How To Transform Plastic Cauldrons to Look Authentic

If you’re like me, you like your Halloween decorations to look authentic rather than like a piece of plastic.  I decided to spruce up a few plastic cauldrons to make them look old & rusty. 

With COVID on the decline I plan to reinstate “bobbing for boos” this year at my annual haunt party & wanted a better-looking cauldron for the booze than what I’ve been using.  I also wanted to redo my witch’s cauldron tripod that after 7 years of high winds & Kansas weather needed some “renovation”.  And of course, one to use for Halloween candy.

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Supplies

• Cauldron
• Oatmeal
• Sand
• Sawdust
• Mod Podge or Elmer’s glue
• Flat or satin black spray paint
• Acrylic paint (red, yellow, black, brown)
• Paint brush
• Spray bottle of water
• Gel stain (I used Ipswich Pine)
• Brush for staining
• Spray sealant

Add Texture to Cauldrons

I ordered a set of 3 plastic cauldrons from Walmart for under $40.  They were 8″, 12″, and 16″. 

The first step was to add some texture to the cauldrons.  I’ve seen other tutorials that just used oatmeal for this, but I mixed together sand, saw dust, and oatmeal to give a variety of textures.  I mixed these with Mod Podge, but Elmer’s glue would work just as well.  A significant amount of glue will help ensure the mixture will stick. 

I don’t mind getting a little messy, so I just scooped the mixture up with my hands and smeared it all over the outside of the cauldrons.  I did this on an old tablecloth I use for painting & crafts.  The tablecloth had to be hosed down outside afterward so you might consider doing it on cardboard or something disposable.

Bake that Oatmeal

Once I was satisfied with the texture, I set these outside in the sun to dry.  It really baked the oatmeal on there.  There were only a few loose flakes, and I just used my hand to lightly rub the cauldrons down to get anything that was loose off there.

Paint it Black

Next, I spray painted the cauldrons with black satin paint all over.  I highly recommend a “comfort grip sprayer”.  It really saves your hands & I’ve used it countless times.  You can get these on Amazon, at Walmart, or Home Depot. I then allowed the paint to completely dry.

Rust the Cauldrons

After the paint dried, I mixed together my acrylic paints.  It took me a few tries to get the right color, but I finally succeeded.  I used a lot of red, a medium amount of yellow, a little brown, and a little black.  You just have to play with it until you get the rust color you are looking for. 

I tried this out using a couple of methods. I initially used a chalk brush to dry brush the paint on and also tried using a sponge brush to dab it on. I liked the chalk brush better but I’m sure any brush will do.  After slightly dipping my brush in the paint I wiped it off on a piece of cardboard so there was only a small amount on the brush.  I started dry brushing with the chalk brush beginning at the bottom of the cauldron so if there was still too much paint on the brush it wouldn’t be as noticeable.  I dry brushed this mostly in the areas that had the “rust flakes” and other imperfections. I added a heavier amount on the “handles”.  Make sure to get under the lip of the cauldron as well.  I did not do the inside because I didn’t feel it was needed for what I’m using these for.

I tried spraying water on the lip of the cauldron to get the paint to run down looking like the cauldron had spilled over. Unfortunately, the paint had dried too much by the time I did this, and it was ineffective so if you do this make sure the paint is still pretty wet.

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Gel Stain the Cauldrons

Next, I used a chip brush to brush gel stain all over them. I used Ipswich Pine. I prefer Antique Maple but I’ve had a hard time finding this the last couple years.  Make sure to wear disposable gloves for this.  I’ve made the mistake before of not doing this and ended up super sticky.  Combined with the acrylic paint this really made the rust “pop” giving it an authentic rusty look.

Boiled Over

After the stain had dried, I painted some watered-down “puke” green paint on the top of the cauldron to make it look like a witch’s cauldron had boiled over with poison. This time, before the paint dried, I used a spray bottle of water spraying along the lip of the cauldron. This caused green to run down the sides making it look like it had boiled over.

Seal the Deal

The last step was to spray the cauldron’s down with sealant to ensure all the hard work stays where it’s supposed to.

Keep an eye out for another couple projects in relation to this. I’ll show you how to make the cauldron look like it’s boiling, how to rust some chain to attach the cauldron to a tripod and how to prepare a cauldron for “bobbing for boos”.

If you liked this tutorial be sure to give me a thumbs up and leave me a comment below! Of course, I would love to hear from you also and see how your cauldron turned out! Please also check out my other tutorials on my Blog page!