Antiquing Painted Brass

Clean your brass piece with a damp sponge and light dish detergent.

Allow it to dry.

Prime the brass with a self-etching primer. Paint will not stick to brass if self-etching primer is not used first.

Spray on your base coat of paint -- or the coat underneath your top coat -- using a latex or acrylic interior paint. The base coat can be lighter or darker than the final coat, depending on the look you want to achieve.

Rub a white candle along the edges of the brass object and in areas of detail where you would like the first coat of paint to appear through the final coat. For example, if you are refinishing a brass bed that features a headboard of rosettes, wax over the rosettes to bring out the first coat and give the flowers more depth once the last coat is applied.

Wipe off excess wax with a dry cloth.

Spray on your top coat using a latex or acrylic interior paint and allow it to dry.

Scrape off the top coat over the areas where you applied the wax, using a butter knife. Scrape gently, so you do not accidentally remove the base coat.

Make an antique glaze by mixing one pint of your top coat with three pints of water. Stir it well.

Brush the glaze lightly over the entire piece, wiping it off with a clean cloth as you go along. Once dry, the glaze gives the paint an aged, slightly off-color appearance in the cracks and crevices of the piece.

Apply a polycrylic clear coat spray to protect your paint from nicks and dings.