How Do You Decorate Concrete Gnomes And Other Garden Ornaments?
Usually, when a concrete garden gnome or ornament is hand painted, it is not long before the paint begins to peel and the ornament looks shabby. The following method of decorating overcomes this problem and allows the ornament to age gracefully. Instead of peeling, the paint may wear away in time, giving an old established look, rather than tatty and worn out. What is more, at any time during this aging process, you can re-paint it straight over the existing paintwork. Step 1: Blackwash the ornament. Paint the ornament with black emulsion paint — suitable for outdoor use — which has been diluted with clean cold water to the proportions: three parts paint to one part water. The proportions are not critical. The secret is to make the paint just thin enough to partly soak into the surface, thus giving it a firm key on the cement. When painted, it should look like this. Step 2: Remove surface paint. The paint should be dry to the touch within about half an hour and is then ready for phas
