When painting metal products, two goals are pursued: protection against the formation of corrosive areas and giving the metal an aesthetic appearance. Introducing the last task, sometimes it is necessary to cover the surface in 2-3 layers. But painting may not always be the end result. Sometimes metal products need to be given original decorative effects, for example, the look of an aged object. For this, special technologies are used. Let's try to figure out how to paint semi-antique metal and what is required for this.

The effect of aged metal can be achieved using the main method - aging through patina and the formation of abrasions. Patina is applied with special paints, but it is for metal that metallized acrylic-based compositions are often used. In stores today, a wide range of such paints is presented, in addition to the decorative function, they also perform a protective task.

You can choose from acrylic paints for aged metal, namely:

• brass;
• bronze;
• copper;
• gold.

Thanks to modern technologies, the aged effect can be given not only to metal surfaces. Often, such painting is performed on plastic, wood and plaster products.

The aging process ends with the application of a finishing protective layer. To do this, they often use:

• acrylic-based varnish, which has a high degree of gloss;
• very durable polyurethane-based varnish with a gloss level of up to 50%;
• lacquer on a polyurethane base with a matte effect.

How to age metal yourself?

The choice of the method for creating an interior style, which assumes the presence of traces of antiquity in the design, is quite wide. For connoisseurs of this style, it is not always affordable to purchase real old items. The way out of this situation is to imitate ancient metals. How to properly paint semi-antique metal with your own hands? Staining is carried out in stages:

1. Surface preparation for painting. We get rid of dirt, rust and traces of grease by grinding and solvent treatment.
2. Metal priming. In this way, we achieve the formation of roughness on the surface for better adhesion of the paint. We choose a special primer for metal.
3. Application of the selected metallized paint. Experts advise to carry out the process with a regular brush, so aging is achieved in the best way.
4. Aging stage. When the paint dries, we cover the surface with a special craquelure varnish. It is after this step that the metal object is covered with cracks, which create the effect of an old product.

Important! If non-metallic surfaces are processed, then it is necessary to take a responsible approach to the choice of a primer composition in order to achieve reliable adhesion with metallized paints.

In the video: a master class on applying patina to forged metal.

Painting under bronze

In the old days, many items were made of bronze. Therefore, painting products for bronze will help to decorate the interior of the house in the old style. There are several technologies for coating metal with bronze. Let's consider the simplest options.

Giving a solid color effect

You can perform a monochromatic bronze coating of metal as follows:

1. First of all, we clean the old surface from dirt and rust. To do this, you need to clean it with sandpaper, and then degrease it.
2. To increase the adhesion of the dye to the surface, we carry out the priming process on metal. In addition to adhesion, the primer will help to further protect the product from corrosion.
3. At the final stage, we proceed to painting with paint in bronze. It is necessary to apply 2-3 coats evenly. But each subsequent layer is applied only after the previous one has completely dried.

Achieving the effect of antique bronze

Antique decorative painting with a bronze effect is suitable for lovers of rare things. To do this, follow these steps:

1. A preliminary preparation of the old surface is carried out according to the same rules as in the previous case. Also, do not forget to cover the product with a primer.
2. After priming, one coat of paint similar to bronze is applied to the surface. It is desirable that the composition is applied evenly, but for the effect of antiquity it is better to use a brush.
3. After drying, the bronze painted surface is covered with a patina (paint of a darker color). It is applied to the grooves. Experts advise using a translucent patina. This allows the shade of the bronze finish to be adjusted.
4. The next stage is glazing, that is, processing with a brush, which is barely moistened with light paint. The process is carried out on all protruding edges and corners. This aging method allows you to give the product the effect of abrasion, which usually appears on metal over the years.
5. Then we wait for a while, letting the applied materials dry completely, and finally cover the product with transparent varnish.

Antique brass painting

Textured metallized compounds can transform a piece, giving it a brass look. The processing technology is almost the same as those provided above. The surface is pre-cleaned, sanded and degreased. For aging, the technique of decorative painting under brass is used.

The application process is carried out as follows:

1. Before applying decorative paint, the old coating is removed from the product. To do this, you can use a metal brush or sandpaper.
2. The key to durability and reliability of painting is the primer. Use a compound specifically designed for metal.
3. Brass paint is applied to the surface in one layer. The resulting coating can be aged by painting with craquelure. Burnt umber will help to enhance the effect, which is applied very carefully using a dry cloth. If surpluses have formed in the process of work, then they must be removed even before the substance dries.
4. Finally, the surface of the painted and aged part is covered with a glossy acrylic-based varnish.

As you can see, design antiquity is achieved in simple ways. When doing work with your own hands, paints help to get the desired result, which create the necessary effect of a bronze, brass, copper surface.

Usually, both pure black and gray coloration is obtained by the formation of copper oxide or copper sulfide on the surface of the thing. But both of these coloring can be achieved by the deposition of sulfur compounds of other metals on the surface of the thing - lead, bismuth, mercury, etc. Will the staining be completely black or light black, i.e. gray, depends both on the composition causing the color and on the time of action of the latter.

The parts must be prepared, the surface must be completely clean, free from traces of dirt and grease.

Chemical blackening

Hold the part for about five minutes in a solution in which 0.9 g of sodium hydroxide and 0.3 g of ammonium persulfate (NH 4) 2 SO 8 (it is used in photography) are contained in 100 ml of water. Solution temperature 90-100 o C.

In a solution of potassium chloride, nickel sulfate NiSO 4 and copper sulfate CuSO 4 (respectively 4.5, 2 and 10.5 g per 100 ml of water) at the same temperature, copper and brass will acquire a pleasant chocolate shade.

Formation of black copper oxide on the surface of things.

For the formation of black copper oxide on the surface of things, the heated thing is immersed for a few seconds in a solution of copper in an excess of nitric acid and then held over a charcoal fire until its surface begins to turn black. To obtain a uniform and sufficiently thick black color, the operation is repeated several times, otherwise the color will not be completely black, but grayish. At the end of staining, wipe the thing with a cloth moistened with oil. This is how optical instruments are usually blackened.

Blackening of brass and bronze.

For brass and bronze, you can use the following solution: 2 parts of arsenic (not arsenous!) Acid, 4 parts of hydrochloric acid, 1 part of sulfuric acid and 80 parts of water. Arsenic acid can be replaced with antimony oil (antimony trichloride). The thing is immersed in a solution heated to 50 ° C, and during the immersion they touch it with a zinc stick.

Metallic gray staining.

A very good staining is obtained by a solution of a double salt of sodium sulfate and lead: dissolve 45 g of lead sugar (lead acetate) in 3/4 liter of water, and 150 g of sodium sulfate (hyposulfite) in 1/2 liter of water. Mix both solutions and heat to 85-93 ° C. The surface of a thing immersed in a solution very quickly becomes covered with a layer of lead sulphide. The color of this layer changes as it thickens and finally becomes very beautiful - metallic gray.

Black staining with bismuth sulphide.

Similarly, a black bismuth sulphide coloration is obtained. To do this, a thing painted, as explained above, with a nitric acid solution of bismuth in brown, must be immersed while still hot in a strong solution of sulfuric liver (Hepar sulfuris) - the brown color quickly turns black.

» Chemical coloring of brass

Chemical coloring of brass

Having bought, in due time, photo-etching from a Czech company Extratech for Tu-154M (on a scale of 1: 144), I was amazed at the subtlety and delicacy of individual elements. I was especially pleased with the filigree imitation of riveting on the reverse buckets. The engine nozzles are of scaled thickness. The rims on the chassis discs also look realistic.

The impression was enhanced by the new release for IL-62M having the same D-30KU engines.

At the same time, it became clear that trying to prime and paint small parts now means ruining everything! Moreover, there are many methods of chemical treatment of brass, allowing you to give it any color.

Most of the chemicals are always at hand - salt, soda, water. But experiments are still better to be carried out outdoors or in a well-ventilated room, since poisonous vapors and gases can be released. Yes, and no one canceled glasses and rubber gloves.

So, armed with long-forgotten chemistry textbooks and the Internet, let's get started!

NS pre-bleaching of brass

Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc, sometimes with the addition of tin, nickel, lead, manganese, iron, and other elements. And if copper has a pinkish tint, then brass is golden yellow.

Both brass and copper oxidize and darken in air. Therefore, before chemical treatment, it is imperative to remove oxides from the photo-etched surface.

RECIPE:

Alcohol or acetone
Citric acid (available in grocery stores)
Salt

A teaspoon of citric acid and a teaspoon of table salt are added to a glass of hot water.

Photo-etching is degreased with alcohol or acetone and put into the solution for 5-10 minutes. At the end, it is washed with water and detergent.

Do not use metal utensils as a container, and remove the product with steel tweezers - copper deposits may remain.

Whitening is accelerated by increasing the temperature of the solution or the concentration of citric acid.

Important! Do not overexpose the product in acid - the so-called "dezincification" of the brass may begin - it becomes unnaturally pink-red.

The whitening solution is corrosive and should be avoided on hands and clothing.

Burnished brass

So, let's try to imitate the color of the LPC blades of the Tu-154M engine.

For work we need:

1. 10% ammonia solution (sold in any pharmacy);

2. HOM - copper oxychloride (sold in garden stalls);

3. Glass jar.

Pour some ammonia into a jar and add half a teaspoon of HOM. Stir. Add some water.

At first, the solution has a cloudy turquoise color, then it becomes inky blue.

After degreasing with medical alcohol, we hang the brass piece on a string and chat it in the solution for about half a minute. Then rinse with clean water and dry.

The detail takes on a beautiful olive brown color, very similar to a tape recorder. The surface is perfectly flat.

It is important not to overexpose the part in the solution. It can become brittle and crumble.

Having created the dark base, we can now apply a thin coat of liquid diluted metallic enamel paint of any color.

The entire operation from start to finish took no more than ten minutes.

Attention! Ammonia vapors are very harsh and poisonous. The process is best done outdoors, wearing a respirator.

In conclusion, I want to answer the skeptics who they will say that working with photo-etching is long and difficult:

Nothing imitates metal like ... the metal itself.

I express special gratitude to my colleague Sergey Utenko from Novosibirsk for valuable advice and comments.

Metal is widely present in our premises, and is used where its unique physical properties are required compared to other materials. However, metal often also adorns the living area with its presence. And in order to make its visual characteristics even more interesting, the metal surface can be given one or another color or texture. Metal painting itself is most often done for protective purposes, but the decorative painting technique has a lot of differences.

Various metal objects, lamp caps, heating radiators, sinks and the like are most often subject to coloring with decorative properties. In this case, work can be carried out both for objects used in rooms and for external metal elements.

Tips for those who are going to paint a metal surface at sub-zero temperatures

While this advice may apply more to conventional painting than decorative, situations are different. For example, you need to immediately paint a part that has just been brought in from the cold. Therefore, here are some tips:

• The best way to paint in the cold is to use alkyd enamels of a jelly-like consistency, which have high adhesion (the ability to penetrate into the surface structure);
• Painting a surface cooled to temperatures below +5 degrees Celsius should be done exclusively with preliminary treatment of this very surface with a burner or heat gun. Otherwise, condensation will form on the surface, on which the paint simply will not lie;
• If during painting it is cold in the room itself, then the drying time of the layer can increase several times, which is especially unpleasant for decorative painting. Therefore, it is recommended to install a heat gun and cover the surface with foil.

What are blacksmith paints

Recently, blacksmith paints, specially optimized for working with forged materials, have become very popular. Such paints are applied to forging for decorative purposes, which allows you to simulate a variety of surfaces, ranging from gold to cast iron.

The cost of such paints is higher than that of conventional paints. However, this is due to their increased shelf life, which reaches 5 years or more. Moreover, such paints also look really impressive, allowing you to give the required visual effect by the very fact of your presence. Without the need to apply different painting methods.

Today there are many types of such coatings, but the most popular is the German paint WS-Plast, produced by Weigel & Schmidt GmbH. These paints allow you to give a metal surface in many different colors and textures. Here you will find an emerald color, graphite, which is distinguished by red tones, and various types of semi-antique colors. Moreover, such a coating not only decorates, but also protects the metal surface from corrosion and other troubles caused by the influence of nature.

Also popular is hammer paint (Hammerite), which is now becoming more and more in demand. The reason is that this paint does not require a primer and can even be used directly on surfaces damaged by corrosive processes. However, if the rust is loose, then it still has to be removed. The surface treated with this coating becomes uniform in color with the effect of irregular patterns and aluminum flakes.

Application of this paint is mainly practiced with ferrous metals such as steel and cast iron. However, it can also process some non-ferrous metals.

How to show a patina patina

Patina is a characteristic greenish bloom that appears on the surface of copper and bronze products after oxidation. At the moment, the best way to show this effect is WS-Patina paint. Thus, it is possible to age the metal and give it a characteristic respectable shine.

Antique painting

One of the most popular ways to paint black metal is the antique effect. In this case, several coating options are applied to the metal surface in a specific order. But first, the metal itself must be properly prepared. It is mandatory to clean it from corrosion, subject it to grinding, remove dirt and grease. Only being confident in the cleanliness of the surface, you can proceed to the process, which is divided into several stages:

• Using a brush, apply a metallized paint to the surface. Don't be afraid to do it casually, as this only helps in the effect we create;
• Once the first coat is completely dry, apply a craquelure primer. The latter makes it possible to obtain a layer of a transparent film made of polymers;
• Craquelure coating is applied after the primer layer has dried, which allows you to get characteristic cracks, similar to those that appear on things that have been used for decades and even centuries.

Important! Instead of a craquelure composition, the effect of antiquity can be achieved by applying burnt umber to the paint. In this case, it is best to work with a dry cloth, and remove the remains after the paint layer has dried.

Metal color bronze

The bronze coating is one of the most visually impressive. Therefore, people often strive to recreate it. And there are several ways to do this, and they all involve the use of bronze paint.

First of all, the surface is prepared. It is cleaned from dirt, grease and rust. After that, a layer of metal primer is applied to it, which will increase the adhesion of the layers applied above. At the third stage, bronze metallized paint is applied in 2-3 layers.

If you want to give this bronze layer the effect of antiquity, then the grooves must be patinated, which allows you to get the darkening effect from time to time. After that, glazing is carried out, during which we go over the protruding elements and those places, which are characterized by scuffs, with white paint. After the latter has dried, a transparent varnish is applied, allowing the effect to be fixed.

Conclusion

Painting for all other types of metals occurs in the same way. Modern metallized paints allow you to create the effect of brass, copper, silver, gold and other metals.

Do not be afraid that you will not succeed, Practice shows that such methods of metal processing are feasible without any serious knowledge. The video tutorial below will give you comprehensive information on this matter.

Painting metal in bronze is able not only to protect the material from the effects of excessive moisture, contributing to the appearance and spread of corrosion, but also to give its appearance a fair share of wealth and solidity.

To do such work is available to any person who has the necessary desire and a sufficient amount of time. We will consider the subtleties of this process in this article.

Choosing the right solution

Any paint for bronze had an organic solvent in its structure for a long time. Its presence contributed to the spread of an unpleasant specific odor, which significantly limited the scope of such solutions.

Nowadays, thanks to technological progress, water-soluble mixtures have appeared that contain natural metallic pigments. Acrylates act as binders in such solutions.

Water Based Bronze Paint

Acrylic bronze paint for metal has many advantages:

• Ecological cleanliness and absence of any unpleasant odors. During the drying process, only water vapor is released.
• Relatively low price. The use of H 2 O as a base makes it possible to make the production much cheaper, for example, of oil analogues.
• Stunning non-ferrous metal look. It is also possible to apply it in a "semi-antique" way, which will create an even greater effect of naturalness.

• Easy to use with your own hands. The application technology is not much different from the use of conventional paint and is quite feasible for an amateur.

• Moisture insulation. Provides high quality protection against rust.

Advice: pre-applied electrically conductive paint Z inga will maximally protect the iron from corrosion, as it will create a reliable thin-film galvanized layer.

• High resistance to mechanical stress and ultraviolet radiation. For many years this finish will have its original appearance.
• Long service life. With proper operation, at least ten years.

Advice: if there are many fire hazardous objects in the room, then it is recommended to additionally use fire-retardant paints for metal Polistil. They have the ability to foam when a fire breaks out, preventing its further spread.

Paint application

First of all, a thorough preparation of the surface is required, the main stage of which is the removal of traces of rust. If you apply paints and varnishes over places damaged by corrosion, this will not protect the metal from premature destruction.

Preparatory work

The instruction is as follows:

1. Remove old paint and rust.

To do this, you can use one of the following methods:

• Mechanical removal... A wire brush or abrasive discs are used. Suitable only for rough surface treatment.

Tip: be sure to get personal protective equipment before starting work. Metal dust that will rise into the air during work is incredibly harmful to the respiratory system and human mucous membranes.

• Sandblasting equipment... High-pressure sand grains will do a great job on rust, scale and old paint, even in the most difficult to reach places. The only drawback is the relatively high cost of the device.

• Chemical reagents... Pour the surface with a special compound that will chemically react with the old cladding and rust. After that, the remnants of the former coating are easily removed with a rag.

1. We clean the iron from all the resulting debris, regardless of which method of removal was used before
2. Apply a couple of coats of primer. This will increase the adhesion of the metal surface and create an additional polymer layer of moisture protection.

After the last layer of primer has completely solidified, you can proceed to the next stage.

Painting

1. In the first case, you will have a monochromatic coating.

For this:

• We dilute the purchased mixture with water or white spirit according to the annotation attached to the bank.
• For small, extreme and hard-to-reach parts, we use brushes. Smooth areas are possible.

• If necessary, after the first layer, apply another one to create a more saturated color.
• We bring a bright source of light to the applied finish. If no stains are observed, then the work is done with high quality, and you can enjoy the result.

1. If you want to create an aged, then you should paint in several layers:

• First, apply a solid dark layer of metal or spray gun.