How to Age a New Pot to Make it Look Old with Joint Compound

I recently wrote a post about how to age a clay terracotta pot with paint.  To my dismay it didn’t create enough of the “antique vibe” I was looking for. I came to the conclusion that in order to really get that authentic “patina,” you need texture. After all, a true antique piece shows it’s age with more than just color, but texture and shape too. Guess what, I found a an easy way to age a pot with joint compound!

Learn how to create antique texture on a new terracotta pot

I found a few pots at the dollar tree. You can see I purchased a few plastic pots as well as terra cotta pots too. I had to make sure the joint compound would work on clay as well as plastic.

Can y’all believe the difference! I even painted a plastic pot and it looked perfectly aged.

So how did I get from the before picture on the right to the after picture on the left?

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Best product to add texture to a terracotta pot?

Joint Compound!!

Joint compound is super easy to work with and quickly creates that vintage, antique texture that makes anything look aged.

I was super pleased to find an affordable product to help age my pots. I purchased a small can of joint compound at the local hardware store and it was only $3.

Those plastic pots were from the Dollar Tree! They come three for $1.  I also purchased the clay pots too. Don’t ever underestimate the goodies you can find at dollar stores. I also created a few DIY hanging planters from these same pots from the Dollar Tree.

Materials to give a new pot vintage texture

• joint compound
• clay or plastic pots
• gloves (not necessary but this stuff is messy)
• paint or antiquing wax

How to give a new pot texture with Joint compound

1. Apply gloves
2. Open the joint compound and grab a decent clump of the product
3. Start applying over the pot as you see fit while dabbing it in places to create more texture
4. When you are done, let it sit at least 12 hours. This stuff needs to dry well.
5. Paint or wax as you see fit

As far as painting goes, I prefer to use dark wax to give anything an aged look. A dab of green paint would have added a vintage touch too.

You can see where I’ve added the joint compound to a new piece of wood to also create this aged weathered look.

I think it would also add to the aged terra cotta look if you added a little moss.  Has anyone else done this before?

Want to watch my quick video tutorial on How to age a new pot with Joint Compound? Check out my instructional YouTube video.

Now that I know how easy it is with joint compound, it’s going to be hard to keep myself from adding this stuff to everything! LOL, just kidding.

You can also see how I create a DIY faux stone hanging planters for outside with this same method. Side note, it’s been over a year since I created these and they have withstood the elements beautifully.

I hope you enjoyed this little project! Feel free to Pin the image below for future reference.

Lindsey**

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