Aging Sheet Metal

Here s a way to speed the natural process of the steal coating wearing off.

Aging sheet metal.

You should be left with beautifully aged metal. It can be the lichen on old buildings and bridges unchanged for centuries or the look of a well loved piece of antique furniture. The best part is you probably already have all. To age the metal i decided to hand paint the aged metal patina.

To make a piece of galvanized metal look old and rusty and chippy and have a wonderful patina takes years of outdoor wear. Here is a side by side comparison of the brand new metal and the aged metal. But once it arrived i realized it was a tad too shiny for my taste and it could use a little tarnish but i wanted to age galvanized metal quickly. Once removed by renovation the patina will never be the same.

You ll be amazed at how beautifully this turns out. Bleach and ammonia in combination are dangerous. Galvanized metal is usually zink or iron with a coating of steal sealed over it to prevent it from rusting. Then put the metal on a plastic sheet in an open or well ventilated area and put on safety glasses gloves and a long sleeved shirt to protect yourself from the chemicals.

Stonegable s aging galvanized diy. Here is the stock image from amazon. The planter is a little too shiny for my liking so i thought i d try my hand at aging it to give it a more rustic farmhouse look. The aging process helped take the shine off of the entire surface as well as etching into the metal to give a nice patina.

Metal aging is one of the most common ways to alter the properties of a metal alloy. We can get that look at home and it doesn t require much time at all. While many metals may have their properties altered through heating and quenching or work hardening some metal alloys are specifically formulated to be aged aging can alter the physical and aesthetic properties of an alloy to give it characteristics quite different than its unaged form. Do not mix the lysol with the home made patina solution.

Work in a well ventilated space preferably outdoors and keep all chemicals away from children and pets. To age galvanized metal start by sanding it with 80 grit sandpaper until it no longer looks shiny and slick. But if for some reason your metal still looks too new for you liking just repeat the process. I ve read about aging metal using chemicals but i didn t have those materials on hand.

Patina is a catch all phrase to mean the look of age or weathering that occurs to all items.