Fleur Designers Paint - Verdigris

Fleur Designer’s Paint Verdigris is a four-part paint system consisting of a primer, copper paint, reagent, and clear finish, all items are available separately. The paint comes in two shades of copper and contains tiny copper particles that oxidise when you apply the specific reagent.
The result of these products is a real verdigris coating, which can vary according to the type of application (roller, brush, sea sponge, etc.)
The paint is water-based, easy to use, and perfect for obtaining real verdigris coatings on a wide variety of surfaces.

I love things with patinas and textures so I decided to try this out myself! There is a primer available in the range, and since I was painting on a smooth, non-absorbent surface I sanded the panel lightly to improve adhesion and applied one coat with a brush. For absorbent surfaces, dilute with 20% water. After the primer had dried, I applied 2 coats of the copper, allowing it to dry between each coat.

Next is the fun bit, the reagent! I opted to apply it with a sponge, you can use a roller, a brush, or anything really! The variation in the verdigris depends on how it is applied, and how thickly. I added a second layer to some areas before the first had dried and they created a really nice contrast.

The effect begins to show very quickly, and after about 20 minutes the copper panel is a beautiful mix of bluish shades.

I finished the panel with the Anti Oxidant Finish, also part of the Fleur’s Verdigris effect products. This helps prevent further oxidation and means the panel can be dusted without removing the verdigris. Apply a singular coat with a brush or roller after a minimum of 24 hours have elapsed since the reagent was applied.

Even with the coat of Anti Oxidant Finish, this is only suitable for indoor decorative effects, ideal for frames, decorative panels etc.

I was really impressed with the paint range and I was curious how the reagent would work with a gilded copped surface so I gave that a go too!
I gilded a letter in copper leaf using oil-based gold size, on applying the reagent it quickly beaded up and pooled, I found keeping a bit of kitchen towel on the letter helped keep the reagent in contact with the copper leaf long enough for the reaction to take place.

The effect took about an hour to develop but I really love the finish, and as it is copper leaf the areas that were not in contact with the reagent have much more of a reflective shine than the paint does.

You can shop the Fleur range on the Handover website here! and theres a video of the process made by Fleur on their Youtube channel!