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Sunday, June 4, 2017

How to Easily Age Inexpensive Galvanized Planters

How to age galvanized Dollar Tree planters with a few simple household ingredients!


Did you know you can easily age new shiny galvanized metal in just a few simple steps?  There's no need to wait for weather and time to do the job for you.  Aging metal is easier than you might think and doesn't require harsh chemicals.  Three common household ingredients and a little elbow grease are all you need to perfectly age and weather galvainzed metal, tin and other similar products.

How to Easily Age Inexpensive Galvanized Planters

I've been wanting to try aging metal myself, so when I found a shiny metal bucket at my local Dollar Tree I knew right away it would be perfect for aging.   I'm pretty sure this metal bucket isn't galvanized, but this method of aging metal will work regardless. 

SUPPLIES NEEDED TO AGE AND WEATHER GALVANIZED METAL
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Metal planter (Dollar Tree)
- Salt
- Vinegar
- Hydrogen Peroxide
- Paper Towels
- Sisal Rope (optional) 
- Hot Glue Gun (if using rope) 
- Scissors (if using rope)
- Faux greenery (optional)

HOW TO AGE GALVANIZED METAL, TIN, SHEET METAL, CORRUGATED METAL AND OTHER SIMILAR PRODUCTS

I started with this shiny metal "Flowers & Garden" planter that I found in the garden section at Dollar Tree.  They must be pretty popular because when I went back to take a picture they were all gone! I'm not really surprised since they are a great find for a dollar.  

Dollar Tree metal planter before
The planter could definitely be used as is, but I really wanted to age the metal to make it look a little weathered and rustic.   I did a some research and found that three common household ingredients can be used to easily age metal.  Vinegar, salt and hydrogen peroxide.
            Household ingredients to age metal

supplies for aging metal
I grabbed a small bowl, poured in about a tablespoon of salt, added equal parts of vinegar and Hydrogen Peroxide then mixed it all together.  (I didn't measure, but I'd say it was roughly 3 tablespoons of each)
Rubbing mixture of salt, hydrogen peroxide and vinegar on galvanized planter
I used a spoon to pour a bit of the mixture over the metal, (making sure to get some of the salt to use as an abrasive) let it sit for a while then used an old rag and paper towels to rub the mixture into the planter.
Rubbing aging mixture into planter
I repeated the steps a few times until I was happy with how the metal was aged.  I found the longer I let the mixture sit on the metal the better the aging results I achieved. 
How to give metal and aged look
To add a little depth to the metal planter, I highlighted the letters by tracing them with an oil-based permanent marker.  I then used a paper towel to rub off some of the marker to give the letters a worn look.
Adding marker to highlight writing on planters

How to weather and age a metal planter from Dollar Tree
You can stop here or if you want to go one step further you can add rope knots to each side of the planter.   

I simply knotted one end of my rope, cut the other side close to my knot then hot glued a knot to each side of my planter. 
Adding rope handles to aged galvanized bucket
The addition of two faux greenery plants completed the project and I had a perfect aged metal planter that only costs a dollar!

How to age galvanized metal

Give galvanized metal a weather look

How to age metal and give it a weathered look
It's hard to believe this shiny metal planter was originally purchased at Dollar Tree!  Now when you see shiny metal bins and planters at your local Dollar Store or Target's Dollar Spot you can easily turn them into the perfect aged and weathered decor!



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How to give metal an aged and weathered look
Click HERE for more Dollar Store DIY projects.

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  1. Pretty good post! I just stumbled upon your blog and wanted to say that I have really enjoyed reading your blog posts. Any way I'll be subscribing to your feed and I hope you post again soon.

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  2. Running out to dollar tree now! That is a fantastic look!

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    Replies
    1. I just did the same thing after reading this! LOL!

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  3. I just bought 3 galvanize buckets for my daughters grad party and have been trying to figure out how to age them...you saved the day! Thank you!

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  4. I like what you did with yours. I painted mine a taupe gray shade and added dark wax. I also used a black Sharpie for the lettering.

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  5. I love this! I have a shiny metal milk can from the dollar spot at Target and I can't wait to "age" it now.

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  6. I followed your directions exactly on a sheet of galvanized metal to age it. It did not work. Looking at your pictures it looks like the metal is not true galvanized metal. So I'm going to try it on a cheap metal tin i have. Unfortunately the salt just scratched my metal which was not a great aesthetic.

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    1. Oh no! Did you let the mixture sit on the metal for a bit? I had to repeat the steps a few times before it started rubbing off. Good luck!

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    2. It's easier to work with a flat piece of galvanized metal. The trick is to leave the solution on for a long time (a day at least). Also, try adding Comet powder to the solution.

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  7. Enjoyed this post as this blog provided me nice info about Metal supply.Thanks for sharing it.

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  8. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  9. Excellent, beautiful, fantastic, gorgeous. Do you get how much I love this post? You did it girl! Wow!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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  10. I have never seen any containers like that, or any other galvanized pieces at our local Dollar stores. Lucky you!

    And neat transformation. :-)

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    Replies
    1. I just bought 3 of the exact ones in my local dollar tree. They did not have them last week. They may be coming to your location soon!

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  11. You can also age metal(especially aluminum) by running it through the dishwasher. Repeat until you get desired effect.

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  12. This is awesome! I tried painting items to make them look more rustic but did not love the outcome. I love this! Thanks for sharing!

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  13. Where did your greenery come from? Thanks.

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    Replies
    1. They are faux sage plants from IKEA, but I'm not sure they sell this particular one anymore. However, they do sell it on Amazon :)

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  14. This is exactly what I needed to age a piece of galvanized sheet metal for a bulletin board! Thank you!

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