| Search our quarter-million Q&As |
Home of the finishing HOTLINE since 1989
-----Water Based Metal Coatings
I'm looking for a formula for water-based metal coatings like those manufactured by Sculpt-Nouveau or Modern Options / Sophisticated Finishes [affil link] . I would like to patinate some wood furniture to make it look like old metal, but I don't have the time or resources to do something like plating or leafing. These commercial products are fairly expensive and come in a small quantity. I'm also restricted to their choices of metals. All the information I have found makes me think that this stuff could be made relatively cheaply using inexpensive off-the-shelf products, I'm just not sure what the vehicle and binder should be for the metallic powder. Almost everything I can think of would seal the surface and make patination difficult. Thanks in advance.
James Hughes- Seattle, Washington, United States
2003
I recently saw a flyer for Rustoleum American Accents [affil link] paints to simulate patinas, leather, stone, etc. These or similar paint products would answer your problem of how to apply the patina to other metals; the reason they don't put real patinas of varying colors on other metals is that you can't do it (the patina is a reaction between a given metal and some reagent).
As for printing the formulations of proprietary products, we can't do that, James. The anonymity of the Internet makes it impractical to determine if a responder has the knowledge legitimately or is a disgruntled employee or competitor who is revealing trade secrets. But if anyone wants to give a reference to published literature, that would be fine, of course. Speaking of which, there are a number of books about patination which will give you the formulas. Good luck.
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
Need quick confidential answers? $25
Need project assistance? $100/hr.
2003
Sorry! Finishing.com is temporarily Read-Only.
Ted Mooney is retiring but I have several offers to take it over.
We're working hard to make sure we find it the best new home.