DIY Faux Metal Wall Art

Want to make your own metal wall art? It’s easier than you might think to create this look.

It all starts with these cute laser cut wood wall decor ornaments. I got mine at Michaels. They are really inexpensive and come in so many styles!

The three I purchased are approximately 8″ to 9″ in length. The sides are super-thin.

To achieve the faux metal effect, I used a paint line from Modern Masters. I’ve used this system before, on my large copper planter boxes and on my copper pipe lamp.

I’ll walk you through the basic steps here, but please see my previous tutorials for a complete list of supplies as well as detailed instructions.

DIY Faux Metal Wall Art

First I painted both sides of each wall ornament with Modern Masters Metal Effects Primer.

Once dry, I painted both sides with one coat of Modern Masters Copper Reactive Metallic Paint.

My little trick to make painting easier is to leave a section where you can hold each item while painting. Once dry, then simply paint that final section. (The arrows in the image below show you what I mean.)

Once dry, it was time for my favorite step: applying the Green Patina Aging Solution. First you paint another coat of the copper metallic paint, and then immediately spray on the patina solution. To contain the spray, I placed the wood pieces in a box.

Only the front of each piece got the patina spray. The back side of each is finished with the pretty copper paint.

The patina solution begins to work soon after application. This close-up shot below was taken only five minutes after spraying on the solution.

I left everything to dry overnight. I couldn’t wait until the next morning to see what I had created!

It’s amazing how simply spraying a solution (say that ten times fast) gives you such a gorgeous patina!

Here’s a few close-up pictures so you can see the lovely patina effect:

These lightweight – and super-inexpensive – laser cut wood wall ornaments truly look like aging metal wall grilles! I love the effect!

Even the edges look cool . . .

Here’s a shot of my faux metal wall art against a painted background. Love the way the sunlight reflects off of the copper parts!

What do you think?

Happy crafting!