This technique may look familiar to you because I did this on my guest bathroom vanity a few months back. I was playing around with the patina products from Dixie Belle when I painting the vanity and loved how it turned out so I decided to do a similar look on this old Bombay Chest (pictured below)
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Project Material List: Dixie Belle’s Dried Sage, Coffee Bean, Bronze Patina w/Blue Spray, Gator Hide, Clear Wax, chip brush, sea sponge, regular chalk paint brush (I use Cling-On $50), paper towels
First step is to clean, clean, clean!!! I sprayed my piece down with Dixie Belle White Lightening wiped it clean and then went over it with a damp cloth to remove any left- over cleaning residue. I couldn’t remove all the drawer pulls because some of the screws were stripped and so I knew I’d have to paint all the drawer pulls to match the drawers.
“Coffee Bean”. It’s a rich dark brown. I start at the bottom and pull my brush upwards toward the top so that the brush was almost out of paint at the end of my stroke giving it a “feathered look” or “jagged edge”. I did 2 coats of the Coffee Bean using my Cling – $50 Brush.
Then I used Dixie Belle’s Cried Sage (a very khaki looking color with a hint of green undertones). I started my brush strokes at the top and brush towards the bottom allowing the brush to leave the same feathered/jagged edge at the end of my stroke. The picture shows what it looked like after I coat, but I went back and added 1 more coat for a good solid coverage.
Now the fun really begins. I used Dixie Belle’s Bronze Patina Paint in an up/down motion to blend the Dried Sage and the Coffee Bean’s edges together. For this I just used a chip brush. I also added the Bronze Patina to the top of the Bombay Chest as well for added fun and interest. I let that dry completely before going on to the next step.
Now that the 1 st coat of bronze patina is dry you can apply the second coat…but make sure you have your activation spray (Green or Blue) ready along with any other materials you will need (i.e. sponge, paper towels, brush, baby wipes). The Blue or Green spray (I used Blue) will need to be applied to the bronze patina paint while it is
WET, so you have to move quickly and work in smaller sections. For this project, I applied the Blue Spray with a sea sponge for a heavy patina look. I poured the spray into a bowl and then dabbed it into the wet bronze patina paint.
The activation happens pretty quickly (this picture is taken 30 minutes after the blue spray was applied). If you are using the Iron with the Green spray for a rusted look, be prepared to wait 24 hours to see the full effect. Now its time to seal it. Even though people will say “it doesn’t have to be sealed”. I still do because I want the finish to be protected and I also want to stop if from continuing to react….Once you’ve sealed it, that’s the look that will stay there. I sealed the top with Gator Hide (so it can withstand heavy use) and I finished up the body using Dixie Belle’s Easy Peasy Clear Wax.
I hope you enjoyed this tutorial. I have had so many requests for this one. I’m glad I took pictures while I worked on this piece, so O could share it with you.