success comes to those who try

I could have gone out and bought the chandelier I desired to have, that is if I could find what I wanted.  And that’s really the whole point of DIY isn’t it, besides the satisfaction of saying; “I did it myself” or the part about saving a lot of money by going the DIY route.  Now for some it can end up costing more if….well you know, things can and do go wrong.

Back to my point, I have a chandelier that I like and want to keep simply because it’s heavy, sturdy and looks nice.  It’s only dated because of the finish, antique brass.  It had it’s day in the 80’s but I’m ready to move it out of the 80’s and into another era 🙂

I want it to be galvanized.  I know rust is my love and I had toyed with the rust look, but that idea faded.  The galvanized idea has stayed with me for awhile now and I’m ready to move into the next phase; making the idea a reality.  Knowing my abilities, I knew that I could do this, IF…I could find the right products and technique to pull off the look I wanted.  In order to do this, I have to do a few experiments on some less expensive items.  Last night I shared with you my test subject, my “guinea pig”.  Not the furry kind like Fonzy….isn’t he cute?  He’s a family pet, not our immediate family.  Our family up in Indiana.  I love his hair.

off track….sorry,

back to the galvanizing.  in the last post I had found a vintage rusty metal door knob in my stash and began my test by spray painting it with Rust-Oleum Hammered Silver paint.  You can see more about that here.

I shared with you that I knew it would come out shiny and knowing this was where the real test would begin…

dulling the shine. first thing I learned was that I didn’t like the sandpaper idea.

I thought it took off too much paint, my goal was to dull the finish not remove.  This time the distress look was not my goal.  I wanted the dull chalky look of galvanized metal, well of some galvanized metal, not all galvanized metal is dull.

So I gathered some tools to help get the look I wanted.

Common sense told me that salt might be something to consider and white ceiling paint and some rust powder.

I tossed the sandpaper but will reserve my opinion as I used what I had on hand and the grit was not fine enough.  So I’m not tossing sandpaper all the way out the door, only for this test.  I would agree that a real fine grit might do the trick.  I had tried a bit of sanding and it removed some of the paint, exposing the metal, not the rusty metal, the shiny metal.  It didn’t take much to do that either.

Sandpaper – Fail

Salt – Success!

Salt was just enough abrasion to remove a shine and in time it could act as a corrosive if enough residue is left on the piece but time will only tell.

Next was trying to achieve the chalky finish as naturally as possible.

White ceiling paint and dry brush – Success!

I learned about this technique from Donna at Funky Junk Interiors.  She uses white ceiling paint on several of her projects and just as she said, it works great.

here is a before dry brush.  you’ll see dark spots…that was from the sandpaper 😦

now here is after the dry brush with ceiling paint…

to get this look, I barely dipped my brush in the paint, then wiped the excess on a paper towel then dry brushed in small areas and followed up with a quick swipe of dry paper towel.  I’ll share a secret, you can remove any thick patches by simply licking your finger and wiping…yuck!  I know, but I was in the moment. Ya do what ya gotta do.

oh yes!  that looks good.

this was an indoor shot, wait until you see the outdoor shot up against the galvanized pail.

check it out…

okay at this point I’m happy with the result and I’m calling this test a success.  I have achieved the look that I wanted.

But, sometimes ya just gotta push the boundaries a bit.

I wondered if I could get some rust on it somehow.  Just a bit, nothing overboard.

Shall we….

this way please.

to get this finish I just did what kids do everyday to their mommie’s walls and windows.  I played rusty objects and then picked up the door knob and rubbed it around in my hands.  The rust dust mixed with the natural oils from my hands did the trick.

here’s another view.

So whatcha think?

While I was at it, I thought why not go ahead and make something out of this little lovely.

Now it’s a photo holder.

I’m very happy with the results of my galvanizing experiment and I think this is my cue to move onto bigger and better test subjects.

I am interested in seeing how this technique works on wood.

Next experiment…

this frame I bought for $1.  Which makes it a perfect guinea pig for the next experiment.

Here’s a comparison from start to finish….a before, middle, middle and after.

I commented on my facebook page that if I had been smarter I would have taken photos of the door knob in the same position and same place to get a better perspective, but this will have to do.

the cost breakdown for this test:

One can Rust-Oleum Hammered Silver Paint $7.99

Door Knob – had it

Salt – had it

White Ceiling Paint – had it

***

Well, what do you think?

Which stage do you like best?

Would you have stopped at chalky (door #3) ?

Do you have a project you’ve been mulling over for some time now, but something is holding you back?

What is that something?

I’d love to hear your feedback on this experiment, please tell me what you think in the comments section.

peace. love. rust.

Joining these fabulous link parties:

Funky Junk Interiors: SNS #100!!!

Savvy Southern Style: Wow Us Wednesday #33

Momma Hen’s Coop: Whatever Wednesday

Handy Man, Crafty Woman: Wicked Awesome Wednesday #31

Eisy Morgan: Inspired By You Wednesday