Patina paint for metal and wood
The old fashion in design is a very strange thing, because not everyone can feel the fine line between “old” and vintage. Of course, you can buy old things and furnish them with your home, but they have one significant problem - the lack of modern functionality, which we are all so used to.
In this case, there is only one thing left - to buy modern things and artificially age them. And the patina paint for metal or wood will help with this, which we will talk about in this article.
The content of the article
What is patina?
The word "patina" itself has nothing to do with colors. In fact, a patina is a thin film formed on the surface of a product as a result of its long interaction with oxygen. The most famous type of patina can be considered copper oxide - the same green coating that appears on the surface after long use, as shown in the photo below.
On different metals, the oxidation process takes place in different ways, and accordingly the patina has different colors:
- Copper is green.
- Steel - yellow or ocher.
- Brass and bronze are brown.
- Silver is a dark gray.
It patina protects the product from decay and at the same time creates a characteristic appearance, which is so appreciated in vintage things. The technology for creating a protective film on metal has long been known. For example, for many years a weapon went through a special process called “bluing”.
As a result, the metal becomes more stable when interacting with water and air, but there are several significant disadvantages of this method:
- Burnishing is a complex process and it is difficult to do it yourself.
- High final product price.
- To create such a coating requires a lot of time.
But technology does not stand still and today any metal or even wooden product can be aged in a few minutes, and at the same time without losing the quality characteristics of the material itself.
If we talk about patina as a paint, then it has practically no protective functions, it is rather a decoration that is applied on top of the first layer and gives the product a look of aged.
Today in specialized stores you can find patina of various colors:
- Silver.
- Pure copper.
- Green copper oxide.
- Gold.
These are the most common shades, since they are able to imitate various metals and turn ordinary iron into gold or silver.
Unfortunately, patina is far from the “philosopher's stone”, so some manufacturers produce completely exotic shades that are not designed to imitate something:
- Violet.
- Blue.
- Red.
- Pink.
Most often they are used when it is necessary to give the product similarity with the original.
Acrylic Patina
This type of patina is not used on metal, as it has poor adhesion with it. Such paints are more suitable for wood, they penetrate into the pores of the product and emphasize the wood structure and fibers.
As a result of such a coating, the product receives several additional qualities at once:
- The structure of the tree appears.
- The game on color transitions gives the product a noble appearance.
Advice! Do not use patina on furniture with a characteristic modern style. This coating introduces a discord in the overall perception, and creates a feeling of poor taste of the owner.
Painting patina furniture is typical for such styles as:
- Provence.
- Country.
- Classicism.
- Baroque.
- Ethno.
Here she will look harmonious and sustained in the overall style.
Powder-based Patina
The progenitor of this type of patina can be considered the silverfish known to everyone, which in its original form is a powder and requires dilution with drying oil.
It is the powder patina that is used to color the metal. It is sold in finished form, and when applied for convenience, it can be dissolved with solvent or xylene.
Advice! for patination of metal products, buy only a specialized forging patina. It has a long service life and does not wear out over time.
Below we will give detailed instructions for applying a patina, but for now let’s summarize all of the above and list the advantages of such a coating:
- As a rule, blacksmith paints are matte, and patina gives shine to the product.
- There is a sense of antiquity.
- Normal steel takes the form of noble metals.
- With the help of a patina, you can stylize furniture under the overall interior design.
Application
The technology for applying patina to metal and wood is very different, since acrylic and powder dyes have different goals. Therefore, we dwell on each method in more detail.
Acrylic Patina - For Wood
Experts call this technology of aging wooden products - abrasion. It consists in the fact that a layer of paint is first applied to the tree, which will be the substrate, or, if we are talking about the finished product, then this step can be omitted.
So:
- Before painting with a patina, the surface is passed with a metal brush or large emery paper. Part of the coating is erased and the structure of the tree appears.
Advice! When sanding the product, all movements should be in one direction and along the fibers of the tree. Thus, the texture will appear, but the integrity of the tree will not be violated.
- Further, an acrylic patina of the desired color is applied in a thick layer to the surface. She needs to be given a few minutes to get inside the tree, but do not forget that the longer the product is impregnated, the darker the resulting color.
- Now excess paint is wiped with a soft cloth or sponge. That patina that did not have time to absorb into the pores will go away, and the fibers will take on a new shade. Later, when the product dries, you can add color intensity by adding another coat of paint, or coat everything with gloss polish.
- If the technology of applying and preparing the surface is not entirely clear, then you can watch the video in this article, which shows in detail all the steps.
Forging patina - for metal
A rather complicated technology, especially if you apply the patina with your own hands, without having the appropriate experience. To do this, we need some kind of palette on which you can smear the paint.
- A thick patina is located in the corner of the palette, and the brush is slightly wetted in solvent or xylene, after which the paint needs to be rubbed heavily until the brush becomes almost dry.
- Now with light strokes, touching the product with the very tips of the brush, apply the patina. We get not uniform coverage, but scuffs, which create the effect of antiquity. Thus, the entire product is covered, and it can take a lot of time, but the result is worth it.
- Very often, in the absence of experience, there is a desire to grab more patina with a brush immediately, so as not to rub it every few strokes. It is categorically impossible to do this, since the coating will turn out uneven, and instead of the antiquity effect, a poorly stained and shabby product will appear.
In any case, it is better to first practice on something else, and already when the hand feels confident, you can take on patination of the product.Now you know how this work is done and you will do everything according to technology.
