Crusty, Rusty DIY

This is a DIY project where you can take almost anything and give it a old, crusty, rusty appearance. I chose a $2.00 lamp to experiment on.  This is what I was going for:

 

This was a make it up as I go project. First I started with a shiny brass lamp I found for $2.00 at a junk store. Of course, I started painting before I  remembered the camera.
First I spray painted the lamp two coats of white.
Next I took craft paint in Burnt Umber and Brick Red and dry brushed these colors on the lamp. I was trying to achieve a rusty appearance. You want to leave some of the white showing.
At this point I am thinking this is the ugliest thing and I should just abandon this project!  It could not look any worse so I decided to persevere. Next I took wall Spackle and randomly applied it to the lamp. I started out using a small trowel but found out it worked better using my fingers. Leave areas of the dark paint showing.
Just play with the Spackle until you get a look you are happy with.  Below is the final result.
And another close up.
If you wanted a smoother appearance use your dampened  finger to smooth while the Spackle is still wet. You can also lightly sand when dry.
I hope everyone is having a great Memorial Day. We celebrated yesterday with our son and family. Our community pool opened this weekend and the grandchildren had so much fun swimming. Afterwards we had a cookout at our house.  It was a fun time and good food.
Lucia
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24 thoughts on “Crusty, Rusty DIY”

  1. Your lamp turned out wonderful! You just saved yourself a ton of money, because anything with that great finish costs a fortune! This is my first White Wednesday, and I'm very happy to meet you!
    Happy WW!
    Carol

  2. The lamp is awesome. You are so good at creating things. I had an antique store years ago and I really enjoyed the time spent there.
    I appreciated your thoughts and hope you come back to visit often. That incident happened twenty years ago and it was a great learning experience for a novice. Hopefully I won't forget the lesson learned.
    Hope you have a great summer.
    Joanie
    P.S. I am now a followr

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