Most all of the beds I sell, our customers have me put on an authentic antique finish. Because all our beds are original old antique iron beds…..not reproductions, our customers want to make sure the finish reflects their age and authenticity . That’s why we have so many old antique faux’ finishes in our repertoire.
So what if you find an one that has an old rusted finish and is missing a good amount of paint and is dirty to boot? One of the things we suggest, as is in this “Before & After” photo of a clients bed…….is to have it cleaned with acetone and then sealed with two or
three coats of a clear acrylic spray. We use Krylon #1301.
As you can see the bed in this photo was quite dirty and rusted. Yet when the entire bed was cleaned with acetone, the white sections came to life, as did the subtle gold detailing on the castings. Beds will always have some degree of rusting on them…….some more than others. But to keep that rust on the bed and not on your sheets and linens, you’ll need to use the clear spray I’ve mentioned. It will greatly inhibit the rusting process…..not eliminate it, but slow it significantly. Continuing rust can only come about if it gets oxygen . The clear spray puts a air tight seal over it so that oxygen can’t get in.
In the “After” photo of this one, you can see how much better it looks after it’s been cleaned and sealed. It’s always nice to be able to find a bed that you love the style of and also the distressed finish. Although we recreate this exact look and finish on many of the iron beds we sell, it’s always nice to be able to preserve the finish that is already on the bed.
I hope you’ve found this blog informative . I invite you to revisit my website
to answer any and all questions you might have about antique iron beds.
I also invite you to take a look at our company Face Book page for multiple photo albums on Custom Finishes, Canopy Conversions and a comprehensive “Before & After” King Conversions album.
