Plastic Urn Planter Upcycling
I’ve had these plastic urn planters for many years now. Unfortunately, I never liked their cheap plastic “terra-cotta” color. I have tried repainting them in the past but chose the wrong paint, which didn’t stick. That set me back, so I left them peal to their original state. Until recently, when I rediscovered the chalk paints, which seem to stick to just about anything! So l decided to give my plastic urn one more upcycling chance.
31 JUL, 2022
Yay, it seems to be working! I have painted one of the urn planters last year to test and the second one this year. And believe it or not the first one still looks great even after spending most of the time outdoors. They are outside except in the snowy winter when I bring them in to overwinter the plants.
How did I do my Plastic Urn Upcycling?
Painting the Plastic Urn
To achieve the aged look it is often best to layer the paints. At first, I painted the whole planter with black chalk paint. After the paint had dried, I dabbed white chalk paint mixed with Saltwash here and there. When the Saltwash paint was partially dry, I ran over the peaks to knock them down. Then did the same using Country Gray and Provence from Annie Sloan filling in some other spots. You can even darken some parts with Florence shade. Let dry completely.
Aging the Urn
I have played around with a crackle medium in the middle of the process on the first urn planter. And I think I like it more than the one without it. The crackle medium I used makes the paint on top of it shrink and reveals the paint underneath. For the top color, I chose Old White. After the cracks appeared and the paint dried it already looked cool. But I wanted to age it more, so I sanded the surface with fine sandpaper. It revealed more underlying colors and knocked down the Saltwash texture.
Weathering the Urn
Now, to add the weathered look, I mixed a bit of Florence with water and created a color wash. I was painting the urn planter wiping the excess paint frequently, creating darker color stains on the surface and low spots. And finally, I have mixed Old Ochre and Country Grey with Saltwash. That seemed a perfect combination for creating an impression of crusted mineral deposits, and lichen, that usually form on old clay pots.
Finishing Top Coat
When I was happy with the look I left everything dry for a couple of days and then used the Borma Wachs Invisible Touch final coat. It is a soft mat lacquer and creates a very natural protective coat.
I am so happy how my plastic urn upcycling project turned out! Nobody can tell the urns are made of plastic now, and my pelargoniums seem to be overjoyed too.
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For more similar projects visit my upcycling section.