METALLICUM Sample Board

What it is

METALLICUM is a coating that is about 50% real metal powder — metal alloy particles, with real copper and copper-zinc brass in the Copper and Brass finishes — carried in a water-based gel. It goes on with a spatula, and once dry it is sanded and polished so the metal at the surface takes on a true metallic luster, the same way solid metal does when you buff it. That is the difference from "metallic paint": paint sparkles because of mica-style effect pigments, while METALLICUM gleams because you are looking at actual polished metal.

Why choose it

• Roughly half the material is real metal powder — copper and brass finishes contain actual copper and copper-zinc particles — so the luster is polished metal, not metallic-effect pigment, and it catches light the way cast metal does.
• One seamless metal surface with no panel joints or welds: it bonds to plaster, plasterboard, cement, wood, and MDF, so a single finish can wrap a wall, a column, and the cabinetry beside it.
• The four tones are muted, architectural metals — brushed steel, aged-penny copper, champagne-bronze brass, antique olive-gold — closer to aged bronze hardware than to glitter paint.

How it’s applied

1. 01Prep and prime: the surface must be clean, dry, and sound, then sealed with a smooth water-based acrylic primer — never a quartz or sanded 'grip' primer, whose grain would telegraph through the polished metal.
2. 02Spread two thin coats with a stainless-steel spatula; the gel consistency gives long working time so the surface stays free of lap marks.
3. 03Let it dry completely — 12–18 hours — before sanding.
4. 04Sand with 1000-grit to level the surface, then polish with 3000-grit pads — it is this final polishing that brings up the shine of the liquid metal, so the surface reflects light like solid metal. Finish with a microfiber wipe to clear any metal residue.
5. 05Optional topcoat: Metallicum needs no sealer in a standard interior application, but one can be added — Atriafloor Filler for general interiors, or Atriapol matte or gloss where the surface will see water. Apply only over fully cured, clean, dry, dust-free metal, and test a board first: a topcoat can deepen the colour and soften the polished reflectivity you just built. Interior only, and not for Wild Rust, which has its own Protettivo sealer.
6. 06Plan on a professional applicator, or practice on a board first: an even, consistent polish across a whole wall takes experience.

Where it works