what's new that I'm excited about....

These are old.. but do they look old? (plastic icky gear is from the 1950-1968 NCR cash register we got this summer, old key was a gift from a friend)

Now we're talking!! I use bronze coating, with Tiffany green patina

More of the plastic cogs/gears after a "treatment"

Side by side comparison 

 Today I want to gab about one of the newer products I'm really excited about.  It's called Swellegant, it's a line of metal paints, patinas and oxides to patina and colorize, well, just about anything.

When I say "metal paint" I don't mean just that they are formulated to stick to metal.. I mean they are metal.  Each metal paint has tiny flakes of the real thing suspended in a resin like liquid.  I think it's helpful to think in terms of "plating" instead of mere "painting" . (yes, yes I know, plating is a very specific term for a electro-chemical process but work with me here)

You literally paint or sponge 2-4 coats of the metal paint of your choice on whatever object you wish ( the metal coatings are copper, bronze, iron, silver, and brass) and then add 1 more coat with the patina of your choice ( darkening, gold/green and Tiffany green/rust) or the oxides (13 colors at the moment)(the patinas work best on a damp piece, so you usually apply it before that last coating is dry)

Now, the magic ingredient to Swellegant?  You are going to hate this ( I know I hate this) ...........................

PATIENCE

Yep, every time you coat the piece, you have to wait to let it dry.  Each coat ( and it will take more than one to fully cover something) should have around 30 minutes to air dry.. at least to the touch.  Then before you seal it you should let it dry thoroughly ( they recommend overnight, since the studio is so cold right now I'm giving it a couple of nights) and then you have to give the sealer 72 hours before completely dry/cured.  And if you are doing a 3D piece ( such as the key and cog) you have to do each side one at a time.  This past week whenever I had 5 minutes I would add a layer to whatever side's turn it was than then hit the other side an hour or so later.  In some ways, since I have so little time in the studio during the work week, this works well.  I would paint for 5 minutes, wash my brushes and then work on whatever project is on my desk at the moment. 

A note on the patinas... they work on regular metal too, not just the metal coatings.  the Darkening solution is one of the best I've every worked with!! It's super fast on copper.  The other 2 patinas take more time to develop, and it helps if you keep it moist.

That means you will spending a week making a piece up, before you can use it. 

I did buy 2 oxides to play with, and I plan to buy the rest shortly.  I got all the patinas and metal coatings and the sealer.

Swellegant isn't widely available yet, if you wish to try it I suggest B'Sues store .  She also got tuts and videos on it's use ( as well as many other tuts and videos on jewelry making)  

There is also a great overall how to use PDF from the makers of Swellegant.