precious metals

Over the weekend I worked on a little project involving this metallic finish paint from the Martha Stewart Living product line at the Home Depot.

I painted the frame of this mirror in our front hallway.

This was the starting point.  Ordinary closet door sized mirror.  No frills, but it fits perfectly into this little notch in the wall.

I wanted to make it a little more glamorous, and after an extended period of time considering my options, I selected the precious metals paint in Silver Leaf. 

As I was taping over the mirror glass, I realized the textured paper around the edge of the frame was not adhered well, so I decided to pull it up.  I used acetone to help remove (most) of the adhesive residue from the frame. 

My original intent was to achieve a subtle crackled finish and I applied black gesso to the wood.  Gesso is essentially a primer, designed for porous surfaces like canvas or wood.

However, the crackling finish I hoped for did not occur (my second failed attempt at crackling!!), so I redirected to plan B.

2 layers of silver leaf paint and a glaze overcoat to give the silvery finish a modest tarnish.  I used clear glaze, water, and a little bit of black latex paint left over from an earlier project.  Applied with a brushed and wiped off with a cloth.

The result is the same modest frame, but a touch more luminous.  To add a tiny bit of depth to the glow, I finished with paste wax over the paint.

These photos do not suffiiently convey the silvery look in the paint finish and it is a nice deep silver color. 

In the spirit of maximizing the beauty of the items already here in the house, and adding to the overall prettiness of the hallway, I’m pleased with the outcome.

Thank you for reading!  Wishing you a wonderful week ahead 🙂

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