Horse shoe gift - ideas please

[Tayto]

My friend is getting married and I would like to make a horse shoe gift using one of my horses shoes...

Any ideas what I would need to coat this with in order to stop it rusting and to make it a nice colour? I have seen a few nice ideas online but not sure where to start with coating it...

 

[QuantockHills]

I made some of these for my friends! Scrub the shoe in hot water and washing up liquid with a good strong brush. When it's dry use a spray undercoat, i think i used one of the hammerite ones.... then I sprayed mine with a silver glitter spray and threaded ribbon through the nail holes so you can hang it up. They looked really good!

 

[dixie]

Look up The Horseshoe Boutique on Facebook they do some lovely ones - if nothing else, might give you some ideas.
I have just bought one for a friend who's getting married and its very nice.

 

[scrat]

Brush off any rust with a wire brush. Clean out the nail holes. Use a Hammerite, two coats, and make sure this also goes inside the holes. Let it dry thoroughly between coats. Then you can use acrylic paint to decorate, add glitters, tiny silk flowers, ribbon gemstones. Hobbycraft is the place to go. Once you have prevented the rust coming through with the Hammerite you can let your imagination run wild.

 

[Tayto]

Thanks everyone - I hope she likes it