August 13, 2012

A Little Rusty

So, if you've been following me for any time at all, you know I have the attention span of a gnat and I want to try EVERYTHING.  I can't help it - I'm an Aries.  My latest adventure involved Modern Masters Iron Paint and Rust Activator:
It says to use primer if you're using it on wood or metals and I'm always a "read and follow instructions" type of gal... OK, maybe not so much, but I did at least read this far in the directions, so I bought the primer, the iron paint and the rust activator.  And a few disposable foam brushes.  They also have other paints (copper and brass maybe?) and patina activators, but I went for rust.  It says you can use it on anything, so I chose some victims:
I found a seashell and some wooden beads, a couple of cameos, a pair of old earrings, some odd tin star brooch, a metal clay (maybe?) heart, and some random plastic/resin pieces.  I gave everybody a coating of primer, just to be on the safe side.
The directions said to let the primer dry for 12 hours.  Huh.  There is no project in my world where I wait for 12 hours.  I did wait an hour or so - it was really hot and sunny outside, so I figured that was good enough.  Besides, I was dying to get to the good part, so I brushed on the iron paint.  Here's how Mr. Monkey looked at that point:
This part didn't take long to dry.  They suggested an hour, but mine was dry after only about half an hour.  You can put the activator on with a brush or a sponge, or you can spray it on.  I settled for a sponge brush, because that's what I had handy.  After a short wait:
 Way cool!  So I brushed a good coat of the activator on everything before I went to bed.  I let it pool in places and didn't even try to be neat about it.  The next morning was like Christmas - the anticipation as I went out to see what I'd ended up with - I felt like a kid again!  And this is what I found:
Some pieces seemed to rust more than others and I'm not sure why.  I did also lose some of the rusty color when I sprayed it with sealer, but I really thought that was necessary - can't have folks getting rust stains on their clothing from my jewelry, now can we?  But those pieces just needed something, so I got out my Gilders' Paste and rubbed a bit here and a bit there:
Most of the colors of paste I had on hand didn't show up much.  The only one I was happy with was the teal blue, but it sure is pretty on the flower, isn't it!

I think this was a very successful experiment and I've got lots of fun pieces.  Now I just have to figure out what to make with them!
Cameo before & after rust technique



13 comments:

  1. Love it! Now my brain is in over drive! Thanks for the post! =)

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    1. hahaha - yes, the possibilities are ENDLESS:)

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  2. Enjoyed this a great deal... ohhh I want to try now... the monkey is my fav..keep up the great posts..

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    1. The monkey was my favorite going in, but I think the tin star shaped brooch ended up in the lead:)

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  3. The Flower! Sherri, you are brilliant, the things I can see you do with this. And the kaki cord. Wow!

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  4. Thanks for sharing .... this is really cool! The monkey is my fav too!!
    ~Michele

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  5. Fabulous, they all look so gret.
    Jenni

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  6. WOW ~ I've been fooling around with Swellegant, this is awesome too! Thanks for sharing!

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  7. This is so wild! Hard to believe how ancient and official the monkey now looks! Thanks for sharing all of this info!

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    1. hahaha - isn't that funny! It does really change it!

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  8. Whoa! This is totally cool...first I've seen of this, will def try this!

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