When you are dabbing on a glaze over a base colour you can use a rag, cheescloth, or a sponge. The most popular sponge is a natural sea sponge. This is because by rotating it after each dab you can avoid the cat tracks that are the bane of a faux finisher. Also let me ease your mind about glazes; when dabbing on you can use thinned latex paint with no other additives. I start dabbing by keeping my dabs about a foot apart. This will avoid clumping the dabs and allow you to fill in gradually. Also as your sponge runs out of paint the lighter dabs will be spread out. It's the same proccess with rags or other methods of application. Make sure your paint/glaze is thin enough and you will need to mask the trim and corners to prevent the dabbing from getting on surounding surfaces.
Here is Wikipedia's Faux Finishing link.
Or visit us http://www.mercuryminc.net/
Friday, February 5, 2010
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Faux Finishing glaze
Glaze is a transparent coating, used to create faux finishing effects.
The correct mix of glaze is the most important part of success. A sample board is a good start. This is used to try your colours and see the result before it gets to the wall. Paint the sample board with the same base colour you are using on your wall.
I'll assume you have bought the Benjamin Moore "Aqua Glaze", although other brands are available. It comes rather thick for most ragging or marbling, and should be thinned with water. Adding colour to the glaze should be done with care.
What kind of product do you use to colour the glaze?
You can use acrylic paint that artists use; it comes in tubes and is good for choosing colours and blending them.
The second way is to have your paint retail store add a little tint using the tinting machine. This requires a good relationship with someone who won't mess up your glaze.
Thirdly, you can purchase little tubes of colourant (not paint) at some paint retail outlets. These are the best because they will give you the most transparent look and are not going to speed the set-up time of your glaze.
There are also kits for faux finishing that have all the products in one package, although these are costly and I have not used them myself.
Visit our site for more information http://www.mercuryminc.net/
The correct mix of glaze is the most important part of success. A sample board is a good start. This is used to try your colours and see the result before it gets to the wall. Paint the sample board with the same base colour you are using on your wall.
I'll assume you have bought the Benjamin Moore "Aqua Glaze", although other brands are available. It comes rather thick for most ragging or marbling, and should be thinned with water. Adding colour to the glaze should be done with care.
What kind of product do you use to colour the glaze?
You can use acrylic paint that artists use; it comes in tubes and is good for choosing colours and blending them.
The second way is to have your paint retail store add a little tint using the tinting machine. This requires a good relationship with someone who won't mess up your glaze.
Thirdly, you can purchase little tubes of colourant (not paint) at some paint retail outlets. These are the best because they will give you the most transparent look and are not going to speed the set-up time of your glaze.
There are also kits for faux finishing that have all the products in one package, although these are costly and I have not used them myself.
Visit our site for more information http://www.mercuryminc.net/
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Faux Finishing Tips
Although faux finishing takes some level of skill, it's doesn't mean you shouldn't try it. I recomend finding some books on faux finishing.
Here are some books to go look for : Paint Magic. The art of faux. Country Paint.
Some big box stores like The Home Depot have faux painting books also.
If you are a complete novice, please read up on the subject first. Start with a small area, maybe a bathroom or closet.
The first thing is to paint the area being faux finished with the base colour. This also should be considered very carefully. The colour you use underneath will transmit through the glazes applied over it. White is a safe start but often a buttery yellow will give a soft glow when other colours are applied.
Faux finishing glazes can be obtained from many paint stores. They tend to dry slower than regular clear acrylic coatings. The old way of preparing glaze is to use Linseed oil and paint thinner. If you do use this method be aware that used Linseed oil rags self ignite when left bunched up. This could ruin your day, and burn down someones house.
Another method of making glaze is to purchase a deep base paint from the paint store without any tint in it. The bases that your colours are made from are quite transparent before the colour is added. Also you can purchase an extender, this helps slow the setup time of the paint.
So there are two types of proccess to consider, dabbing on and dabbing off. The dabbing on is easier because it doesn't matter how fast the
paint dries. The trick is to spread out you efforts all over the wall and not try to perfect one area. This way you will avoid unattractive area's that are uneven and hard to fix.
Dabbing off is removing glaze with a rag after it is applied. This requires slow setting glaze and fast moving painters. Always practice somewhere that doesn't show too much before you attempt a big wall. We always have one person applying the glaze and one frenzied painter dabbing off right behind. The looks are wonderful but the proccess is not that easy. The correct mix of glaze is the most important part of success.
Here are some books to go look for : Paint Magic. The art of faux. Country Paint.
Some big box stores like The Home Depot have faux painting books also.
If you are a complete novice, please read up on the subject first. Start with a small area, maybe a bathroom or closet.
The first thing is to paint the area being faux finished with the base colour. This also should be considered very carefully. The colour you use underneath will transmit through the glazes applied over it. White is a safe start but often a buttery yellow will give a soft glow when other colours are applied.
Faux finishing glazes can be obtained from many paint stores. They tend to dry slower than regular clear acrylic coatings. The old way of preparing glaze is to use Linseed oil and paint thinner. If you do use this method be aware that used Linseed oil rags self ignite when left bunched up. This could ruin your day, and burn down someones house.
Another method of making glaze is to purchase a deep base paint from the paint store without any tint in it. The bases that your colours are made from are quite transparent before the colour is added. Also you can purchase an extender, this helps slow the setup time of the paint.
So there are two types of proccess to consider, dabbing on and dabbing off. The dabbing on is easier because it doesn't matter how fast the
paint dries. The trick is to spread out you efforts all over the wall and not try to perfect one area. This way you will avoid unattractive area's that are uneven and hard to fix.
Dabbing off is removing glaze with a rag after it is applied. This requires slow setting glaze and fast moving painters. Always practice somewhere that doesn't show too much before you attempt a big wall. We always have one person applying the glaze and one frenzied painter dabbing off right behind. The looks are wonderful but the proccess is not that easy. The correct mix of glaze is the most important part of success.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Faux Finishing
I have begun to assemble a new page on my site called Faux Finishing.
It's a howto from the basics up to advanced techniques. There is a huge umount of info to sift through.
Although the page link is not up yet, visit us @ www.mercuryminc.net
It's a howto from the basics up to advanced techniques. There is a huge umount of info to sift through.
Although the page link is not up yet, visit us @ www.mercuryminc.net
Monday, February 1, 2010
Paint application
The following two paragraph's are copied from a site talking about painting subjects.
After you have prepared your room for painting you can tackle the task of application in a number of ways. Everyone has their own preferred method. However, most people agree that coverage is important. The number of coats you apply will affect the finish of the room.
Usually two coats of paint is required for a good finish. Alternatively, there is special 'one coat' paint sold in do it yourself stores. It is meant to cover the walls well with just one coat. Once you apply one coat of the paint and it dries, you will get a sense of whether you need more. The finish should be smooth and even, not patchy.
For more advice here's Ehow
This last piece of advice should say "apply evenly", this is the big challenge for home owners who paint. Paint application is this main stumbling block when people paint. We have some detailed advice on this on the trade secrets page of our site.
Visit our site at http://www.mercuryminc.net/
After you have prepared your room for painting you can tackle the task of application in a number of ways. Everyone has their own preferred method. However, most people agree that coverage is important. The number of coats you apply will affect the finish of the room.
Usually two coats of paint is required for a good finish. Alternatively, there is special 'one coat' paint sold in do it yourself stores. It is meant to cover the walls well with just one coat. Once you apply one coat of the paint and it dries, you will get a sense of whether you need more. The finish should be smooth and even, not patchy.
For more advice here's Ehow
This last piece of advice should say "apply evenly", this is the big challenge for home owners who paint. Paint application is this main stumbling block when people paint. We have some detailed advice on this on the trade secrets page of our site.
Visit our site at http://www.mercuryminc.net/
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)