How to Age Stainless Steel
Let’s see how to age stainless steel? Does Vinegar Age Metal? I love that worn, aged metal… you know that vintage look that makes a piece look like it’s lived a long life! So I figured why not try with some cheap white vinegar and see what happens. I was so pleased with how it turned out and today I’ve got an easy trick where you can age brand new metal to get that look. So let’s see how to age metal!
Supplies Needed
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- stainless steel bucket
- white vinegar
- sandpaper or steel wool
- plastic bucket or bowl
Does Vinegar Age Metal?
Let’s find out! Here’s the stainless steel bucket that I started with.
I picked this bucket up at my local hardware store. I took some sandpaper to the outside and scuffed it up a bit. You are just trying to create a surface where the vinegar can penetrate a little easier. Some areas I scuffed up more than others, so I could see if that makes a difference.
So I placed the stainless steel bucket in a bowl and filled the outside the bucket with white vinegar. I used beans and popcorn to help hold it down, so the bucket would stay submerged. Then I let the bucket soak over night in the vinegar and here’s what I had in the morning.
Some gentle, gorgeous aging.
Isn’t that just amazing?? Who knew it would be so easy to age a metal bucket! I rinsed the vinegar off the bucket and dapped it dry with a paper towel.
I think if it soaked the bucket even longer in the vinegar it might age more? But I love the gentle worn look that it ended up with. You can experiment for yourself and get that look you want.
So if you were wondering how do I age metal with vinegar… I hope this easy tutorial answered your question!
Thanks for stopping by friends!
LOOKS Cute
thank You FOR SHARING 
I KNOW the Vinegar for Something 
I Made Homemade WhiteVinegar /Water Cleaner( No Essential Oils ) And I Can Use It To SPRAY my Fruits And Vegetables OFF 
I HAD BOUGHT the Organic , Looked At Label AND Decided I DIDNT Want To SPEND 5$ Or More 
WE Had NOT Long Before Using Vinegar Sprays REPLACED Our Garbage disposal. BUT I MAKE ALOT Of SALAD and Fruit And I Have Put Bleach Down That Side To Disenfect It.. IT LOCKED UP And RUSTED 
must HAVE been Bleach Combo 
We HAD To REPLACE IT 
Thanks FOR INFORMATION 
Looks like an aluminum bucket to me.
Are you sure that bucket wasn’t aluminum?
Really liked the chalkboard with awesome printing on it. Great job. How do you know how to print words that way? Looks so professional. Hope their wedding is fantastic .
Appreciate the tip about aging metal. I like how galvanized looks, noticed some have a wavy like pattern, then others have none. Been looking at lots of chicken containers lately so galvanized has been on my mind.
Spending more time at Tractor supply since we got our 5 chickens 4 weeks ago. Have gotten 4 eggs in a week. 3 of eggs are light aqua hue. Didn’t know chickens laid aqua eggs.
Tractor supply has some cute buckets, different sizes with different galvanized patterns on them.
I find it interesting how much I’ve learned about many subjects just reading posts for last couple years. So much talent out there. Happy summer days
Hi Jane – I found fonts I liked and printed out a page with the layout I liked and then just did my best to copy it.
Thanks for sharing this Maryann – love the results!!! Who knew it was so easy!
That’s pretty impressive, Maryann!
Your bucket looks super. I rust my cans etc but sanding them and then spraying them with bleach. Depending on how much you sand them, they almost rust right before your eyes. Really. And yes I’m sure it will ruin stainless steel. But I happen to like ruined
Thx for the tip Maryann. Your pail looks great. Just the right aged look.
Pinned
It seems that the bucket is galvanized, rather than stainless, steel. It’s finish is microns thick, like a layer. I doubt it would work on stainless steel.
It does make the galvanized steel look beautifully aged, though!
So if this works, does that mean I may be damaging my stainless steel appliances by using vinegar to clean them? hmmmm
Pretty neat! I love tips like this!
I did NOT know that! Now… I do!
Good to know Maryann – I’m going to “safely” pin this for future reference. Thanks!
I’ve seen that too! Nice to know from a trusted voice it works
No way..I love this and it is so easy!!!!
Who knew? This looks great – the bucket has the right patina. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks Lizzy… I agree… the perfect amount!
I’ve tried one where it said to mix vinegar and bleach only to find out the chemical reaction could have been dangerous. Yikes! For now, I’ll stick to something more simple and safe – like this!
Jeanine
Oh scary… glad you didn’t get hurt.