DIY: A Copper Bronze Furniture Finish

There are many things I love about being a decorative artist. Near the top of that list is the thrill of finding diamond in the rough furniture.  I've spent many weekends at flea markets, consignment stores and antique shops on the hunt for unloved but unique pieces. And best of all, since no one knows what to do with them, you can score a real bargain. My whole house is filled with these treasures.

This time the project is for a client.  I've already finished the walls, columns and table for this dining room. Plus I helped select the paint and light fixture.

Faux Effects Quartzstone, Stuco Lustro, Old World Venetian Wax and Mica Powders

Close-up of high polish plaster in Charcoal with Bronze and Copper Mica Powders.

Copper Crystal and Rubbed Bronze light fixture

The dining table in Faux Effects Copper Faux Metal and Custom tinted glazes.

A big trend for 2018 interiors is mixed metals. Obviously our main metal is Copper with a mix of a golden Bronze.  So I was excited to find this sofa table at a Kansas City consignment store. The marble is in perfect shape and the colors are spot on.

But the wood base was drab and dark.  No worries. Time for a Metallic Makeover!

The first step in a furniture makeover is the clean the surface, a light sand, and a final wipe down with denatured alcohol.  My base paint is Faux Effects Designer Metallic in Charred Gold.  I wanted the base to be a warm brown based gold therefore I did not add the silver concentrate that came with the Designer Metallic. The easiest way to apply with out spraying is to brush on the paint and pounce it with a Leon Neon.

Well I've been reversing the first and last name for years! Leon Neon.

I let my base paint dry over night.  The next step is unexpected but I use this mix and technique a lot on furniture, cabinets and front doors.  Mix 1 quart of  Aquawax + 2 Cups of Metal Glow + 1/4 Cup So-Slow Super Extender.  The wet mix will look cloudy-that's the wax. But it will dry to the metallic color.  My mix will fill in flaws, protect the surface and create a strong slick surface for further glazing.

The Metal Glow for this project is Ginger Brown.  There is not much wood on this side table so I cut my recipe in half.

I brush the mix over the surface and pounce with the Leon Neon (see you will use this brush a lot).

Even though there is So-Slow Extender added this layer usually is dry within a few hours. Always check each layer for bonding before proceeding as dry times vary due to climate and thickness of application.  Next I mix a pint of glaze medium: Faux Crème Clear, Aquacreme or FX Thinner (all will work with Metal Glow) + 1/2 Cup Sunburst Metal Glow + 1/4 Cup Antique Mahogany Stain & Seal.

Brush on the mix and pounce with cheesecloth. I wipe back the high areas more with the cheesecloth.

I use a flat small squared brush to tip and shape the architecture of the piece.  Van Dyke Brown Stain & Seal thinned with FX Thinner will work for this step.  The glaze and detail layers should dry overnight.


To seal the piece, I mixed a pint of  un-tinted Aquawax  with 2 TBSP So-Slow Extender. This is thinly brushed over the surface and wiped back with the cheesecloth. Avoid letting it collect in the deeper areas or corners to avoid a frosty look.  I used the Aquawax because I had it in an earlier layer but you can top coat this finish with Varnish Plus or C500 if desired.

Here is a version of the same finish with  Faux Effects Fauxstone Pull-Off added under the base coat.

Don't forget this is the last week for the December Metal Glow Sale if you want to try this finish yourself.

Rebecca 

Let It Glow, Let It Glow, Let It Glow

It's the most wonderfaux time of the year!

Happy December everyone. Hope you are getting your projects wrapped up for the year and filling the calendar for 2018. Since this is the season of sparkly lights, pretty papers, and decorations galore, Faux Effects wanted to join in the festivities this month with our most cheerful product....

Metal Glow

Just look at this color selection!

So what is Metal Glow?  Metal Glow is an iridescent paint. It is more sheer and sparkly than metallic Setcoat. But the consistency is thicker then metallic colorants. Plus it comes in 67 colors giving you the largest range of color options. It comes in quarts that cover approximately 75 square feet.

How may Metal Glow be applied? You may spray it-just thin with some water. I like to keep it the consistency of melted ice cream because getting it too thin may cause the metallic to separate and run on a vertical application. At this consistency and using an HVLP the Metal Glow may appear slightly "hammered" when sprayed. That's OK, It will lay out.

Need to roll it? Use a cloth roller verses a foam one. The foam rollers will slide in the metallic. As you roll the Metal Glow, pounce it with a Neon Leon or Stippler Brush. This will minimize lap lines. You may also apply it by brush.

Where do you use it? Glad you asked. How about almost anywhere! Let me show you a few ideas:

Metal Glow may be used as a base coat for cabinetry, either alone or mixed with Setcoat for custom tinting.  The kitchen above was sprayed with a mix of Faux Effects Designer Metallic and Wheat Metal Glow.  The Antique Apricot Finish below uses Sunburst Gold Metal Glow in the base.

And Urban Fern is made with an equal mix of Setcoat Sage and Sea Spray Metal Glow

Metal Glow gives a soft shimmer to ceiling finishes like this one that starts with Leo Gold Metal Glow:

Because of the sheerness, Metal Glow is a great tint for waxes....

The sample above is a variation on a finish by Prismatic Painting's Gary Lord. Eldorado Gold Metal Glow and Urban Steele are mixed with Faux Effects RS Water Wax. The sample below is Silver Lining Metal Glow and Elephant Hide Metal Glow mixed with Faux Effects Aquawax:

Metal Glow is a favorite for tinting RS Plaster because when you buff the plaster you get a pretty  sparkle like the sample below using Luna White Metal Glow and Rich Silver Metal Glow:

Of course one of the most effective uses for Metal Glow is to mix it with a Faux Effects Glaze Medium.  Our Moon glow Travertino is glazed with Faux Crème Clear mixed with Citrus Gold Metal Glow and Wheat Metal Glow:

A sheer glaze mix of Aquacreme and Toasted Coconut Metal Glow highlight the raised plaster pattern in this Faux Effects RS Sandstone Finish:

Alice Blue Metal Glow + Teal Stain & Seal creates this pretty over-stain for an end table:

I'm going to stop here because we all know that it's better to get your presents spread out over several days (or is that just me?).

Check back this week and next for some step by step DIY projects using Metal Glow including one from The Faux Finish School in Louisville, KY!

Warmest Wishes,
Rebecca

Fastest Faux Barnwood

Pickling White Stain & Seal 

Remember how I told you that Pickling White Stain & Seal is the color you need? It was just on Friday so....Well this is one way that I use Pickling White on my own home. 

Many of you know about our purchase of a fixer-upper on the fly when we down-sized. I literally found it on a web search, sent Bruce and the realtor to see it and buy it if it was OK.  Let's just say it have given me a lot of opportunities to experiment with my Faux Effects products!

These were the pantry doors:

Old bi-fold doors before 

Old slab bi-folds. Now I had a vison of a beautiful barn door. But my wallet had a vision of something else.  And it turned out I didn't have room for a barn door.  But hey, I'm creative so I grabbed a couple of things to make-over the doors.

Once I figured out how to get the doors down, I cleaned and sanded them. For a base, I rolled a coat of  Royal Taupe Setcoat.  For my "barn wood" I mixed 50% water with Faux Effects Sandstone and whipped it with an electric drill and paddle. You want it to look like a paste.

Faux Effects Sandstone whipped with water for a creamy paste

I trowel the Sandstone paste over the base colors for 100% coverage.

Whipped Faux Effects Sandstone for Faux Barn wood

Next, I used a wire brush to "score" the Sandstone in long strokes. This creates the grain.

You may also use a stiff Chip brush-if you have one of those....because all artists never have a crusty brush handy!

When the Sandstone is dry, I lightly sand to so the surface feels smooth.  For my first color layer, I mix a favorite Pecan stain using these Faux Effects' products:

1 quart of FX Thinner + 1/2 cup Pickling White Stain & Seal + 1/4 cup American Stain & Seal + 1 TBSP Rich Brown Stain & Seal.  American Walnut and Rich Brown are standard useful stain colors for many projects.

I always spray my surface-especially when it's an unsealed plaster- with water. Remember water is your friend-it's an advantage of using a water-based stain product like Stain & Seal.

When the Pecan color is dry, I roll Picking White Stain & Seal mixed with FX Thinner (1:1) and wipe it back with a damp cloth.

Faux Effects Pickling White Stain & Seal rolled for Barn wood.

I want to pop the tips of the stained Sandstone. This is where I get more aggressive with the sanding block. After wiping off the dust, I rolled 2 coats of Faux Effects Aquaguard waiting an hour between coats.

To make my doors look a little more upscale, I bought thin wood strips from the big box store.  I cut them to size for the top and bottom of each door. Remember if you have bi-fold doors you will need to cut 2 pieces for the top and 2 pieces for the bottom-so it opens. Things like this seem obvious until you do it...don't ask me how I know this.

I used liquid nails to hold the pieces because they are so light weight.

Now, you could stop here and it looks pretty good. But what artist or crafter wants to stop at "pretty good?" Are we not defined by our love of embellishments?

I had some fun tacks lying around. OK.  I have boxes labeled "DO-DADS" because I'm always buying stuff at flea markets. Don't judge because I know you do it too.

There you go. So much better with the decorative tacks.

All I needed is some fun handles. These look like old plumbing wheels.. I guess there is a technical term for them. I just thought they were cute and big!

And that's it! Up-dated bi-fold doors with a fun up-cycled look!

Want to try Pickling White yourself? Don't forget that Stain & Seal is the October Product of the Month.  You may contact your local or favorite Faux Effects Studio to order-plus they should have the other products such as Sandstone and Aquaguard used in this DIY story.

As always...thanks for reading Finishing Acts and your comments and messages. If you have ideas or questions for future posts please drop me an email at rebecca@fauxfx.com

Rebecca