Yesterday I shared how to make a DIY metal arrow sign. Today I’m going to show you how to age it to perfection. I’m not real crazy about super aged things these days, I mostly go for a fresh look, but this metal sign needed something and a little aging never hurt, right? Well, I mean age galvanized metal, that is. With a couple of common household products and a couple of tools, you can get all aged up in minutes.
As for chemicals you only need two things: Clorox Clinging Bleach Gel toilet cleaner (I tried about 5 brands – this worked best) and regular old baking soda. You’ll also need a worn out old paint brush and a heat gun (I love mine from HomeRight*). You’ll also need a small glass (we’ll get to that in a minute.)
This is kinda two step, but it goes pretty quickly. First, squirt the cleaner onto the metal. Notice how it pools in the valleys? Yeah… that’s why we need a brush and the heat gun.
With one hand use the brush to spread out the cleaner, and with the other use the gun to dry it onto the metal. If you have a friend it goes faster. We did it outdoors and the chemical smell was hardly noticeable – but if you’re sensitive to these things then please wear a mask.
Once you have the whole thing coated with the dry cleaner, then move to step two.
In a glass, mix together more of the same bathroom cleaner about half and half with baking soda until you get a paste. This is where the magic is really going to happen. But don’t skip the first step – make sure you have the coat of full strength cleaner on there before moving on.
Paint the cleaning/soda mix onto the metal with a brush in a good, thick layer, then dry again with the heat gun.
When it’s dry it will start to bubble up, and that’s exactly what you want. Make sure you have a enough on there to really coat it well. The baking soda helps to make sure it’s thick enough to really sit on the metal – even on the sloping parts – so it all ages beautifully.
Once the entire piece is dry, give it a few minutes to cool off, then wash it down with water to clean off all the dried on stuff and reveal all that beautiful aging.
If you want to age galvanized metal – just remember, you won’t be able to control every little inch. It will have darker and lighter places and find a beauty all on its own. But this technique works really well, especially on galvanized metal roofing.
*Thanks to HomeRight for partnering with me on this post. All ideas, opinions, words and images are 100% my own. This post contains affiliate links*
Marty@A Stroll Thru Life says
July 2, 2014 at 8:32 amGreat tutorial, this looks amazing.
Margaret says
July 2, 2014 at 1:10 pmThi is really cool…going to make one this weekend…can you tell
me how you hung yours?
Thank you!
Gina Luker says
July 15, 2014 at 8:20 amI just used a couple of screws in the top corners (drill a hole for them first) Super easy!
Suzanne Melton says
July 2, 2014 at 7:47 pmThis is funny: I moved my computer and “stuff” into Dave’s office because my office is next to be textured, painted, etc.
As I was reading your email, Dave turned around and said, “How to age galvanized metal roofing?” What’s THAT about?
So, as I was opening the link, I explained what you did yesterday to make the sign. Then, we had to read all these instructions. I can still see his mind spinning.
Sue at Blu says
July 14, 2014 at 6:39 pmGenius! I have a crate full of gavanized sign blanks that are way to shiny!!!! Can’t wait to try this…will post a pick when done!
Susie aka cooknwoman says
September 4, 2014 at 7:21 pmPerfect! I’m building a chicken coup and wanted the galvanized roof to look aged – thank you so much Gina!
Cecilia says
February 12, 2015 at 7:32 amHm, I like the aged look. What if you don’t have a heat gun? Will it work? If you want rust, all you have to do, is spray it with muriatic acid and rinse with water. Voila! Rust!
Jackey B says
July 6, 2016 at 4:58 amIs the heating gun absolutely necessary? I don’t know what else I would use it for and don’t want yet another one application tool. Thanks!
Gina Luker says
July 13, 2016 at 1:55 pmA really strong hair dryer might do the trick.
Lindsey says
August 9, 2016 at 9:41 amWould you be able to use the Aged Galvanized Metal behind a wood stove or would the ‘finish’ be ruined?
Gina Luker says
September 1, 2016 at 8:44 amI don’t see why not Lindsey, it would look awesome!
Bobbie says
August 15, 2016 at 8:24 pmGaining Galvanized Metal Roofing
I first tried just putting Clorox bathroom cleaner and used a paint brush to coat everything. Left it in 100 degree weather for two days, rinsed and it was as shiny as when I started.
Second try I first west over entire surface with steel wool. Then put on the bath cleaner and used a sponge to make sure it was thoroughly covered and again left it out in 100 degree weather. Just rinsed and its still as shiny as when I started.
Please any suggestions?
Sincerely,
Bobbie
Gina Luker says
September 1, 2016 at 8:38 amHI Bobbie,
Did you do the 2nd step with the bathroom cleaner and baking soda? Maybe try reading the tutorial again and give it another shot? Practice makes perfect 🙂
Tina Lasser says
October 1, 2016 at 5:36 pmI used Zep Acidic Toilet Bowl Cleaner found @Lowe’s then to add rusted look afterwards cleaned them let dry then sprayed with hydrogen peroxide and shook table salt on let dry then dry rag wipe and clear coat
Gina Luker says
October 2, 2016 at 1:18 pmThanks Tina, how did it turn out?
Heather says
February 24, 2019 at 4:49 amDo you have pictures I’d love to see them ?
Daox13 says
September 22, 2016 at 9:45 amThank you! I will be doing exactly this in the next few days for my Planters I’m building as this seems to be the easiest and CLEANEST (see what I did there with the bleach) way of doing this with an excellent result.
Gina Luker says
September 22, 2016 at 3:07 pmHa ha, 🙂 Good luck with your planters!
Gene says
November 22, 2016 at 4:19 pmJust tried this, did not work at all. Thinking baking soda is neutralizing cleaner.
Marianne says
January 11, 2017 at 2:26 pmBaking soda neutralizes acid. I did this as described but then realized it didn’t work because it neutralized it as I suspected it would.
Gina Luker says
January 13, 2017 at 10:52 amHi Marianne,
Did you make sure to do the first step to the process? It works for me everytime!
Amber says
January 23, 2019 at 4:17 pmI was really excited when I found this post. This is exactly what I have been wanting to do. However I tried step-by-step exactly how the post read. It looks like it was working and it did in a couple spots but when I wash it off it was still just a shiny is when I started and 95% of my project. I don’t understand why it didn’t work? Any tips?
Gina Luker says
January 24, 2019 at 2:44 pmOh I am so sorry Amber! I am not sure, did you leave it on long enough?
Joanne says
March 3, 2017 at 7:35 amHi Gina,
When this process is finished, is it smooth enough for vinyl to stick to it?
Gina Luker says
March 7, 2017 at 7:54 amHey Joanne,
It has a bit of a texture to it, you’d have to just give it a try and see 🙂
Amy says
April 12, 2017 at 9:27 pmDidn’t work…not even a bit. I hear muraitic acid is the only way. What a waste of my time.
Gina Luker says
April 13, 2017 at 9:06 amI’m sorry it didn’t work for you Amy 🙁
Marc griffies says
November 13, 2019 at 8:26 pmYes I used muriatic acid on 1” x 1” galvanized metal wire mesh cloth to be used as a panel in a wood frame door. I just soaked the wire mesh with acid by using an old brush or straw broom for approximately 15 minutes and let it dry. Then hose it off with water to induce rust. Repeat it several several times till you are happy with it. The acid is very toxic and it is recommended that it be done outside and using rubber gloves and a face respirator mask. The same procedure can be used for new galvanized steel corrugated tin as well. For best results, I used a long straw broom to distance myself far when applying the acid and rust almost appear within 10 minutes after it dries. It also removes the shiny finish as well. It could make the rust flaky of which you can sand lightly to your tastes. You can wipe it clean with cloth rags and still retain the rusty looks. As an option, you can spray it with satin polytherene to prevent it from getting dirty and rusty on your hands.
Gina Luker says
November 14, 2019 at 9:50 amThanks Marc 🙂
Rick L. Harrington says
June 3, 2017 at 6:11 pmDo you rinse after step 2?
Gina Luker says
June 4, 2017 at 11:06 amYes Rick, you definitely need to rinse the baking soda mixture off well 🙂 Have fun!
Craig says
October 4, 2017 at 8:57 pmGina. Thanks for your blog on this. I’m Trying your technique on a galvanized water trough. My Goal is to age it and build a wooden lid for a storage bench/trunk. I followed your instructions precisely but all I got was a nice clean spot. I did use lysol 3x with bleach. Would that have made that much of a difference to get no result? My paste was a little foamy. Too much baking soda? Would that make a difference? Any thoughts/advice? What am I missing? Is it the metal itself? Thanks.
Gina Luker says
October 5, 2017 at 7:53 amHey Craig, I am not sure why it didn’t work for you, it may be the metal? Here is another tutorial from a good friend’s blog The Graphics Fairy that may work better for you, I hope it works, your project sounds awesome!
https://thegraphicsfairy.com/how-to-age-galvanized-metal/
Good luck!
K says
January 24, 2018 at 11:15 pmJust a warning from a welder, heating galvanized steel gives off poisonous fumes, this is why it should never be welded, or heated to the point where the zinc oxide coating burns off. This can be extremely hazardous and cause metal fume toxicity.
Gina Luker says
January 25, 2018 at 4:28 pmThanks for the head’s up!!
Dave says
February 1, 2018 at 9:40 pmI followed the steps exactly and it did not age. Are you supposed to sand the metal roofing first?
Gina Luker says
February 5, 2018 at 4:31 pmI did not sand mine, you may give it a try to see if that helps, I don’t know why it didn’t work for you, sorry!