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How to Create a Distressed Finish with Paint

You all know that perfect chippy, aged item full of patina that gets your heart racing when you spot it in the corner of a barn-turned-thrift paradise? No? Just me? 🙂 What if I told you that you could take pretty much anything and give it the patina of your dreams?

Well, you can. 🙂

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Have you all heard of Modern Masters? I had in passing, but it wasn’t until I saw some very cool projects start to pop up on Pinterest that I started to really pay attention. When they contacted me and offered to let me give their Metal Effects paint line a try I was super excited to try to add some aged beauty to some of my own items!

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I decided to test it out on two different items—a terra cotta pot that houses my prized fiddle leaf plant (prized because it has been alive for 7 months!) and a pair of candlesticks that I was ready to give a new look to.

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After cleaning my items off and making sure they were dry, I then applied the Metal Effects Primer. This product protects your item from the aging solution you apply later so the paint ages, not your stuff!
I did two coats of primer then allowed it to dry for 24 hours. The instructions say to wait at least 12, just an FYI if you’re planning a project out!

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After the Metal Effects Primer was dried, I then painted a coat of the Copper Reactive Metallic Paint. This paint also comes in iron and bronze and contains real metal particles.

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While the second coat of paint was still wet, I applied both the Green Patina Aging Solution and the Blue Patina Aging Solution. I had a hard time picking between those two gorgeous hues, so I went with both! You can apply them with a sponge, but I used the spritzer cap.

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This was where the magic happened. Within minutes of applying the solution I could see the paint start to age right before my eyes. Look how cool this is!

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As you can see in the photos, we had some visible brush strokes. I didn’t mind because I liked the texture, but if you want a smooth finish I’d recommend using a roller brush.

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I know it’s lame to watch paint dry…but I couldn’t help it. 🙂

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This is what I ended up with. Isn’t it awesome?

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I am already coming up with all kinds of fun project ideas to create with this set.

A big improvement don’t you think?

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What about you guys? Have anything you are dying to give a perfect-patina makeover to?

This post was created in partnership with Modern Masters. As always, project and ideas are 100% my own! 🙂 To find your local Modern Masters retailer, you can use their Retail Locator or their Online Shop.

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Tania Griffis is an accomplished writer, blogger, and interior designer with a Journalism degree from the University of Oklahoma. She started her popular blog, Run to Radiance, in 2011, demonstrating her design expertise through the personal remodeling of six houses to millions of readers across the globe.

Tania also owns The Creative Wheelhouse, a respected ghostwriting agency for bloggers, further showcasing her talent for creating engaging and informative content.

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12 Comments

  1. This looks so awesome! I know my mom wanted to try to do something like this with an old cabinet. I’ll be sure to send it along! and also totally going to try it on some picture frames 🙂
    great job!

  2. oh how i love distressing/painting my own things. it’s convenient because you can buy whatever and not worrying about it matching – you’ll take care of that when you get home <3 love how your goods turned out (as always!)

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