I need to age a talisman for a routine I'm working on. I have altered it so that it looks worn but it is shiny as a soldiers shoe. Any idea how to give it a more old look?
It appears to be made of an aluminum alloy of some kind. I bought it at one of those new age/ wiccan stores.

Places like Michael's, probably any art store, sell antiquing kits. I have used just paint on some things (e.g. copper paint and a bit of green spray).

Bill

Use a degreaser to clean the metal. Then use thinned paint of the color that you wish it to take on to give it the proper outlook. Get the paint very thin. Use washes of it to produce the effect you want. Think in terms of dirty thinner.

Also, if you want to change the color of the aluminum, Rub and Buff is a great way to do it.

Well-stocked stained glass supply shops carry different color "Patina" liquids to color/antique the frames around stained glass. I have successfully used this liquid to age various items (such as keys). This liquid reacts with the metal to cause something like oxidation (it might actually be an oxidation). It works on some metals, and not so well on others. I recommend trying this on a sample piece of the same type of metal before using it on the actual talisman. Also, I remember this doesn't work well with peweter. Also, I believe this stuff is an acid-based product and doesn't work well on hinges of boxes ... so beware.

I forget the actual name of the product, but it is inexpensive ($4 - $8 US). It is not carried by large hobby shops like Michaels, but only Stained Glass specialty stores. I remember I also found it on-line.

Also, I believe gun shops sell a product called bluing (??? or something like that) to give an antique look to guns. I haven't tried this, however.

Hope this helps,
Dave

Bluing puts an oxidized surface on steel (dark blue in color), which is not really antique, although today many firearms are chrome plated or stainless steel. Older firearms were, of course, blued. As far as I know, this only works on steel. I would check out the "patina" liquids as suggested by StrangeMagick. You could probably do a lot of interesting things with those.

Bill

Aluminum forms a clear oxide on the surface very quickly when it is exposed to air. This makes it difficult for chemicals to alter the surface color to look "old." If it is aluminum, applying a thin, transparent color coat may be the best way to handle the problem. Remember that true aging usually results in a wide variation in color and color density over the object.

Aluminum is really difficult to age effectively. Whatever you do, keep it away from salt water. Salt water is very corrosive to aluminum.

If there is a model railroad shop in your area, check with them for a Flo-Quill or Flo-Paque weathering kit. You can use one of these to make ordinary plastic look like rusted metal.

Thanks for the help I will experiment with your ideas.

If it's aluminium, good luck to age it...
If you are relevant, the industrial use of aluminium is more or less 120 years old (in my collection I have a 1897 Brussels universal exposition medal and a ritual dagger from the turn of the XIXth/XXth century in aluminium - the handle for the dagger). And at the time, it was considered quite a valuable metal.
The easiest thing to do is to use some kind of black tainting wax and makes it look dirty. Apply, polish and let some wax in the scratchs of your talisman.
If you wear it, it will polish himself.

I would have thought that salts are JUST what you need! Let it Oxidise...THAT'S what Aluminum / aluminium does! What better ageing process than the one that actually happens?

You can also use the kind of tar or pitch used to seal roofs. Thin this with paint thinner and scrub it into the prop with a stiff brush. Rub off the excess and LET IT DRY for days. You will build up a nice, natural dirt and oil staining effect. It will contain browns, greens, yellows etc. Much nicer than black paint which often looks too clean and monotone.

Thank you everyone for the suggestions. I'll try them all and let you know what works best.
Curator, I would just like to tell you how wonderful Hauntiques is. Great work!