shaken, not stirred.

Published on by Quandie

When Dixie Belle asked if I’d like to try some of their products, their Patina Paint was at the top of my list.  I am super excited that they sent me a couple of different looks to try.

I love a good authentic aged patina.  Nothing can beat the real McCoy like the gorgeous verdigrised copper roof on this building in Vienna.

But finding the real thing isn’t always possible, or affordable.  And I’ve never been a fan of the faux paint jobs that use several paint colors to create something that ‘looks’ like verdigris or rust.

That is not how the Patina Collection from Dixie Belle works.  Instead it uses actual flakes of metal in the patina paint combined with a spray on acidic solution to create actual rust or verdigris.

I’m intrigued by the idea of trying this effect on a piece of furniture at some point, but for today I decided to start small with this lamp that I recently picked up at the thrift store.

The base on this lamp is metal, but you can also use the patina paints on any other paint-able surface.  However, when using them on metal you must start with a coat of the Prime Start (on all other surfaces you can prime your piece with a coat of regular paint).

The reason for this is simple.  The Prime Start contains an acid blocker that prevents the activator that you apply later from eating through the paint and degrading your metal item.  So be sure not to skip this step if you’re working with a metal item.

It’s not very pretty (unless you like orange), but don’t worry, you’ll be covering that up entirely.

Next you add two coats of your Patina Paint of choice.  I’m using the Iron Paint because I want a rusty patina on my lamp.  There is one very important instruction to take note of before you start using the Patina Paint, can you guess what it is?

Shake well!

I really want to say that the paint should be shaken, not stirred (you know I love my Bond) but I think you could also stir it if you prefer.  But the important thing is that you mix it well in order to distribute the metal flakes throughout.  These are what will give you the patina that you want.  If you don’t get them well mixed you will be disappointed with your end result.

The first coat of the Iron paint goes on fairly thin.

Now here’s the next important bit of info, after painting on a second coat of the Patina Paint you should immediately shake the Patina Spray well and apply it while the paint is still wet.

Now you can sit back and watch metal rust.  It’s sort of like watching grass grow.  It can take 2-6 hours to reach the full effect so I recommend going and getting yourself a vodka martini, shaken not stirred, while you wait.

Then spend some time watching your favorite Bond movie.  Mine is Skyfall which is 2 hours and 23 minutes long, perfect for killing time while waiting for your patina to develop.

In reality, I just went to bed after this step and when I got up in the morning my lamp looked like this.

That patina is so delicious I could just eat it up.

When looking at the ‘before’ photo of the lamp you may have noticed that it had a tacky yellowed plastic faux ‘candle’ at the top of the metal base.  I covered that up with a page from my old Swedish bible.  I simply cut the piece to fit, sprayed it with 3M Super 77 spray adhesive and wrapped it around.

I added a lamp shade that I purchased at Junk Bonanza several years ago.

The shade was made by Light Reading and if you follow my link to their Facebook page you can see that they are going to be at an event in Edina coming up soon.  So any of you locals who need an amazing lamp shade, you can check them out there.  I think I might swing by and try to score another lampshade myself.

In the meantime, I’m going to go look for some more stuff around my house that needs a rusty patina!

 

36 thoughts on “shaken, not stirred.”

  1. I’m Bonding to this paint! I love the results, it’s so fantastic. Okay you did your job, gotta get me some. Thanks for the review.

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  2. That looks amazing! You really can’t tell that it isn’t aged iron. I bet you’re going to be searching your carriage house for things to patina 😉 Looking forward to seeing the different products. I love these thrift store transformations. I finally painted the fish with your fusion! That red glitter that was on it was glitter glue, gah! Such a pain for such a small project ha. I’ll send you a pic. The fusion is incredible though. Very thick and only needed one coat! Thanks again 🙂

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    1. I’m so glad the wooden fish got painted. I had a feeling Fusion’s Laurentien was going to be perfect for it! Next time we go thrifting I’ll be looking out for things to add some patina to 🙂

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    1. Well, you can order it online from Dixie Belle, and here is what their website says: “We can ship to virtually any address in the world. Note that there are restrictions on some products, and some products cannot be shipped to international destinations.

      When you place an order, we will estimate shipping and delivery dates for you based on the availability of your items and the shipping options you choose. Depending on the shipping provider you choose, shipping date estimates may appear on the shipping quotes page.

      Please also note that the shipping rates for many items we sell are weight-based. The weight of any such item can be found on its detail page. To reflect the policies of the shipping companies we use, all weights will be rounded up to the next full pound.”

      I’m not sure whether or not it will be cost prohibitive to have it shipped though.

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    1. Oh! Do you know her? She does do a beautiful job. I’ve tried re-covering lampshades myself and mine always look kind of kitty wampus and homemade. It’s one of those things that is much harder than it looks!

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  7. Ok, I love the patina on the lamp, but my favorite part is that you covered the top with an old book page. I have just the lamp I’m going to try that on. Linda, you are so creative.

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    1. It’s an easy thing to do that has a ton of impact. I once did a chandelier but used photo copies of old black and white photos instead of book pages (you can see a rather bad photo of it in this post) … and hey, ironically, you were the first one to leave a comment on that old post, funny coincidence!

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    1. Believe it or not, at a garage sale. A lot of Swedish immigrants settled in Minnesota (including some of my own great grandparents), so it’s not at all unusual to find old Swedish (or Norwegian) bibles or other books at garage sales around here. I found a really lovely one at a garage sale last summer and you can read all about it in {this post}.

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  11. Really looks realistic! Do love the finish and the look of that lamp with the wonderful shade. I used some Dixie Belle paint in the color Drop Cloth on my kitchen wall that was in a recent post. I bought it a year ago at a Vintage Market event, but hadn’t used it due to my new love of Fusion Paint in Limestone due to your fantastic creations with that paint. I found the Dixie Belle paint to be much better to apply and created a great finish. The paint was still perfect after a year. Hope you will be using the paint in some of your future creations.

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    1. Click {here} for a link to the Patina Collection page at Dixie Belle’s website where you will find prices, etc. You can order it directly from them, or you can use their ‘Find a Retailer’ page to find a retailer near you. Of course, you would want to check with your local retailer to make sure they stock the Patina Collection.

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  13. Very fond of this type of treatment. This lamp was perfect choice. So how did it compare to the product you used on the cow/bull?

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    1. Very comparable & similar products. I like the sizing of the Dixie Belle products because I will be able to do quite a few projects with one jar of the paint/primer and the spray. The Modern Masters kit that I used on the rusty bull was just enough for that one project.

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  14. OH MY WORD LINDA!!!! This stuff is so cool I am ordering it IMMEDIATELY!!!! Also, your blog about fixing veneer that bubbles up using a needle was GENIUS, AAAAAAAAAAAND I love the rich colors of this new paint line. MUST try. Haven’t had time to leave comments on all your latest blogs so I lumped them all together! SO super helpful and inspiring as usual!!!😊😊😊😊

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  18. Pingback: more fun with rust. – q is for quandie

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