DIY Aged Paint Effect

Since discovering what thrift shops and flea markets had to offer, it wasn't long before I found out that good finds for a small price are RARE!

I'm still learning to curb my enthusiasm and hold off on buying a mediocre lamp just because it's there. Instead, waiting just a week or two more will more likely help me score a perfect pair.

I had been thinking about getting a large, antiquey-looking mirror to occupy an empty space on our bedroom wall for a while but obviously, they're so incredibly expensive. However, I was at a flea market recently and stumbled across this beauty...

The sellers were packing up for the day and getting ready to leave when I saw this huge mirror just sitting on the asphalt.

I haven't yet mastered the art of showing a cool exterior when bargaining, so when I asked the guy selling it, 'how much?', he just shrugged and said '$5?'

Embarrassingly, I think I might have actually let out a little squeal, right in front of him, right there. I quickly hustled over to my husband, grabbed $5 out of his pocket and then hauled it back over to him. I can't tell you how proud I was of my accomplishment. It was a steal! (I get extra bonus points too for talking to a stranger despite my social anxiety - yay!)
I wish I could have taken a proper 'before' photo below, but as you can see, transforming this ugly duckling was an exciting project for me so on went the primer with no hesitation!

You can get an idea of what it looked like before... It was a mess. Ugly brown wood with shellac or something over the top. It was horrible. After giving it a good clean and then one coat of Kiltz Spray Primer (affliate link), masked off the glass and took it outside for a coat of  Rust-Oleum Gold Metallic Spray
It was then left overnight to dry and I hung it up the next day. However, still, something looked a touch 'off'. The gold was too gold and too bright. I had to tone it down a notch so came up with the idea to create an aged paint finish myself.
I know there are many dark stains, wax's and finishing products out there to do the same job but another trip to Home Depot was expensive and unnecessary I thought, so I here's what I came up with...
I happened to have on hand some black acrylic paint. It was really thick so I diluted it down a bit and then used a cheapo brush to work a small amount into the nooks and crannies. I kept my paint brush as dry as possible and a paper towel to one side to wipe off any excess. Then I took an old flannel and buffed the frame so the paint rubbed off a little and the gold highlights were exposed.



You could apply a finishing coat next but I didn't as liked the matte finish anyway and plus, I wasn't too keen on clogging up the intricate cut outs with wax.

If you're attempting a project like this, I have just two little pointers to add that might help.

• Paint Color: I actually first tried brown pints and they were just too subtle for my liking. After rubbing, there was nothing there afterwards. My advice is test a small area first but you may find the deeper the color, the better end result you'll have.

• Drying time: The black paint I used dried so quickly (I'm guessing interior paint would be the same) so I took to working on small areas at a time. That gave me enough time to rub and buff the paint while it was still wet instead of getting mad when it wouldn't budge after drying.

And there you go... Very easy! Have you done an aged or distressed paint project recently? Or do you plan to try one out? Let me know below.

Happy painting...