Faux Finishing: Faux Painting Techniques

The practice of Faux Painting is not new. Throughout history human beings have attempted to create special effects and illusions to enhance their living spaces. They have taken inspiration for faux painting ideas from nature, from man-made objects and fabrics, from spiritual and religious concepts, and many other things, and have infused ordinary walls with some really spectacular frescoes and decorations.

Aside from the obvious visual appeal, the great thing about Faux Painting is in the ease of execution. First you thoroughly clean the surface, fill in all the cracks, prime the surface with a good primer, and then you’re all set. Make sure though that you protect your eyes and don’t inhale any paint dust when scraping the walls.

You can create Faux Finishes on plaster and wood wall surfaces. Once you have taken the time to understand the process, you can easily do it yourself. You will need paints and painting equipment, all of which is available in a great deal of variety in the market. Don’t go overboard and buy everything in sight though. Just a few essentials will last you a long time.

• Roller
• Paint tray
• Paint brushes
• Paper towels or soft cloth
• Painter's tape
• Painter’s gloves
• Plastic bucket
• Plastic Sheet
• Practice board
• Paints
• Glazes

You can get great effects even using improvised materials like sponge, cloth, sticks, etc.

Paints for Faux Painting:

You can choose between Water-based paints, Oil-based paints, and Glazes. You can create a tremendous range of effects from either of these, but Oil-based paints are generally easier to use and are more durable. They also take longer to dry so you can make any changes or corrections you want. You can use Glazes with both Water-based paints and Oil-based paints, but, again, the latter will be more long-lasting.

The normal procedure for beginners for using Glazes with Oil-based paint is mixing 50 per cent of Glaze with 50 per cent of turpentine and then adding the color. If you add more glaze, the paint will take longer to dry. If you add more turpentine, the paint will dry faster. It takes a lot of practice and experience to know the correct combination, so, if this is your first time with Faux Painting, go for the established 50-50 percentage.

Interior Painting Techniques:

• Clean the wall and remove the old paint or wall-paper.
• Fill in cracks, holes, and other damages with putty. If the damage is major, consult a home repair professional. After the putty dries, sandpaper and level it.
• Apply a good primer to the wall and leave overnight to dry.
• Apply a coat or several coats of the main wall color and leave to dry thoroughly.
• Now you are ready for the Faux Finish Painting.

Faux Painting Techniques:

Faux Finishing is really about adding accents of latex or alkyd paints to the flat-finished base wall color. Before you begin, remember to:

• Assemble all the material you require for painting.
• Empty the room of all furnishings. If that's not possible, cover the furniture with a large plastic sheet.
• Tape a plastic sheet to the floor to protect it.
• Use Painter's Tape for all taping work. It is easy to remove later on and, with care, will not damage the taped surface.
• Use to a roller with a handle extension to paint the upper parts of the wall.
• If you don't want to wash your brushes after work each time, you can wrap them in plastic and store overnight in the frig for reuse the following day.
• Try out the colors and the Faux Finish techniques you want to use on a sample surface first.

Here are some Faux paint finishes you can try:

Sponge Finishes - Dip the sponge in the paint and press on the wall to create prints. Step back to see how you're doing. Cover the entire wall without overlapping, let dry, and apply the next coat.

Rag Roll Finishes – Same technique as above.

Color washing - Apply glaze over your base color in random, crisscrossing brush strokes. With a drier brush, you can get a softer effect.

Combing – Apply glaze with a roller and, before it dries, run a comb through it. You can create the patterns you want in this manner.

Crackle – Roll on the paint. Let dry for about 4 hours. Then roll on a second coat in the same direction, and without overlapping earlier strokes. The top coat will begin to show cracks almost immediately.