paint. Nowadays, instead of outdated compositions, mixtures are used for coloring metals. They are water soluble and contain only natural ingredients.
Modern dyes now contain metallic pigments of natural origin. They use acrylic dyes as binding elements.
Painting metals bronze has the following advantages:
- Environmentally friendly and odorless.
- Low price, which explains water based coloring composition for metal.
- Possibility of obtaining various natural stylizations (for example, antique).
- Ease of processing products.
- Reliable protection metal surfaces from moisture and corrosion.
- The service life of surfaces painted with this composition is tens of years.
If the surface is pre-painted with a layer of electrically conductive paint, its corrosion protection is simplified due to the formation of a galvanized film.
Also, the advantages of bronze dye include high resistance of the coating to UV radiation and external mechanical influences.
Application of coloring compounds
Before painting metal bronze, it should be prepared.
Applying paint and varnish material to unprepared areas will not produce results.
Careful surface preparation is required to remove traces of dirt and rust. If you apply paints and varnishes on areas damaged by corrosion, this will not protect the metal from premature destruction.
Preparatory work
Rust and remnants of old paint must be removed from the metal surface. To carry out such work, the following methods are used:
- Rough mechanical cleaning wire brush or abrasive disc mechanisms.
- Sandblasting. The advantage of this method is penetration into hard-to-reach areas. The downside is the relatively high price of the unit.
- Surface cleaning chemical compounds, reacting with rust and old paint. At the end of it, everything can be easily washed with a soft cloth.
When carrying out this work, you will need protective equipment to protect your face and hands from damage by small particles and reagents (goggles, gloves made of thick cotton fabric and a respirator).
After cleaning operations, a primer is applied to the prepared surfaces (in two layers). This improves the adhesion of the metal surface. At the same time, an additional moisture-proof polymer coating is used. After upper layer Once the primer has set, you can begin applying the bronze dye.
Painting
Depending on the type of dye, it is applied using one of the methods to form a monochromatic coating. To do this you need: 
- dilute the mixture in water in the proportion described in the instructions;
- prepare working brushes for painting small parts and surfaces in hard to reach places;
- When painting flat areas, use a regular roller.
For these purposes, you can use a dye sold in cans with a spray gun.
When painting you need to pay attention to the nuances:
- To obtain a more saturated color, after the first layer has dried, you will need to apply another one.
- For streaks and stains, it is necessary to evenly blend the composition over the surface.
The bronze composition can be used to paint stainless steel to give a noble appearance. Bronze acrylic dyes are suitable for these purposes. They are environmentally friendly and durable.
From this lesson you will learn how to make a panel clock with a “bronze” insert and a panel with “copper”
Here are the materials used.
Watch. Made on hardboard, craquelure paste is used for the background, the dial is printed, the background is napkins, imitation of old bronze on plaster. The frame is decorated using one-step craquelure to match the background (fresco): in fact, it is not as whitish as in the photo (the lighting let us down).
Even when my son was in school (6th grade), during labor lessons they made various castings from plaster.... So this one has waited in the wings.
I covered the hardboard with a spatula with craquelure paste, I immediately dried it with a hairdryer, when cracks appeared, I dried it naturally (8 hours).
I glued the gypsum blank onto the dried hardboard (with PVA glue).
I glue the dial, napkins....
I paint the plaster blank with bronze acrylic paint, “smudge” the panel in places of bulges and depressions with green and black paints, and immediately wipe it with a napkin. I cover the entire part with a bristle brush with bitumen wax, sprinkle generously with baby powder (talcum powder is also an option). And I rub this powder into the wax with a bristle brush (good).
I shake off all this “disgrace” and with a soft cloth (lint-free) begin to polish the product.
Polish until a “metallic” shine is formed.
Then I covered the entire product with parquet silky-matte varnish in one layer.
For the painting/panel for the background I used a structural paste with a pumice (sand) effect in two colors.
“Old copper” on plaster was done in the same way as on the “bronze” watch, only acrylic “copper” paint and a shade of turquoise and black for smearing.
Place a napkin over the dried paste.
For work we will need:
1) Wooden blank
2) Acrylic putty
3) Acrylic primer
5) Acrylic paint: white, beige, gray, black
6) Texture paste
7) Acrylic metallic silver from the IDIGO “4 silver” set
8) Silver wax paste from the IDIGO “4 silver” set
9) Two-step craquelure IDIGO (Step1, Step2)
10) Antique paste IDIGO dark brown
11) Varnish Poly-R silky matte
12) Matte varnish IDIGO
13) Bitumen wax
14) Baby powder
16) Sandpaper
17) White spirit
1) Sand the wooden blank, fill in the unevenness of the wood with putty, and sand it again. We cover the outside of the workpiece with acrylic primer in several layers with sanding, and additionally cover the lid with white acrylic.
2) Tear out the desired image from the napkin. I used a printout on a napkin. Glue the napkin onto the workpiece using varnish-glue for decoupage 2 in 1 IDIGO. When gluing, we try to put folds in places where there is no image, only the background.
3) Dry, sand off the folds and sand the “napkin-primer” transition. Mix gray, beige and white paints and paint on the background.
4) Varnish the lid with several layers of working varnish (I use Poly-R).
Apply the first step of IDIGO craquelure. The first step is white and sticky and should be applied quickly (I applied it with my finger), in an even layer, in the direction you want the cracks to go. I wanted the cracks "from the center" so I applied the varnish from the center in a circle to the edges. After you have applied step 1, you can smooth it out by dipping your finger in water and walking over the varnish.
5) Dry 1 step in air or with a hairdryer until transparent. After this we apply step 2 of IDIGO craquelure. I apply it again with my finger. The second step is transparent, you need to apply it very quickly, in a medium layer. Step 2 sets very quickly and if you wobble it for too long it starts to streak. The second step is also leveled with a wet finger if necessary.
6) Dry step 2 craquelure with a hairdryer. I conducted a number of experiments with this pair, my conclusion is that without a hair dryer it does not want to crack, it just dries out with a couple of cracks. However, if you immediately start drying it, it gives these cute cracks:
7) Rub the cracks with IDIGO Antique Paste. Judging by the smell, it is bitumen with some additives for a thicker consistency. Rub the antique paste into the cracks formed using a cotton pad, then use a clean cotton pad to remove excess paste from the surface. I decided to wipe the surface with white spirit - the cracks became more elegant in appearance.
8) Since the cracks are quite deep, use varnish and sandpaper to smooth the surface until smooth. After the surface of the lid has become perfectly flat, we coat the lid with IDIGO matte varnish.
9) On the bottom and top of the box with a pencil we mark the approximate location of the pattern - roses, leaves and other monograms)) (in the first photo the lid is not yet varnished)
10) Place the texture paste into a bottle with a narrow spout, and squeeze out patterns from the spout according to the pencil drawing. Each side is dried strictly horizontally overnight, I did it in 3 stages - the lower part and the lid separately. After the first layer has dried, you can go over the necessary places with more putty, and also, for example, add veins on the leaves along the drying layer with a needle.
11) Paint the resulting relief with black paint in several layers, leaving no white spots, dry the last layer for at least an hour
12) We paint the surface of our box with silver paint, and immediately remove the excess paint with a cloth.
13) It seemed to me that the color was too dark, so I added white paint to the silver and painted the entire box with the resulting mixture using a dry round bristle brush in a circular motion. We try to tone down the black color; it shouldn’t remain in its pure form, just the deep places should be darker than the high ones.
We also paint the inside of the box with light silver, and darken it a little with diluted black paint.
When painting metal products, two goals are pursued: protection against the formation of corrosive areas and giving the metal an aesthetic appearance. When implementing the last task, sometimes it is necessary to cover the surface in 2-3 layers. But the end result may not always be just painting. Sometimes metal products it is necessary to give original decorative effects, for example, the appearance of an aged object. For this purpose special technologies are used. Let's try to figure out how to paint antique metal and what is required for this.
You can achieve the effect of aged metal by using the main method - aging through the creation of a patina and the formation of abrasions. Patina is applied with special paints, but for metal, acrylic-based metallic compounds are more often used. In stores today there is a wide range of such paints; in addition to their decorative function, they also perform a protective function.
Available to choose from acrylic paints for aged metal, namely:
- brass;
- bronze;
- copper;
- gold.
Thanks to modern technologies, an aged effect can be given not only to metal surfaces. Often this painting is performed on plastic, wood and plaster products.
The aging process is completed by applying a final protective layer. For this they often use:
- acrylic-based varnish, which has a high degree of gloss;
- very durable polyurethane-based varnish with a gloss level of up to 50%;
- polyurethane-based varnish with a matte effect.
How to age metal yourself?
The choice of method for creating an interior style, which assumes the presence of traces of antiquity in the design, is quite wide. For connoisseurs of this style, it is not always affordable to purchase real old items. The way out of this situation is to imitate ancient metals. How to properly paint antique metal with your own hands? Coloring is carried out in stages:
- Preparing the surface for painting. We get rid of dirt, rust and traces of grease by grinding and solvent treatment.
- Metal priming. In this way we achieve the formation of roughness on the surface for better adhesion of the paint. We choose a primer special for metal.
- Application of selected metallic paint. Experts advise performing the process using a regular brush, this way aging is achieved in the best possible way.
- Aging stage. When the paint has dried, coat the surface with a special craquelure varnish. It is after this step that the metal object becomes covered with cracks, which create the effect of an old product.
Important! If not processed metal surfaces, then it is necessary to take a responsible approach to the choice of primer composition to achieve reliable adhesion with metallized paints.
On video: master class on applying patina to forged metal.
Bronze painting
In the old days, many objects were made of bronze. Therefore, painting products in bronze will help decorate the interior of the house in old style. There are several technologies for coating metal with bronze. Let's consider the simplest options.
Giving a monochromatic effect
You can perform a single-color coating of metal with bronze as follows:
- First of all, we clean the old surface from dirt and rust. To do this, you need to clean it using sandpaper and then carry out degreasing.
- To increase the adhesion of the dye to the surface, we perform a metal priming process. In addition to adhesion, the primer will help further protect the product from corrosion.
- On finishing stage Let's start painting with bronze paint. It is necessary to apply 2-3 layers evenly. But each subsequent layer is applied only after the previous one has completely dried.
Achieving the effect of antique bronze
Decorative antique painting with a bronze effect is suitable for lovers of rare things. To do this, follow these steps:
- Performed preliminary preparation old surface according to the same rules as in the previous case. Also, do not forget to coat the product with a primer.
- After priming, one layer of bronze paint is applied to the surface. It is desirable that the composition be applied evenly, but for an antique effect it is better to use a brush.
- After drying, the bronze painted surface becomes covered with a patina (paint more dark color). It is applied to the recesses. Experts advise using a translucent patina. This allows you to adjust the shade of the bronze coating.
- The next stage is glazing, that is, processing with a brush that is barely moistened with light paint. The process is carried out on all protruding edges and corners. This aging method allows you to give the product the effect of wear and tear, which usually appears on metal over the years.
- Next, we wait a while, allowing the applied materials to dry completely, and finally we coat the product with transparent varnish.
Antique Brass Painting
Textured metallized compositions can transform a product, giving it an imitation of brass. The processing technology is almost no different from those provided above. The surface is pre-cleaned, sanded and degreased. For aging, a technique of decorative painting to imitate brass is used.
The application process is carried out as follows:
- Before applying decorative paint, the old coating is removed from the product. For this you can use wire brush or sandpaper.
- The key to durability and reliability of painting is the primer. Use a compound specifically designed for metal.
- Brass paint is applied to the surface in one layer. You can age the resulting coating by painting it with craquelure. Burnt umber, which is applied very carefully using a dry cloth, will help enhance the effect. If excess is formed during the work, it must be removed before the substance dries.
- Finally, the surface of the painted and aged part is coated with a glossy acrylic-based varnish.
As you can see, designer antiquity is achieved in simple ways. When doing work with your own hands, paints that create the necessary effect of a bronze, brass, or copper surface help you get the desired result.
