Rusting the Shine

I have always loved the rusty goodness of antique and vintage goods but who has 10 years to wait for something to rust? I was working on a client project this past weekend and an old antique door cannot be hung with just any hardware…especially shiny silver hardware right?!  Not wanting to use an acid solution, I thought I would try out the more “natural way” to rust these hooks. Wow, I couldn’t believe my eyes!! This may be the big kid in me, but this was so amazing to watch! I could actually see the solution eating away at the metal to allow for the rusty look!

Directions:

Soak piece, covered in distilled white vinegar, in an old plastic container for 2 hours

Rinse container and pieces

Measure 2 cups of hydrogen peroxide and 2 TB of salt, place pieces in container and let sit for 6 hours or overnight.

I started with 4 hooks like these…

After letting them sit in the vinegar solution for 2 hours, I rinsed out my container, added the peroxide solution and salt, and let them sit overnight…mine immediately started to sizzle in the solution except for one that was being stubborn. The one that would not react to the solution, I took out and sanded with medium grade sand paper and then placed it back into the peroxide solution.

 

After letting them sit overnight, the patina was absolutely amazing! Just make sure you don’t get the solution or rust on your clothing…it will not come out.

The rusty look fits the old antique door so much better than the shiny silver! I couldn’t be more pleased with the way they turned out!!! I absolutely LOVE this door, and hanging from the ceiling makes it all the more grand!!

 

 

My sweet client always offers for my kids to come along and then provides this set up with lots of donuts, chocolate milk, and OJ. She is just amazing! So super sweet! I have the most amazing clients!

Thanks for stopping by, hopefully you can find something out there to rust!! I hope that we can meet up on IG and facebook as well! Have a great week my friends!