Using Patina Paint To Easily Create An Aged Finish

Are you looking for creative ways to add a really unique look to your painted home decor? Patina Paint is a great option to easily at an aged yet funky twist to painted furniture and decor. Let’s review ways to achieve a Patina Paint Aged Finish.

And if you are looking for additional ways to get creative with your painted furniture and decor check out: Furniture Transfers And Stencils for more ideas.

The Merriam-Webster definition of patina is “a surface appearance of something grown beautiful especially with age or use”. Normally, a patina occurs in nature on metals such as copper and bronze when the metals are exposed over long periods of time to air and moisture.

Imagine an old tractor or automobile sitting in a field or old farm tools sitting outside a barn. Patina gives a unique, industrial and antique look.

Did you know that you can use patina paint to easily create a faux patina paint aged finish? Such a fun way to add character to your home décor and furniture makeovers!

Options for Creating a Patina Finish

There are several ways to create this aged finish. For example, you can use various combinations of paints like a copper color paint in a spray or brush on form and then use other colors of paints such as aqua dabbed on to give the look of a patina. Or you can age metals quickly using various combinations of vinegar, salt and hydrogen peroxide.

And if you look around my blog or my social media you will see that I love a pretty patina finish on my painted pieces! If you haven’t tried doing a patina paint project to create an aged finish, I encourage you to give it a try and I’m going to give you some simple steps to help you get the aged patina finish you are after!

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If you are looking for help on other ways to add creative, unique accents to your painted furniture, check out this collection of ideas at:

Furniture Transfers And Stencils

My Favorite Way To Create An Aged Patina Finish

Although there are other ways to create a patina finish, my absolute favorite way is to use Dixie Belle’s Patina Paint Collection! Because Dixie Belle makes is so easy to create an patina paint aged finished on any type of surface, including metal, glass, wood, and even things like laminates and Styrofoam!

And, these products go a long way! And to be honest, the paints and sprays in the Patina Collection last a long time, covering quite a few projects! That’s one of the great things about many of Dixie Belle’s products.

I show a few projects in this post, but you can find many more examples or patina paint projects on Dixie Belle’s website

Now let’s talk about how easy it is to use this Patina Paint Collection! In fact, check out my printable Quick Steps To Using Dixie Belle Patina Paint at the bottom of this post. Using patina paint is super simple and really fun and this printable can guide you through the process in a step-by-step fashion as you work on your next project.

Easy Patina Paint Finish Steps

To get a step-by-step print-out for using Dixie Belle Patina Paint get My Quick Steps To Using Dixie Belle Patina Paint. This guide is an easy to refer to printable to walk you through your next project.

Patina Paint Combinations

Dixie Belle Patina Paints are available in copper, bronze, and iron. Copper is truly just that, like a copper penny color, shiny and really pretty. Bronze is a bit of a deeper brown. These are both very metallic looking. The Iron is a shiny metallic gray.

And, it is important to note that these paints have flecks of metal in them that tend to settle at the bottom of the containers. Therefore, before you apply the paint you need to mix them very well. I usually shake the container really well and stir with a stirring stick or a plastic knife. It’s the metal flecks in the paint that the spray will react with to create the desired look, so mix well!

The Patina Spray comes in blue and green. Different combinations of paint and spray create different finishes. It’s fun to try different combinations to see how they look. And there’s no rule that you can only use one paint color and one spray color in a single project! It can be fun to mix it up a bit depending on what look you are going for.

Classic Patina Combinations

So, to get a more traditional patina finish like you would see on an old shipwreck you can use the green and blue spray with either copper or bronze paint. In my opinion the copper paint and green spray is really gorgeous.

Now visualize an old rusted antique automobile sitting out for many years in a junkyard. To get this traditional rust finish use the green spray with iron paint. Also, another important tip is that the the iron paint only reacts with the green spray, and not the blue. Honestly with these products the combinations are truly endless!

Here are a few other ways to change up the look of your project. First, prior to applying the patina paint you lay down a base of chalk mineral type paint. You can use any color of chalk style paint. I often use gray just because it provides a good neutral base, but I also think a metallic chalk paint looks really pretty as the base.

And secondly, you don’t have to patina the whole piece of furniture or décor. More often, you will see furniture artists use the patina in various areas of the piece, like detailing. And lastly, I’ve seen gilding waxes added before the sealant.

It’s fun to think that there are so many options! My suggestion is just to give it a try and enjoy the process! I often pick up items from Goodwill or thrift stores to practice techniques on just for fun.

A Few Tips To Create a Patina Paint Aged Finish

Make sure and cover your work space well. It can get messy!

• Mix the patina paint well before you apply.

• Try brushing on the second coat of patina paint for one look or dabbing it on forming peaks for a different effect when you add the spray.

• Use a disposable cheap brush to apply the patina paint.

• Apply the patina spray while the second coat of patina paint is wet.

• The Iron Paint only reacts with the Green Spray – not the blue.

• Also, It takes about 2-8 hours for the patina to fully form, so it is fine to wait a bit to seal your project with topcoat.

• And, If there are areas of your project that you don’t want the patina spray to tarnish then you can apply a topcoat to those areas first before you spray.

If you are using the Patina Paint on a metal object, first apply Prime Start primer for metal.

Final Thoughts

I hope this info and these tips help you get started with patina paint to create a faux aged finish. It’s crazy to think that you can create a fun aged finish in just a day to give your home decor and furniture projects really cool character and charm!

I’d love to see your projects in the comments or answer any questions you have about using the Dixie Belle Patina Paint Collection!

Other Blog Posts Featuring Patina Paint

• How To Use Patina on Metal Finsihes
• How To Patina Glass Home Décor Items
• and a Patina Painted Tabletop With Texture

Get My Printable Quick Steps To Using Patina Paint

This printable step-by-step guide is available in my resource library along with other fun and helpful chalk painting and DIY tips and updates. Get access to this printable and my free resource library here by filling out the form below.