Rusty Ole Bed Springs

So, last year, when I decided to make some of my bobble heads, I ordered a couple of bed springs off of Ebay.  Though they were only $.99, I had to pay for the postage.  So when my son and his family were moving, he told me they were getting rid of a mattress.  Did I want it?  Sure, I said, without hesitation....or thought.  I did not realize how many springs there are in a queen size mattress or how hard it would be to disassemble.  I got more than two of these buckets full:

There are probably over 100 springs.  And there were a bunch of wood laths.  I think I can use them for a project or at the very least they will be good kindling.

The springs are really heavy duty(much heavier than the ones I bought off of Ebay) and they were all shiny.  Shiny???  You know me, I like rust and patina but who has the time for it all?  So I got out the trusty laptop and looked for how to rust.  IT IS SO EASY!  Here is all you have to do:

Mix together 8 oz of peroxide and 2 oz of vinegar.  Add two teaspoons of salt.  Put it in a spray container and go to town on your project.  Its that easy!  I'm not kidding, it will rust right before your eyes.

I put one that was not treated in front of the treated ones so you can see the difference.

 Depending on your project, you will probably need to go over them more than once,  I sprayed these a couple of times and I will probably turn them upside down and spray them again.  Now....let me give you a few pointers:

1. Its a good idea to use some safety glasses and gloves.  Even though these items will not burn your skin, they are harsh.  And you don't want it in your eyes!
2. This should be a no-brainer, but then again....Anyway, spray it outside!  And spray it on a calm day.  A warm day seems to be better than a cold one, but I guess you have to use what you have.
3. I put mine on an old pallet, but it doesn't matter where you place them as long as it is on something that won't rust if you don't want it to.  I have a metal patio table and that would have been a really bad idea.
4. When you are finished, even if you are just done for the day, clean out your sprayer.  Most sprayers have a little metal spring that works the sprayer mechanism and you don't want it to rust.  Run some clear water through it a few times for good measure. 
5. After you are satisfied with the amount of rust on your project, let the item set a while.  The rust will come off, especially before it is dry and thoroughly cured.  Then spray it with a little clear sealer.  One website said to coat it in petroleum jelly or some kind of oil.  But I make messes too easily anyway and this was just like a mess waiting to happen.

There are other ways to rust items and you can find them online.  Some use bleach and you can buy chemicals to do this.  But honestly, this is cheap and not as toxic as bleach, I had all the items in the house, and it was absolutely effective.  So rust away, my bloggie friends.  More to come.....