How To Make Silver Paint

If you’re an artist or a DIY enthusiast looking to add a touch of metallic elegance, learning how to make silver paint can be a valuable skill. 

Silver paint offers a unique and captivating shine that can elevate any artwork or decorative item. 

Whether you’re creating a stunning masterpiece or sprucing up furniture, having the ability to produce your silver paint opens up a world of creative possibilities. 

This article will provide a comprehensive step-by-step guide on making silver paint from scratch.

I’ll also show you how to customize the shade and consistency to suit your needs.

How To Make Silver Paint

To achieve a silver color, combine equal parts of blue and black paint, then incorporate a small quantity of white. Since you already know what mix of colors make black, adjust the ratios as necessary until you achieve the desired outcome.

The Silver Color

Silver may often be associated with gray (sometimes metallic gray).

But the big difference between primary and secondary colors is that although it has a grey tone, it is bright and shiny, much like the metal named after.

People have assigned meanings to silver, as with the primary colors red, yellow, blue, and others.

The silver color is seen as modern, industrial, and sleek. In fashion, the silver color is perceived as elegant and glamorous.  

Overall, it exudes a classic or modern vibe, depending on where the silver color is used. 

Moreover, because the silver color has reflective properties, It boosts people’s confidence.

With these associations and perceived characteristics, the silver color is often used in jewelry, electronics, and cars.

Read also: champagne vs gold color

Shades of Silver

The silver color stands out because of its reflective properties.

Although there are different shades of silver color (you even have silver blue sea, silver sand, and silver chalice, for instance), you can be sure each one has a unique color attribute.

Below are the common shades of silver:

1. Pale silver

Pale silver is distinct for its grayish-orange shade. This is the silver color that we see in crayons. Its color temperature is warm, giving off an orange glow.

This shade has many uses, so making silver paint will be worthwhile. On ceilings, for instance, it adds a reflection on your space and makes the room seem bigger.

Plus, the shade pops out, making it a good conversation starter.

On walls, pale silver adds sophistication. Pale silver chairs, dressers, and nightstands look new and modern.

The shade can be used as an effective contrast to the surrounding walls. 

Pale silver also looks nice on accent pieces. Throw in a silver object, such as a picture frame or candle holder, to add elegance to the space.

And if you get bored, introduce a shade of blue. The resulting hue is metallic blue.

Alternatively, have a bright shade of blue as a backdrop for the pale silver. This combination will make your pale silver stand out.

2. Roman silver

Different from its silver color shades, which exude gray and metallic appeal, Roman silver comes out with a shade of blue.

It can be described as dark grayish blue and is part of the blue color family. Yet, it retains its metallic color shade.

Paint one wall with Roman silver, and it becomes the focal point of the bedroom, living, or dining room.

As it’s more in the shade of blue, its complementary color and what sits opposite in the color wheel is Philippine gray, which is closer to khaki than gray.

Yet Roman silver’s metallic finish still adds glamor to dressers, tables, and cabinets.

Or you can always make accessories pop, as vases, candle holders, tables, and shelves are given an eye-catching shimmer.

And if you’re bored with that dull ceiling, apply Roman silver on crown molding or the ceiling medallions.

This shade would even make the room look more spacious.

3. Silver pink

Silver color and pink usually are mixed to have a contrast effect, with pink providing the accent to an otherwise dull silver shade.

Silver pink has a subtle, metallic sheen with an understated pink shade. The combination adds a feminine touch to interiors and cars.

This combo is considered shiny paint, is available in various shades, and comes in metallic finishes.

For best results, follow the manufacturer’s recommendations and ensure you have prepared your project’s surface before applying the paint.

Silver pink is ideal for a children’s room, as the shade creates a soothing space. Alternatively, silver pink can also be an accent to the room.

And, in case you need the room to appeal to both boys and girls, how about touches of baby blue? The light tones will relax and soothe you. 

What colors makes silver

Multiple shades of gray can be achieved by mixing black and white. Different shades of gray can be obtained by varying the proportions of these two colors. The specific combination of black and white can be adjusted to create a color closely resembling silver.

Related article: What color does gold and silver make when mixed together?

How to Make Silver with Paint

You can now make silver paint after being acquainted with some shades.

Note that silver, as with other secondary and tertiary colors in the color wheel, comes from a combination of hues.

To make silver paint, prepare a mixture of black and blue and a touch of white.

Alternatively, mix white paint with black until you achieve the desired shade.

Now to make silver paint, you’ll need the following materials:

Materials and Tools

To make silver acrylic paint

• Palette
• Palette Knife
• Red, Yellow and Blue, White, and Black paints

Steps in Making Silver Color Paint

1. Mix the needed acrylic paints.

Before making silver paint, put on a dust mask to avoid inhaling fumes from the paint.

With a palette knife, get equal parts blue and black paint, then mix white. Do some color mixing of all three in a disposable bowl.

2. Start by making cool grey color.

Mix acrylic paint colors. The goal is to make cool gray. Adding blue, black and white make the desired shades.

3. Adjust to warm grey color.

From cool gray, change the color temperature to warm and produce a darker shade by pouring brown color into the mix.

For the brown, you can mix yellow and blue initially (this will make green), then add red gradually using a palette knife.

Continue mixing red until you come up with the needed brown. Then, mix the brown color into the cool gray.

The resulting tint will be warm gray. This shade may be a good one to paint your walls.

But do you know that sometimes gray walls look like blue? Thus, to avoid confusion, proceed to make silver.

4. Modifying the value of silver

Depending on your needed shade, you can adjust the color temperature of the silver paint.

Add white paint to obtain a lighter value or black to achieve a darker value.

The danger is when you have it darker, it may lose its metallic sheen. Thus, best to come up with a neutral color.

5. Adding shadows and highlights

Create highlights by adding pure titanium white. Pure titanium white is the brightest shade of white for artists. 

Shadows can be created when you mix a bit of black on the area you need the shadow to appear.

This follows the subtractive color model, in which you use ink to subtract brightness from white, ultimately producing black.

The model’s foundation is the four colors: CMYK– cyan, magenta, yellow, and key (black).

These shades and reduction of light will be used to achieve a desired hue.  

Make Silver Using Watercolors

There are only a handful of brands of watercolor paints that offer silver watercolor and other metallic colors.

Alternatively, you can make silver watercolor paint. You must mix gum Arabic with mica powder to create a silver hue.

Watercolor paints are great because they are quick drying time, easy to clean, and affordable.

This makes watercolor paints a wise choice for putting accents in the house. 

In making silver from colored pencils, note the blue, black, and white mixture we used earlier to make the desired shade of silver. 

Note that you cannot metallic powders with watercolor paint, as the water damages the color. In place of metallic powders, use metallic pigments. 

Make Silver Using Oil Paint

The process is the same as making silver acrylic paint. Although brands of oil paints typically sell a silver variant, you can still make your silver paint. 

Mix equal white iridescent oil with some titanium white and a touch of carbon black oil paint for this.

The three shades will produce a light gray silver hue with some shimmer.

If you need to make the mixture thinner, introduce solvents, oils, and other mediums such as Liquin.

Silver oil paints, because of their metallic tint, make the painting jump off the canvas when seen from different angles, unlike gray tones, which remain flat. 

How to Add a Metallic Tint to Silver

If you need the silver to have a more metallic gray, mix pearlescent or iridescent medium with your silver paint.

To make it shinier, throw in a dash of mica powder. Mica powder will be enough to make the paint shiny, as it has the ability to create a natural shimmery finish.

Using silver metallic powder

Alternatively, add metallic powder. The silver metallic powder contains actual bits of silver and reflective pigments.

The trick is to pour a liquid medium into the metallic powder to use it as liquid paint.

If working with oil, have walnut oil handy with the metallic powder before mixing it with paint.

The powder also works well with acrylic paint, provided you mix it with an acrylic gel medium. It’s not as effective with watercolor as the water tarnishes it.

Apart from its sheen, the advantage of using this shade is that it can be used as the base of other metallic colors. 

Pros and Cons of Using The Silver Color

Silver may only be a secondary color when refreshing interiors or creating dresses.

The shade can affect people’s moods, thoughts, and actions. Below are the advantages and disadvantages of using the silver color, as brought about by its effects on people:  

1. Silver has a soothing effect. Like powder blue, its gray tone calms the mind. This gives you the chance to collect your thoughts and refocus. 

2. The time for introspection prompts new thoughts and opens up new perspectives. It also makes you polite and more organized.

3. This, however, can work like a two-edged sword. Metallic colors such as silver may trigger indifference and be cold to others.

4. But its perceived positive effects still outweigh the negative. The color lights the way to move forward.  It encourages taking on risks brought about by new opportunities.

5. On business logos and packages, silver looks lustrous and smooth.

6. It also evokes sophistication, glamor, and elegance.

7. Conversely, silver gives the impression of being emotional, indecisive, distant, and hiding from others.

Color Combinations for Silver

You may think that, contrary to the primary colors, it’s difficult to pair silver with other colors.

Although considered a warmer shade against white and beige, it usually commands attention.

Yet it can serve as a great complement to earth tones and the three primary colors – red, yellow, and blue.

However, it’s not ideal to mix titanium white with these reflective properties, as it also looks bright.  

You don’t need to be intimidated. Instead, refer to the color theory – a set of rules that places colors in schemes that appeal to the eye.

This theory can be seen in the color wheel, the basis of the color theory.

Applying the color theory and proper color mixing will make mixing silver with other colors easy. Here are some tips on mixing colors using the silver:    

1. Cool white and silver

Although not as bright as titanium white paint, cool white still works well with silver.

This is especially true in the kitchen, where there are a lot of silver objects – appliances and utensils being used.

Plus, the white lightens the darker value of the silver and gives the space a clean look.

The combo also feels organic to the space, paired with titanium white marble countertops and white cabinets.

Adding another level to mixing colors, you can introduce elements colored black, yellow, and blue elements, perfect complements to cool white paint and silver. 

2. Forest green and silver

Another go-to combo to soothe the eyes. Green has a relaxing effect, making it great for mixing silver because it exudes energy.

These complementary colors are ideal for an office area or a reading nook.

Picture a couch with forest green upholstery and orange pillows paired with your silver walls.

Or maybe do a color mixing featuring forest green walls that will go well with a silver desk and chair.   

This will be great with your white or gray countertops and silver utensils in the kitchen.

Add contrast to these complementary colors by hanging overhead lights on black chains or use butcher block countertops instead.

3. Teal and silver

If the forest green is too light, you can replace it with teal (known as blue-green because of its appearance).

Silver generally works well with a secondary color – any among orange, green, and violet. Silver’s shiny, energetic vibe blends well with teal’s calming effect.

Teal is a deep and calming blue-green, not to be confused with ultramarine blue, darker and more violet than green.

This refreshing combination of complementary colors does well with the lighter value of cool white.

You can have teal as a wall color, with shades of cool white as the trim. 

4. Beige and silver

Beige is a neutral color for interiors as it’s great as one-half of complementary colors. It’s a great alternative to pure white.

The drawback is that your home can look common, as it’s a popular choice for living rooms and bedrooms.

In a simple set-up, you can have walls, furniture, and rugs in varying shades of beige.

Then, go on to mixing colors by having silver frames and silver bric-a-braces or having elements of white mixed with the metallic color, such as a white tablecloth. 

5. Hot pink and silver

Don’t be afraid of a little color mixing. Hot pink and silver emit energy to an otherwise dull space.

What’s good is that you need a few accent pieces for this combo. A hot pink rug and a few accent pillows will emit a warmer shade, a perfect complement to a silver-gray sofa.

If you want to understate the pink, otherwise, have a rug and pillows with a multicolor pattern (stripes or a floral design), with touches of hot pink.

And if hot pink is too much on the eyes, subtract brightness by introducing elements with the powder blue hue (you can have these on pillows or blankets).

Maintenance of metallic silver paint

Now that you have repainted your house with a silver tint or any of the complementary shades, the question is how you make silver walls look fresh through time. 

Dust fingerprints, oil, food particles, and other elements are always present and are a threat to make silver surfaces dirty and ruin the immaculate paint.

Here are some tips to keep your walls and the paint squeaky clean:

1. Regularly clean frequently touched surfaces.

Weekly wipe door frames, banisters, windowsills, doorknobs, and light switches to prevent the build-up of oils and accumulation of grime.

These oils make silver surfaces dirty and ultimately damage the paint.

Just wipe these things gently and with a soft cloth to avoid scratches and unnecessary paint peeling.

2. Have leftover paint handy.

We will never know when some of the paint peels off. For this, we can use the excess paint for touch-ups.

In the meantime, keep the leftover paint in a cool, dry place and put a corresponding label for reference.

If a part of the paint gets stained, clean the spot before considering repainting.

3. Check for mold and mildew; scrub off immediately.

Simple practices can reduce moisture and humidity, making it less likely to have mold and mildew.

For instance, you can open a kitchen window and turn on the exhaust fan.

Do the same in the bathroom when taking a shower. Also, consider purchasing dehumidifiers.

4.  Degrease walls around the stove periodically.

Grease is transmitted through the steam from your stove and sticks to kitchen walls and cupboards.

This will not only make said surfaces dirty. Before the grime builds up, wipe the walls and cupboards with a wet cloth or water and soap.

Related posts: How to make bronze color and How to make rose gold color paint

Conclusion

Knowing how to create silver paint will serve you well. Silver evokes good qualities and positive energy.

Plus, mixing silver with any of the primary colors, will liven up your space. 

It can either serve as a perfect canvas for earth and nature tones, even for primary colors and secondary colors,  or serve as an accent that will make a room elegant.

Don’t hesitate to check the color wheel to achieve the perfect combo.

But the biggest advantage of creating silver paint on your own is instantly refreshing your walls or any other part of your house.

You won’t need to pay for labor costs or repaint a wall. You can also be sure you won’t waste a drop of paint again.