Saturday 26 November 2016

How to create a faux rust sign.

Here's a fun little project to try. I start with a piece of Dibond composite panel, and do a quick scratch layout, nothing fancy. I used lettering enamel to do the copy, then let dry. Once dry, I take some isopropyl alcohol on a rag, and rub over the letters to remove the paint. It's a personal choice on how much you want to remove. It's also a good idea to go with the direction of the strokes, makes it look more natural. The rate the paint comes off will depend on how long it has cured. Best to do a few tests first to se how it works

The next step is to use poster paint, either One Shot poster, or Ronan Japan Color, to paint the rust around the edges and scratches on the face. For the rust colours, I use mixtures of brown / black / orange, and yellow. I just pallet mix the colours to keep it simple. I then let the sign dry for a while. If you do the next step to soon, it will remove the poster paint.

The last step is to do a few wash coats to give it the final aged look. For this step, I use paint thinner, tinted with the rust colours to do wash coats. I stand the sign vertically, and with a brush loaded with the paint thinner mix, go along the top and let it run down the face. I will alternate between the tinted thinner and clean thinner to move the wash evenly down the face sign. On a larger sign, I would use spray bottles. You can also do the same with water based paints. I just decided to use oils on this one. Hope you find this of interest. Comments welcomed.