How to Makeover Outdoor Metal Art – Easy DIY

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Learning how to makeover outdoor metal art is an easy DIY project that will bring new life to your outdoor space. With some prepping and painting you can make your metal garden art look new again!

My mother’s metal wall art pieces have always been a favorite of mine, but the weather elements had not been kind to them. They have been waiting a long time to be refreshed!

They originally were meant for indoor use only, hence the bad condition even though they were hanging under a porch cover. In today’s makeover we’ll be making the metal sunflowers weatherproof.

Follow my step-by-step tutorials as I show you the best way to makeover metal yard art.

  • First tutorial – teaches you how to repaint outdoor metal surfaces and the best sprays to use.
  • Second tutorial – shows how to apply decorative painting with the best paints to use.

HOW TO MAKEOVER OUTDOOR METAL ART – EASY DIY

metal sunflower wall art hanging outside

BEFORE THE PAINT MAKEOVER

3 sunflowers for the how to makeover outdoor metal art

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SUPPLIES NEEDED:

supplies needed for the outdoor art metal makeover - easy diy project

It’s time for the “Do it Over” Designers group to once again share our upcycled, recycled, DIY projects with our readers. Our items can be found in closets, barns, garages, yard sales, thrift stores, you name it! The theme this month is “metal” so at the end of my post you’ll find links to see 8 more DIY projects that are metal related.

STEP 1 – PREP METAL SURFACE WITH WIRE BRUSH AND SANDPAPER

Use a wire brush to remove as many rust spots as possible. The brush will also assist you in peeling up any flaking and loose paint that’s popping up. Use the sandpaper to smooth the metal all over.

Scraping the rusty metal sunflower

STEP 2 – CLEAN THE PREPPED METAL ART

Use a cleaning brush, soap and water to clean the metal surface of any dirt and prep debris. Prop up your outdoor metal art and let dry in the sun.

STEP 3 – APPLY RUST PROTECTION PRIMER SPRAY

Once the metal surfaces are completely dry, spray Rust-Oleum Clean Metal Primer to cover both sides of your outdoor art. Two coats will be needed. Apply the second coat after the first coat is no longer tacky.

TIP – For best results, spray the primer with light coats in quick, short back and forth motions instead of continually spraying. This prevents drips, sags and bubbling.

getting metal flowers ready to be spray painted
sunflower spray painted in white for the outdoor metal art makeover diy project

STEP 4 – SPRAY METAL WITH MAIN PAINT COLOR

Spray on your main decorative color once the white primer is no longer tacky. I used Rust-Oleum 2X Ultra Cover Paint + Primer.

If you do not plan to paint with decorative painting (as detailed in the second tutorial found further down,) then you should apply two coats.

TIP – For best results, spray paint with light coats in quick, short back and forth motions instead of continually spraying. This prevents drips, sags and bubbling.

Spray painting the sunflowers yellow for the metal art makeover

STEP 5 – SPRAY OUTDOOR SEALER ON METAL

You should add a protective coating to your painted metal yard art by using a clear topcoat spray to weatherproof and prevent rusting of the metal surfaces. See recommendations below.

Spray two coats of sealer just as you did for the previous spraying step instructions. Be sure to spray the back side as well.

ONERust-Oleum Universal All Surface Clear Topcoat spray covers all of our concerns: prevents rust, provides UV protection, dries clear, and gives outdoor durability for metal.

TWO – Rust-Oleum 2X Ultra Cover Matte Clear spray is fast drying, non-yellowing, dries clear, and is UV resistant. This is the one I used that was in stock at my Lowes.

THREERust-Oleum Stops Rust Matte Clear Enamel is resistant to fading, rusting, scratches, and chips.

Besides the white Rust-Oleum Clean Metal Primer and Rust-Oleum 2X Ultra Cover Paint + Primer that I mentioned earlier, you can also use certain acrylic paints on primed metal surfaces.

ONE – Multi-Surface Satin acrylic paint is a great way to add extra decorative colors.

TWO – Outdoor Gloss acrylic paint is another option for making pretty glossy finishes over the spray paint.

THREE – For adding some extra pizazz you can use metallic paints that are for multi-surfaces.

Since there are so many different types of sunflowers, I needed to get a visual on the color details that needed to be painted, so I googled sunflower images to pick one that I liked the best and followed it as a painting example.

PAINTING THE FLOWER CENTER

I used a stencil brush to stipple/pounce the green and brown craft paint on the sunflower centers.

You can stencil both brown paints while all the paints are still wet. Just wipe the stencil brush on a paper towel after each color.

If you don’t have a specific color on hand that you need, you can mix two colors together to make your desired color.

painting outdoor metal sunflower art

THE COMPLETED SUNFLOWER CENTER

sunflower center of the outdoor metal art makeover

PAINTING THE FLOWER PETALS

The photo below shows on the left side how I first painted random streaks on the flower petals. The second step was filling in between those streaks with yellow paint as seen below on the right side.

Paint with the yellow paint while the streaks are still wet so that it all can be blended together.

using acrylic paint on the outdoor metal art easy diy project

I mixed yellow and orange together since the orange I had on hand was too bright.

mixing two acrylic paints

I will be hanging my metal flowers on the vinyl siding wall space over a little seating area on my deck where I use bright colors.

You can also show off your restored metal art on a wood fence over flower beds, or hang at your front porch or back porch area.

Wouldn’t the garden art look so cute hanging on your she shed or potting shed?

Another good idea is to hang it in your pool area on a fence or pool house.

HARDWARE OPTIONS TO HANG OUTDOOR METAL ART

  • BRICK – brick clips
  • VINYL – vinyl siding hooks
  • WOOD – exterior screws or nails

I think my outdoor metal art makeover turned out perfectly, if I do say so myself, and it was overall an easy DIY project. Waiting through all the in between coats of paint to dry turned out to be well worth the effort!

outdoor sitting space with painted metal sunflowers

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE TO SEE MY DIY PAINTED PLASTIC FLOWER POT

"Pin for Later" graphic
pinterest graphic with painted sunflower metal decor

VISIT THE LINKS BELOW TO SEE 8 MORE METAL DIY PROJECTS!

graphic for the 'do it over' design group

Birdz of a Feather

Exquisitely Unremarkable

Little Vintage Cottage

Modern on Monticello

Purple Hues & Me

Sum of Their Stories

Color Me Thrifty

The Apple Street Cottage

Southern Sunflowers (that’s me)

Sharing my flower outdoor metal art makeover at these fabulous blogs!

author of the southern sunflowers blog
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Allyson

Allyson is the founder and content creator of Southern Sunflowers. She shares tutorials for DIY crafts and decor on a budget.

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13 thoughts on “How to Makeover Outdoor Metal Art – Easy DIY”

  1. I love cratfy individuals (because I am not)! 🙂 These are beautiful! This year I’ve grown so many sunflowers and I think this would be a great idea to keep that summer sunflower joy alive all season!

  2. Wow, this is fantastic! Your step-by-step guide on making over outdoor metal art is incredibly detailed and inspiring. I love how you’ve provided clear instructions and helpful tips for each stage of the process. The transformation of the metal sunflowers is impressive, and the vibrant colors really bring them to life. Your creative touch and practical advice make this DIY project seem approachable and fun. Thank you for sharing such a wonderful tutorial! I can’t wait to try this on my own garden art. Keep up the great work!

  3. Those turned out so nice! I think a lot of people would just throw those away once they get weather-worn like that but repainting them is so easy and really looks great!

  4. Wow Allyson, these turned out perfectly. You did an awesome job mixing the paint colors, I am not always so wonderful in that department, and the layering is spot on!

  5. So often the weather gets the best of outdoor metal art and people just toss it. I didn’t know there was acrylic paint that can be used outdoors! Thank you for sharing this tutorial so these pieces can be saved, Allyson.

  6. Beautiful, and it’s so joyful where you’ve hung it Allyson. Great tips for painting and prepping; it’ll last a long time.

  7. This is a fabulous makeover and what perfect timing! I have a small metal scarecrow in my garden, but he’s faded and old. I was wondering what to do with him and now I know! Thanks so much…and my scarecrow thanks you, too. I’m sure he’d much rather stay (refreshed) in the garden that be tossed in the donate bin. 😉

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