You Put the Suds in the (Olive) Bucket, Pt. 2

Hi everyone!

When last we met, I was all excited about the new olive bucket from WalMart and was on my way to aging it with a formula found on the internet.  Well, let me tell you - it has been a long process and I am continuing to wait for a little more "aging" to take place.  I first tried a bleach, vinegar,  and salt formula.  That worked a bit, but not as much as I had hoped.  Today I am going with the "toilet bowl cleaner" approach and that seems to be moving things along a bit more quickly.  I think I will need to keep this up for a few days to get to a patina I like.  Still, for $12-ish, I am willing to wait!

BEFORE:

ONGOING: 

In the meantime, Mr. Bluebird and I went to one of my favorite flea markets in Elkhorn this morning, and what to my wondering eyes should appear? A genuine, real deal olive bucket!  Gloriously rusted and weathered and crusty - in other words - perfect!  And get this:  the dealer was asking $35, but sold it to me for $30!!!  He had a lot to choose from, in a variety of shapes, sizes, and conditions, so it was great fun searching out one to take home - at a bargain price.

Isn't she a beaut?  I wire brushed it off and then gave it a couple coats of matte clear sealer to stop the rusting process - enough is enough!  Plus, I did not want rust rubbing off on whatever indoor surface I use it on.

So, never say never, but I think I have enough olive buckets now - not planning to be a bucket hoarder or anything like that.  I did a little research at home to see what prices these things get on the internet, and it looks like anywhere between $48 and $75 - so I am very happy with the $30 I paid out, plus I didn't have to pay shipping!  This was the only dealer that I found at this huge flea market that had olive buckets and prior to today, I had not seen any available before - either at the flea market or area antique shops.  In the end, a lucky find!

I do not know what will become of my WalMart faux bucket, but even if I can't get quite the patina I am looking for, I am confident I will find the perfect use for it here at home (outside or in), and it will fit right in with the rest of the family "treasures!" Hopefully there will be a part 3 of this story, but who's to say?

Hope you all had a terrific weekend!  Did you score any bargains? Real or faux?

Thanks for stopping by,
Jane

Partying with:
Amaze Me Monday
Boogieboard Cottage
DIY Sunday Showcase
Metamorphosis Monday
Coastal Charm Show & Share
Make it Pretty Monday
Inspire Me Tuesday
Lou Lou Girls Fabulous Party
The Scoop
Wow Us Wednesday
The DIYers
Treasure Hunt Thursday
Share Your Cup Thursday
Grace at Home
Find Your Voice Friday

You Put the Suds in the (Olive) Bucket, Pt. 1

Hi Everyone!

Well, after a year or so of waiting, my local WalMart finally got faux olive buckets in stock.  They have been all over blogland, and while I could have ordered one of these low-priced knock offs online, I was too cheap thrifty to pay for shipping.  So, wait I did and for the paltry sum of $12.44, I brought the shiny beauty home. In fact, I could not get this thing in my cart fast enough!

It is called the Better Homes & Gardens Providence Metal Bucket.  Silly WalMart, they could have charged far more if they had included the term "olive bucket" in their description.  Lucky for me, they did not! You can see this bucket on their website.

But, wait!  Although it was a  good deal, an exciting deal even - it did present itself with some work to do.  It is pretty shiny.  Gasp! Even new looking.  Not really the vintage olive bucket look I was going for.  Where's the rust? Where's the whitish cast? The gray water lines? My olive bucket needs those things. So, of course, where there's a will there's a way and Google!  No shortage of how to age new galvanized pieces online.  There is even one that uses toilet bowl cleaner - intriguing!

I opted for the vinegar, salt, and bleach method.....outside, of course.  First I roughed it up with a wire brush in case there was some type of coating on the bucket.  Then I mixed up a concoction of vinegar, water, & salt.  I brushed that on, then brushed on some bleach, sprinkled more salt on top, and left it out in the sun to "cook."

That cup may look like it's filled with a refreshing iced tea, but I was out of white vinegar, and used red wine vinegar instead!! The bucket now has a little salt paste goo on it, and I am waiting for it to do the "magic!"  I am thinking it will take a day or two to "do what it needs to do",  but for $12, I am willing to be patient.

Once it has the patina I am looking for (which I hope is soon!), I will come on back and show it's glory, along with where I am going to use it at my house.

Thanks for stopping by,
Jane