How to age terracotta pots

[DesertSun]

Some of us like the look of new terracotta pots, while others, myself included prefer terracotta with an aged look. You can go as far as you want with the ageing of a pot, in the pictures shown I had gone too far, for reasons of experimenting with different materials and techniques. I am going to give the products and procedure to anyone interested in giving the look into terracotta pots.
You will need acrylic paints in white, gray, some ochre, light and dark green of your choices and a white texture paint. I like a moss green color and a dark cypress green for the darker shades. You can also use some water paint sprays, but that is just an extra. You will also need a brush and a piece of sponge, I used a natural sea sponge and a pair of latex gloves. Also, you can use a wax patina on some of the edges to give some shine (you can also turn the terracotta into anything else, for example you can give it the look of rusty metal if you wish, but I will leave this for another topic).
*Since we are discussing products, there is a way of ageing terracotta that I am totally against, which is the one with the yogurt. Ants love the yoghurt smell and taste and you will find yourself in a terrible ant problem into your balcony/yard/greenhouse or elsewhere. Just a sidenote.
Now that you have gathered your products, you can start by giving the outside of your pot a dusting. I used an old piece of cloth. Be sure your terracotta isn't wet, but totally dry. You won't have any problem with the acrylic as far as planting goes, the paint dries quickly and won't stain the inside of your pot.
Wear your gloves. Start by making an acrylic wash. Pour some of your white acrylic into a bowl, and then start adding water, bit by bit. Mix your brush until you have a watery, white substance. This is your wash.
Paint the whole of the outside of your pot with this wash, making a criss cross movement with your brush. Now, before that dries completely, you take your sponge, wet it and squeeze it, and then brush off some of the wash here and there. This will give your pot a more natural look, some areas will be more white than others. Let dry completely before we move on with our work.
Then you shall work with the texture paint. Put on your finger some texture paint and push it inside any patterned nooks and crannies. Let dry out. Put some moss green acrylic on your wet and squeezed sponge and start putting it inside the nooks and crannies of your pattern. Then, get some out with the use of a piece of cloth. Again, what we do is add a layer of paint, then get some paint out and what we are left with is a non uniform, more natural look.
Do the same with some ochre and then with some gray mixed with white to make a lighter gray shade.
Let dry.
You can repeat with all the colors you want and experiment to get the ageing effect you like.
Spraying with some water paint really gives an extra ageing effect. Use it lightly or it will start to form drops of paint that dry out quickly. Unless you like the effect of course.
Wax patina comes in many colors, like bronze, copper, white, brown, etc and can add a shine to your edges if you go for such a look.
Here are some photos of the results. Hope you enjoy!

[ElieEstephane]

Woooow these all look amazing Marina! Thanks for sharing!
I'm gonna experiment with this the next batch of pots i get!

[DesertSun]

You are very welcome! I think that some displays can benefit from the look of aged pots. I will show the members how to stain them also, which gives another look. And then how to age metal, how to give plastic other looks, how to paint on glass or metal to give an aged effect, etc. This will be our DIY section for our pots!

[DaveW]

When they used to make concrete troughs for planting alpines outdoors they uses to paint them with cow muck to age them as then moss and algae used to grow on them and make them look as if they had been left outdoors for years. Maybe a bit smelly for pots indoors though!

[DesertSun]

When they used to make concrete troughs for planting alpines outdoors they uses to paint them with cow muck to age them as then moss and algae used to grow on them and make them look as if they had been left outdoors for years. Maybe a bit smelly for pots indoors though!

LOL Dave!

There are ways to make anything look like another material. I have tried and totally transformed glass, plastic, metal and wood. Sealing is another bonus of this technique, I am thinking that since terracotta is drying out quickly and many consider this a major minus for it, acrylic would seal it, or varnish. If only I had the time for all my DIY's!