How to Faux Paint

Faux is a French word that means 'false'. Faux painting is a style of painting that uses colors and glazes to paint patterns that give the illusion of marble, granite, wood, brick, aged wood and many more varied surfaces. Faux painting can be done anywhere in the house including the roof, the floors and the ceiling.

Faux Stone Painting

 Faux Stone Painting
The basic idea or purpose of faux painting is to decorate the surroundings and break the monotony of a space. Thus, faux painting shouldn't be done continuously, but in patches. If this type of paintingis used to create entire walls without any spacing, a gloomy and dark effect would be created. The first thing one should do to faux paint his house is to decide which stone and style to use.

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Faux Painting Ideas

The aged leather painting technique is one of the best faux painting ideas if the walls are not completely even or for concealing some structural irregularities. For this first you need to apply a base coat of paint in the walls and let it dry completely. Once the paint is dry, apply a small area of the wall with glaze, with the help of a roller. Now quickly place a sheet of plastic over the glazed area of the wall and lightly smooth it out. Move the plastic in an up and down or two and fro motion to create random lines and creases.

The strie painting technique is also called as the dragging technique. This is one of the most easiest faux painting ideas and to get this effect, first you have to paint the walls with a base coat. When the paint is dry, mix another complementary paint with glaze and dip a paint pad into this mixture. Carefully remove the excess paint from the paint pad and apply it on the wall in one continuous stroke.

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Airless Paint Sprayers

Airless paint sprayers force paint through a paint spray gun, thus atomizing the paint, which then comes out through a small aperture at a high pressure, similar to a garden hose attached with a spray gun. Instead of a compressor, the pressure applied on the liquid comes from a piston pump unit or a motor driven diaphragm. They are called airless paint sprayers because compressed air is not used in order to provide the pressure required.

A wide range of finishes and coatings can be applied by airless paint sprayers in less time compared to other methods of applying paint. Plus, these paint sprayers can be used to apply the coating of paint at whatever thickness that you want.

Tips for Faux Painting

Faux painting is great fun and a great Do It Yourself activity. It is a way to brighten up your house and for members of your family to work together and have fun.

• Always begin any DIY activity by preparing for things, for faux painting it includes preparing your walls. Use masking tape on your ceiling and baseboards to make sure that the job is neat. Also cover your floor with a cloth and not with plastic. The cloth absorbs the paint quickly and will be less messy than plastic.
• Choose a base paint preferably water based latex paint. Eggshell and satin colors and textures are the best to paint over. It is important to cover your whole wall with basecoat because if there are any patches they will show through in glazes.
• If you are not sure of the technique of faux painting you want to use or not sure how good you will be at it, it is always advisable to practice first on boards. You can even practice and match shades of basecoat with glazes. Once you are sure you have the technique and color right, you can proceed with the actual walls.
• Remember to line your trays with plastic sheets to save time and energy of washing trays, especially if you are mixing your own glazes.
• If you are mixing glazes, remember that the right ratio of paint and glaze matters.

Faux Painting Techniques
There are some typical faux painting techniques which result in different finishes, here is a brief on some of them:

• Combing: this is for those who want a dramatic effect. Combing takes a while to do, as it is a complicated procedure, which involves dragging a comb or brush in the paint in a continuous motion for the desired effect. You can create patterns of plains and basket weave with this technique.
• Sponging: this is the easiest and most popular technique of faux painting. You need to use a sponge with different colors over the base coat and blend it in for the desired effect. Always use a natural sea sponge and not the synthetic one for the desired effect.
• Ragging: is a process lot like sponging but the only difference is it uses a rag instead of a sea sponge.
• Color washing: this is a technique that gives the most subdued and natural look to a room.

Faux Finish Painting

Image via Wikipedia

One of the most popular trends in interior decoration for the home is faux finish painting. And that is not surprising at all! After all, a faux finish can do so much for a room that is otherwise dull and boring. It can create depth and texture, add a touch of elegance or a dash of color, or just create a unique ambiance. There are so many faux finishes to choose from such as: leather faux finish; faux clouds; denim faux finish; faux brick finish; silk faux finish; parchment faux finish; marble faux finish; suede faux finish. And to top it all, faux finish painting is easy as well as affordable.

There are various techniques that are employed to create these faux finishing effects. In order to get the best effects, it is advisable to use the best quality tools, glazes and paints. Although the initial cost of high quality materials may be more, however, in the end you will find yourself saving money, headaches, as well as time by using them rather than cheaper ones.

Whether you want to create a suede faux finish for your den or a faux cloud effect in your living room, it is important not to rush through the surface preparation process. Taking your time over it and doing it right is very important. There are many types of faux finishing techniques such as: Color Washing; Sponge Painting; Crackle Painting; Ragging; Rag Rolling; and Painting Stripes. Given below are a two of the most popular faux finishing techniques – Color Washing and Sponge Painting – which you can learn in order to create these special faux finishing effects. 

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