Begin with a cleaned, sanded and primed metal surface before adding a paint technique to metal furniture. Spraying painting works better than brushing when painting metal furniture. Always use spray paint primer made for metal surfaces; most spray paint manufacturers will have one. These primers allow metal to be painted with a regular spray paint. Seal metal surfaces and finishes with a non-yellowing polyurethane sealer. Does this Spark an idea?
Crackle Finish
Crackle mediums can be used on wrought iron furniture. Crackle finishes work well with additional decorative techniques like tole (folk art painting). Sand and prime (using a spray primer) the metal furniture, allowing the primer to dry fully. Add several coats of a base color using a spray paint. Any base color will work, but lighter colors tend to create more contrast, especially if adding decorative painting over the crackle finish. Choose a crackle medium that lists wrought iron as a workable surface, and follow the manufacturer's directions. Do not move the medium around after it has been applied. Doing so will ruin the chemical reaction that needs to occur. Add decorative painting after the crackle finish has dried.
Gilded Finish
Gilding on metal furniture can add a touch of elegance and a hint of wealth. This furniture painting technique works especially well on a relief or a carved surface. Clean the surface with a damp cloth, removing dirt and debris. Sand, prime and give the item several coats of a solid base color. Allow the furniture to dry, and apply an acrylic or latex metallic craft paint (much less expensive than gold or silver leaf) using a small, pointed brush. Drag the paint-loaded brush (Drag it lightly across a piece of scrap paper first to smooth out the paint, twirling the brush as it is dragged.) through the crevices and flourishes of the metalwork. Decide where the gilding will go before adding the metal paint. Photograph the freshly painted piece, and scan the photo into the computer as a bitmap. (Bitmaps allow the picture to be enlarged or reduced without degrading the image.) Enlarge the item, and make a copy. Draw directly onto the copy with a colored pencil or metallic pen to determine how the final piece should look.
Aged Finish
This technique adds a darker glaze to the base coat and uses a glaze made of latex or acrylic paint. Choose paint colors that build contrast, a base color that is lighter---off-white, cream, light green (apple, olive) ---then a glaze coat of burnt umber, black-green or black. Give the furniture two coats of the base color. Once the base coat is dry, mix a glaze of half water, half glaze color (one cup paint to one cup water). Mix the two thoroughly, and brush over the furniture surface. Work an area of a foot or so at a time, allowing the mixture to get tacky and then wiping it off the furniture surface using a damp cloth. The darker color will stay inside the crevices and stain the piece, giving it an aged look. Add several layers of glaze coat if desired. As an alternative, spray paint the item three different colors (one layer each). Allow the first layer to dry completely, add the second color and then the third color before the second color is completely dry. Before the third color is dry, use a damp sponge and wipe at the corners, edges and areas that might indicate use or wear and tear.
Tags: base color, spray paint, metal furniture, base coat, before adding, brush Drag, coats base
