Pricing a Rusted Wall Finish

[fauxcat]

I've never done a "rusted" wall finish , but have been requested to do one on a 500 sq ft wall. I will probably use the MM product line, but will try to follow Gary Lord's "Rusted Wall" finish in his new book. Has anyone ever done this finish & if so what is your pricing range? Thanks so much!

[brendainkc]

Hard to tell you what to charge, as all areas of the county are a little different. You need to know what your day rate is. So how long do you think it will take you. Never done this before? Most of us do finishes that we've never done and you guess how long you think it will take and add a little bit to it. Use that info plus your day rate info and you have a starting price. Add cost of products and shipping. That should give you a price for the job.

Brenda

[Katie Fitz]

It's hard to give you any info. without knowing the steps, and I don't have Gary's book. Standard use of MM Reactive paints is something like:

2 coats acid-blocking primer
1-2 coats reactive paint, depending
Spraying activator
Textureize activator
Seal

You have to wait for the primer to be thoroughly dry before applying reactive paint. With all that drying time, and depending on how fast you are, I estimate it would take around 3 days. Figure the amount of time it will take for each step over your 500 square feet, then apply your rate, however you're calculating that, plus product etc. per Brenda.

[fauxcat]

Thanks . ladies for the input. Katie, what sealer do you use for the rust finish? I've been reading about that & the consensus is that it changes the finish a little. Have you found this to be so?

cathie

[Katie Fitz]

Hey Cathie,

I’ve used MM MasterClear in the past, which is the UV protection, high sheen sealant. I looked to see if I had some photos to show you, but unfortunately I don’t. One project I failed to take pictures (doh!) and the other has plaster over the reactive paint, so the sheen is different.

I just took a look at the MM web site, and it looks like they’ve reformulated since I last used the reactive paints. In the past, more than one coat of MasterClear would make the finish look plasticy, but it looks like they now have a matte sealant and are recommending 1 coat of the new reactive sealant (probably what MasterClear was previously) and 1 coat of the matte sealant. Here’s the web address so you can take a look.:
http://www.modernmastersinc.com/products.asp?mode=group&gid=70

I suggest getting some of each and playing around with it. MM is pretty good about their products being mixable, so if you don’t like the result with 1 coat high sheen and 1 coat matte, you can mix the two together. For example, if you find the matte dulls the sheen too much, on the second coat, you could apply a mixture of ½ high sheen and ½ matte varnish.

Good luck!

[fauxcat]

Thank you , Katie for the valuable info! BTW, also checked out your website.... VERY nice! Have a great week! Cathie

[painted spaces]

I've used the MM reactive products on several projects. My steps are the same as Katie's. For the sealant, I've used the Permacoat product that is recommended to be used with the reactive stuff. It is very matte and doesn't change the look of the finish. That being said, I have also used the MM Masterclear on a ton of finishes, mostly metallic. I love this product, but it does enhance the finish somewhat, changing the look slightly.
Good luck with the project!

[JoanA]

I've used the MM outdoors, but never sealed it. No one touches it so I'm not concerned.

It was recommended to me to dilute the Permacoat by 50% with water.

On other rust finishes that I sealed with other stuff, the finishes does darken and look different.

If I can I always leave it unsealed. Just depends on the location.

[painted spaces]

Yes, the Permacoat does need to be thinned with water; about 50%.

[Katie Fitz]

Thanks for the kind words, Cathie. Post some pictures when you're done with your project.

Yes, you can leave the reactive paints unsealed, which means that the oxidation will continue naturally. For example, with the reactive copper paint, you will eventually end up with an all-over green patina.

[tzan]

I never thinned the Permacoat with water as I thought it was thin enough. It did darken the finish slightly but not enough to change my finish.

[lisascenic]

I know this is crazy, but you could just -- you know -- paint it. The chemical finishes are cool, but in my experience paint works amazingly well at replicating all sorts of finishes, and is well inside most painters' comfort zone.

[Curt E. Hammell]

Agreeing with Liza here. I roll or stipple, knockdown or sand, paint, glaze with pigment washes then rub out till it looks right, then I clear only if needed as it takes away charcteristics that I like in the dry rust look and feel.