Paint is the quickest and most economical way to decorate and change the look of your home. With fresh color, you can quickly and easily change the mood of a room, or even your whole home. And when you add basic decorative painting techniques to your home improvement projects you get a style and look that can make the most nondescript room in your home come alive.
There are many different types of faux finishing techniques, from basic combing or sponging to more elaborate techniques such as marbling and leather. Whichever faux finishing technique you decide to do, you should take a few minutes to familiarize yourself with these finishing basics.
Positive Application
The easiest and most common technique involves applying the paint to a surface with an applicator such as a sponge or a rag.
Negative Removal
This technique involves applying an even coat of paint and then removing some of it, or working with it, using a rag or plastic or rubber comb.
It’s important to remember that when you’re using different colors, the first color applied will show the least, and the last color applied will be the predominant color.
All finishing techniques usually start with the application of a solid color of paint (base coat). This base coat needs to be a satin or semi-gloss, either latex (acrylic) or alkyd (oil-base), and should be thoroughly dry before you begin faux finishing.
General Tips
When faux finishing it is essential that your surface is smooth and prepared correctly, and your paint is “workable.” In other words, if the drying time of the glaze mixture is too fast, and it “sets” too quickly, you won’t have time to create a successful faux finish.
Flood’s line of paint additives are an essential part of your faux finishing project because they not only ensure that the base coat is smooth, but more importantly they increase the working time necessary for faux finishing.
Floetrol®, mixed directly into water-based (latex) paint, creates a smooth base coat. It also increases the working time necessary to create your chosen effect.
Penetrol®, mixed directly into oil or alkyd-based paint, will improve the brushability of your paint and leveling of the base coat. Penetrol also delays dry time, increasing the working time of your paints and glazes.
Choosing Colors
Start your project by first selecting colors from your local paint dealer’s paint chip center. Try to select colors that will compliment your furniture, carpet, wallpaper or window treatments to help coordinate the look of your room.
Most hues are arranged in value from light to dark (See The Language of Color). After selecting the correct hue within a given color family, you will most likely want to choose a lighter value for your base coat. A darker value is then mixed for your glaze color.
You can reverse the values for a softer effect using a darker color for the base coat and two to three shades lighter for the glaze. That’s why it is important to practice and experiment beforehand on sample boards, so you can try out different combinations, see which technique works best, and explore your own ideas.
Remember, the color you apply last will be the most predominant, so start with the color you want to see least and end with the color you want to see most.
Surface Prep and Base Coat Application
You must have a completely sealed surface for successful decorative painting. Fill cracks, holes, depressions, etc. with a patch or spackling compound. Then prime and seal the area with a primer/sealer.
Once the surface prep is complete, you can apply a base coat of any interior satin or semi-gloss alkyd (oil-base) or latex (acrylic) paint in the color of your choice. Let it dry overnight.
Once the base coat has dried, you can mask off areas you don’t want to decorate with a low tack painter’s tape. Mask off adjacent walls and ceilings. Remove the tape immediately after the glazing step. You are now ready to start faux finishing.
Here are some of the many types of faux finishing. Select the type you are interested in to find out more how-to information on that technique.