DIY: Faux Vintage Copper Mailbox: From Drab to Fab!

DIY: Faux Vintage Copper Mailbox: From Drab to Fab!

 

DIY Faux Vintage Copper Mailbox
It’s the end of daylight saving time once again!

Fall is such a great time of year to start working on those fun DIY projects and in particular I love projects that are simple and easy to do but provide fairly instant gratification and if it’s frugal it’s a bonus!  This DIY Faux Vintage Copper Mailbox project is just what the doctor ordered in terms of projects.  First of all I had a very boring mailbox ( a black Rubbermaid one) that had the numbers peeling off and it was just looking dull and even had ribbons still streaming on it from my husband’s 50th birthday party.  Quite frankly our mailbox area was looking rather raggedy and pathetic.  I thought this is the first area that people see when people approach our home and I wanted it to look warmer.  I also have plans to paint the post and put some fresh plants out front too.  This times perfectly with the fact that my son and husband finally both have some time to work on the front landscape bed re-do and I want to paint the front door and shutters to freshen things up on our lil’ homestead.

I’m not an artist by any stretch of the imagination but I do love to play with paints from time to time.  I find it extremely relaxing and rejuvenating.  Ironically painting walls or cabinets not so much lol.

This was the initial Pinterest post that inspired me that I stumbled upon and I loved it and I thought I could re-create this well kind of with my own style.  Click here to read the post! 

However because I like to keep all my projects on the cheap as part of my frugal mind-set, we used supplies we already had or that we procured at our local Wal-mart.  I also like to share blog posts that are friendly on the budget and that anyone can do or relatively speaking.  I realize not everyone can paint their mailbox because they may be living in an apartment or they may live where they have an HOA (Home Owners Association).  The Viking and I would get kicked out straight away.  Just sayin’….;)

Our mailbox before
You can see our mailbox was in dire need of a makeover!

I would classify this project as super easy and the most difficult part is to wait on the painting and I had my Hunny the Viking in my life uninstall and reinstall the mailbox for me but he used a drill so I know I could do it but it might take me a bit longer than him.  He’s always so supportive of my compulsiveness to suddenly get a project done and I appreciate that he understands that not only did I have to get it done but I was so pleased with the results that I had to blog about it.

first you have to wash the mailbox

dry the mailbox
Dry the mailbox thoroughly before you begin.

 

Project Budget – $25.00 (Ours was a little less because we already had the clear sealer,  the shiny metal paint, cleaning supplies, and plastic tablecloth but you can average about $3.84 per can of spray paint and about $2.00 for the sponge paint pads)

mailbox painting supplies

So this project has very few supplies you need to do it but I’ll list them below.

Project Materials:
Black Plastic Mailbox
Lagoon spray paint
Shiny Copper spray paint
Shiny Silver spray paint
Seafoam spray paint for spattering/corrosion
small foam paint brushes
Clear sealer
dish soap
scrub brush
bucket
water
plastic tablecloth/newspaper/paper grocery bags
New numbers for your mailbox if you so desire to place them on the box
 

Instructions For Project:
Take your mailbox off of the post
Scrub the mailbox
Peel off the numbers if you need to
First go around the entire mailbox and spray paint the lagoon paint on and dab with a sponge paint brush all around the box
Next go around the entire mailbox and spray paint the copper paint on the box and dab with a sponge paint brush all around the box
You can even paint with the copper for a streaky effect (because this is just layer no.1)
Then spatter paint the seafoam and you can even dab some of it to lend a corrosive effect
Then spray paint circles of the shiny metal paint
Let sit overnight (By the way we did this on a Saturday evening since our mail usually doesn’t come on Sunday)


Start layer no.2
The next day go back over the entire mailbox with the lagoon paint in circles and dab with the sponge paint brush all around the box
Next go around the entire mailbox and spray paint the copper paint on and dab in larger areas
Then spray the shiny metal in areas and blend with the copper paint
You are not done with the lagoon yet
You will go back around with the lagoon color to add some patina
You will go around one more time with the copper and shiny metal and blend the colors
Next, you will spatter the seafoam with little dots in areas (according to your liking)
If you want to paint the flag I found it was difficult for the paint to adhere to but I did my best to paint the flag copper but this took many layers
You are almost done so it’s time to place the mailbox back up on the post and spray the sealer
Lastly put the numbers back on if you so desire.

Voila’ your project is done! I hope you had as much fun reading about this DIY project as I did creating it! Oh and please let me know if you have any questions at all or if anything is unclear but just note there is a creative process about it and only you will know when you think it’s complete!

I love a fun re-do! In particular I love to breathe new life in old treasures!

I wish you all a beautiful week, until next time…

Fondly,

 my siggie :)

2 thoughts on “DIY: Faux Vintage Copper Mailbox: From Drab to Fab!

  1. How fun to read that my project inspired yours! That’s the spirit of Pinterest isn’t it? Great job on your mailbox! I love a good faux finish! Enjoy your the new look on your mailbox…patina on copper is one of my favorites!

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