A super easy DIY aged plastic garden fountain tutorial with all the steps to age faux stone plastic in just a couple of simple steps. Works just as well on pots and urns, too!
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For the longest time since completing our herb garden project, I've dreamed of having a fountain to break up the wall space against the house where plants don't grow as well. When we lost so many of our herbs this year due to our harsh winter, it seemed a good time to revamp the herb garden and find that fountain.
Of course you know I wanted to diy the whole thing and so I looked at creating one of those pot fountains that sit on rocks with the pump underneath like I'd seen on Pinterest. Only problem? We have this funky pipe thing that goes to who-knows-what right at the base of where the fountain would sit.
Which is why I thought of a fountain or pot in the first place, because we can't plant anything there. But the other options all consisted of placing a pump in a large container like a half barrel, which was a little more 'country' looking than I wanted for this space.
So I went looking for a classic styled wall fountain (one that could be placed on the ground, though) and received sticker shock: $200-300 for a fountain? Um, no. Most of them are plastic or resin made to look like iron or stone and still cost that much. So I put that dream on hold for a while. I know - first world problems, commence with the tiny violins.
Then one day I decided to look on Amazon since I had accumulated a few gift cards from my birthday and I was surprised to find one that was half the price of the others I had found. Sold!
The problem?
While this inexpensive fountain was a good size and fit the space nicely, it really looked like plastic. The light color also didn't go with my pots and it blended a little too much into our light yellow house color.
I had really liked the fountains I had seen that were darker, looking like iron or aged stone. So, what's a serial diy-er to do?
Age it with paint it, of course!
And I LOVE how it turned out - can I confess that I was actually a bit shocked at how much better it looked? And I'm here to tell you it was EASY. There are no complicated layers, finishes or anything to this DIY aged plastic fountain - it's basically two steps: spray paint and then apply a wash and wipe it down.
And this technique will work on ANY plastic thing you want to look aged that has some good nooks and crannies - pots, birdbaths, and urns come to mind.
So here are the simple steps that took this from blah to "where'd you get that great fountain?"
How to Age Faux Stone Plastic
Paint It
1. Prime. Spray your plastic (or 'resin' which I think is just another type of plastic, isn't it?) with an indoor-outdoor primer made for plastic. I used this Rustoleum Ultra Cover flat gray primer. Cover well and if you're doing a fountain make sure to cover inside the bowl area, too. Let dry according to the directions.
2. Paint. Spray your object with an indoor-outdoor flat black paint. I used Rustoleum Painter's Touch this time - mainly because it's what I already had. The Ultra Cover in flat black would be good, too. Let dry.
Wash & Wipe It
1. Make a white wash. Mix white acrylic paint like this 1:1 with water in a small bowl. You don't need much - my mixture equaled about 1/4 cup and I still had a bit left over. I mixed and applied the wash using a 1-inch foam brush.
2. Apply the wash. As you can see, it's really watery. It doesn't matter if it runs - you just want to make sure whatever you're painting on is covered well.
3. Paint a section at a time. You don't want the wash to dry too soon, so work in small sections.
4. Wipe the whitewash with a cotton rag. As you can see, you'll be wiping most of it off, leaving just a film that 'ages' the plastic. This process is really just a learn-while-you-do-it thing - I decided I liked most of the whitewash wiped out of the lines, so I used my fingernail with the rag to get in most of the areas. You might decide you like it more white - it's up to you to find the look you like. Wash and wipe the whole object - again not forgetting the water bowl if you're doing a fountain like mine (and if doing pots, you'll want to remember to paint the inside top edge about 2-inches down, as that won't be covered by soil).
In the bottom photo, you can see that the fountain's divots, faux carvings and rough spots all create spots for the whitewash to remain and that helps create the aged look.
Even though this isn't the greatest picture, I just had to show you the difference the whitewashing made on the painted black surface - incredible, isn't it?
The last step is to spray it with a clear protective cover coat (like this clear spray from Amazon). It did darken the finish a bit, but not too much. I made sure to spray the bowl that holds the water really well. But only time will tell how it holds up, though it will be no problem to redo if I need to.
And that's it - see, it really is easy, isn't it?
Here's a close up before-and-after for you, and I do have to tell you that the photos make the before look a lot better than it did in real life. No matter if you were far away or close up, you could tell it was plastic. The paint job created a richer looking product and enhanced it's 'carvings' and decorations.
Here's a before and after as it looks in the herb garden - SO much better, don't you think? Though I'm not sure why the before is a little blurry - I promise I wasn't trying to stack the deck in favor of the after!
And now this is our view from the gazebo - isn't it great? Not only are the new herbs I planted to replace our lost ones growing nicely (like our basil on the right, now that it's not being eaten by bugs!), but this fountain really is a nice focal point and ties in with the black pots and obelisks. And the sound of the water in the fountain is pretty soothing and can be heard from most areas around our gravel patio.
Oh, did I mention that I LOVE it?
Do you have any faux stone plastic you'd like to age with this technique? Have you ever wanted a fountain like me?
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Marlene Rockwell says
Hi. I really enjoyed the fountain project. Can this process be used on a concrete fountain? It is an old raw concrete fountain. I assume I would need to pressure wash it first. Thanks for any advice you can offer.
Jami says
I would think so, but I'd probably search out paint and sealer specifically for concrete.
Kim says
Ok it's 2022 - and I just finished my own wall fountain with your method. It came out beautifully, and I just wanted to say the products you recommended worked SO WELL! I did start with a spray sealer type of product, then put the paint with the built in primers. It is such a great project, thank you! Shoot me an email if you'd like to see the fountain!
Kim - Canada
Jami says
Oh I'm SO glad, Kim! I'd love to see your fountain - I'll be in contact 🙂
Eileen says
I love your fountain so much I had just bought a replacement fountain on-line but like you once it arrived I do not like the colour. I will be painting it black! Just two questions re the procedure: 1. What proportions of white acrylic paint to water? 2. The final clear spray, it comes in a gloss and matte. As you used a flat black paint did you use the matte/flat clear spray? Many thanks for your help.
Jami says
Hi Eileen- I'm glad this will help solve your problem! I just mixed the white paint with enough water to make it milk-like, so pretty watery. I didn't use proportions, since I only needed a very small amount. And yes, I used matte clear spray.
Some of the paint did chip in the bowl area after a year - I repaint that area every couple of years and the rest has held up well.
Erin Aaron says
I'm so glad for this! I found a really neat fountain at an antique store and I thought " How in the world am I going to redo this?” How is it holding up thus far? Mine will be outside in my deck, too!
Jami says
The outside held up nicely, but after 2 years the bowl with the water had chipping paint. It's not hard to redo, though, when it's in for the winter, so that's my plan. 🙂
TrudieB says
Oh I'm so glad I stumbled upon your fantastic tutorial! (Albeit three years later!)
I've bookmarked the page and will be trying this. I do have to say I think the un-improved one looks pretty darn good-- the brain often obeys what the eyes tell us we are seeing, aided of course by the heart that lets the rest know what we WANT to see. So i actually thought it looked very "believable" before.
Where did you find the fountain? I'd love to give your exact project a try...
Keep up the good work-- I'll return soon to look at the rest of your blog.
Jami says
Well, that's true, ha! I linked to the fountain I bought on Amazon, Trudie - click the highlighted link (usually with an "affiliate" somewhere) and it will take you to the one I used.
Julianne edwards says
I know it's been a couple of years now since you did this, but it's still new and amazing looking to me-
I have an old plastic triple-decker fountain, that I re-painted years ago (in a Spanish/tile design that I was keen on at that time), and the paint held up quite well...
until, the whole fountain tipped over last winter - and took a crack along the exterior wall.
I'm not really the "throw-it-out" type, so last weekend. I sealed it up the crack with plenty of construction adhesive,
--along with several other repairs that I hadnt even noticed as needing to be done--
and applied my primer earlier this morning, after taking my daughter to class. While the primer dries, I had also decided I would use THAT time to research some new ideas (think: Google search term "faux painted fountain" and "modern classic painted fountain") ;
And, I just thought that you might appreciate knowing : people are still finding and using your idea -I'm one of them lol- and I'm using it today, in fact (lol). I absolutely love what you did.
And I wanted to thank you for sharing it-
Your "before and after" photo collage/side-by-side, picture that you made, was the clincher for me. My google search result actually showed a single photo of the 'finished fountain' much sooner in my search result, but it looked SO REAL (and expensive), that I didn't even glance at it twice- (I actually blew right past it, trying to find those "faux painted fountains" , lol) until I saw your the side-by-side in the results.- and I realized what was seeing.... I know all I could think was
Absolutely......
stunningly......
realistic......
And in the most classically modern and elegant way... I love it.
And slowly, I turn my eclectic world, into an elegant one ....
Jami says
Wow, this is awesome, Julianne - thank you for sharing this with me! I still love how mine turned out (and it's still going strong, with only a couple of small sections below the water level that have peeled), so I'm glad to know it's still inspiring people. 🙂
Diane says
Wonderful transformation!
The fountain looks like it was made to go with the urns. Just love how this looks.
Great job! Kudos to you for wading right in and doing it!!
Jami says
Thank you so much, Diane!
anne says
Can I ask a stupid question? How does the fountain itself work? What do you hook it up to? I think this really looks beautiful. I've always wanted a fountain but can't afford the "real" deal. Yours looks great. Nice job!
Jami says
No stupid questions here, Anne! It's electric, so we have an outdoor extension cord running to our outdoor outlet. It came with a pump you put in the bowl (I think you can see it a bit in one photo, but painting it darker helped disguise that, too) which just recirculates through a hose that was already in place - and which I painted over as well.
Mindy says
It turned out soooooo awesome!!! I've always loved those Mediterranean-style fountains. And I bet the sound is so relaxing. Two thumbs up.
Jami says
Thanks, Mindy - would sure look nice in your sweet yard, too. 😉
GGay says
What a beautiful job, Jami ! It really enhances that space : )
Jami says
Thanks so much!
Tracy says
I LOVE this!!!! Great job! I'm off to surf the internet for "after summer" sales, and I hope I find something similar! Thanks for the idea! 🙂