Materials for Rusting the
Treasure Bottle

Glass Bottle (cleaned thoroughly)

Instant Iron and Instant Rust

Large inexpensive paint brush

Water

Small jar with cover. Instant Iron evaporates and solidifies quickly, so we pour some into a jar that can be covered and work from it. Then the paint bottle won’t be sitting open while we paint.
Step 1. Paint the bottle with Instant Iron. We like to leave the necks unpainted, but you can paint as much of the surface as you wish. The first coat will dry a little streaky (right), so apply a second coat as soon as the first is dry (when it is dull). Coats will take 1/2 hour or so to dry, and will dry rough.
Step 2. While waiting for the bottle to dry, paint the cork with black Patio Paint. It will go on shiny and will dry matte. An easy way to paint the whole cork at once is to stab it with a bamboo skewer, which you use as a handle while you paint all sides, then “plant” the skewer in a piece of styrofoam to dry.
Step 3. When the bottle is completely dry, apply and dry two coats of Instant Rust. The amount of time the second coat of Instant Iron is allowed to dry affects the color the rust will be. If the second coat of iron is allowed to dry 1/2 hour or so, the rust will be a goldenrod yellow. If dried 12 - 24 hours or more, the rust will be a dark red-orange. The Instant Rust solution is very watery, so set your bottle on something that will catch the run off. Saturate the iron coating with each coat of rust. Two is enough but you can apply as many coats as you like. Even out the effect by standing the bottle on its head to dry every other coat.
Embellishing the Treasure Bottle:
You will Need:
Black Patio Paint, Hot Melt Glue and Gun. Rub&Buff in Autumn Gold and Gold Leaf,
Stamps of your choice, wet wash cloth in waterproof dish
Step 1. Using a hot melt glue gun, draw a shape on your rusted bottle that is slightly larger than your chosen stamp design. Fill in the shape with hot glue. It should settle into a nice smooth puddle. If not, use a heat tool to help melt it into place. Step 2. Wait until a cloudy skin begins to appear and set your *wet* stamp into the glue. We are using a stone stamp here. You can use rubber, wood, or plaster stamps. The key is that the surface of the stamp is wet. We use the folded wet washcloth as a “pad” to wet the stamp. Step 3. When the glue is completely cooled, remove your stamp. It may take a little gentle rocking to loosen its grip. If you try to remove it too soon and make a mess, or if your image is off center etc., remelt your glue with the heat tool and try again. Make sure to blot away any water first, or it will bubble the glue.
Step 4. Using a soft brush, paint the glue medallion with black Patio Paint - making sure to get into all the cracks and crevices. It will dry to a matte finish

Step 5. Using your finger, apply Autumn Gold (copper) Rub&Buff over the medallion. Leave the crevices black.

Step 6. With just a gentle touch, highlight the medallion here and there with Gold Leaf Rub&Buff. This will greatly enhance the look.

Step 7. Give the bottle’s cork the same treatment.
Please Note: More information on the application of Rub&Buff can be found in our article on Antique Tooled Copper in Volume 2 of Now What?. You can go read it by clicking this link, clicking the Page Turning Arrows to page through that article, and return right here by just closing that window when you are finished. I promised in that article to explain how the faces on the “Dead Poet’s Society” piece were created. They were created exactly as the medallions on the Treasure Bottles - the only difference is that they were made on one of those protective sheets that are made to set your glue gun on. Those mats have a non-stick surface and the cooled glue piece peels right off. Then they were painted with Patio Paint and Rub&Buffed.
Now, let’s turn the page and add some “bottle jewelry” for glitz:
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