Different Paint Techniques
Paint techniques and effects are greatto achieve something a little bit different. They can make great backgrounds for abstract murals and designs enabling you to carry the theme throughout the whole room. Some techniques also have the extremely practical benefit of disguising less than perfect surfaces, but always prepare your surface as detailed in - Surface Preparation.
All the paint effects are easy to achieve, and none require any special skills or expensive tools. You can achieve the finished result in just a few hours. All these effects can be used on walls, doors and furniture.
Sponge Painting
Prepare the surface to be painted then apply a base coat and allow to dry. Take a natural sponge and place it into tap water, letting it expand. Remove and squeeze so the sponge is damp.
Pour out a small amount of your chosen paint. Then dip the damp sponge sparingly into the paint, blot any excess on a paper towel. Now apply the paint to the wall in a random fashion, changing the angle of your hand as you work. Rinse the sponge in clean water occasionally to assure clear prints. Continue this until the wall is covered.
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Ragging
Prepare the surface to be painted then apply a base coat and allow to dry. Roll lint-free rags into sausage shapes about 6" long. (Use linen, chamois leather, or burlap to provide different effects.)
Pour out your chosen paint into a paint tray and apply to the wall with a roller.Then while the topcoat is still wet, roll your sausage rag against the wall from the bottom up and overlap each role slightly. Keep going until your wall is covered. Change rags and add paint as needed.
If your working on a large surface, you may want to work in sections as the second coat of paint must be wet while you rag roll. Using lighter colour paints will hide any patchiness better.
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Colour Washing
Prepare the surface to be painted then apply a base coat of silk emulsion and allow to dry. Decide on what two colours you are going to use before applying your base coat.
Then apply colour wash translucent paint onto the base in quick, criss-cross strokes. You can add texture with a wide brush but allow some brush marks to remain and some of the base coat to show through. So it is important to ensure your two colours blend. Ensure that you lightly brush out edges to blend one section to another. Continue until the wall is covered.
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Stippling
Prepare the surface to be painted then apply a base coat and allow to dry.To create this subtle, mottled effect you will need a proper stippling brush. Work on small areas at a time while the paint is still wet.
Firstly apply the paint evenly onto a small area of the wall. Then using the stippling brush, gently dab the wet paint to create a mottled effect, make sure that you slightly overlap each application to blend the area.
Be careful not to twist the brush against the wall or it will make the finish look uneven. Don't load the brush with paint or it will make a blotchy print.
————————————————Crackle Glaze
Use the Crackling technique to achieve a broken, antique-looking finishes. Crackled finishes are quick and easy to achieve. Prepare the surface to be painted then apply a base coat and allow to dry.
Then apply your crackle glaze followed by an acrylic topcoat tinted in a contrasting colour. The Crackle Glaze will shrink causing the acrylic topcoat to crack revealing the contrasting basecoat colour. So it is important to ensure your two colours blend.
————————————————DraggingPrepare the surface to be painted then apply a base coat of silk emulsion and allow to dry. Then take your specialist dragging brush and hold at a 90-degree angle and drag a coat of special effect paint in a downward line to create narrow strips of paint down the wall.
These strips are then brushed from top to bottom which pulls or 'drags' off just enough colour to let some of the base emulsion colour show through. Slightly overlap the next application to blend the stripes and continue until the area is covered.
————————————————Stenciling
Prepare the surface to be painted then apply a base coat and allow to dry. Then attach your stencil to the wall using low tack stencil tape.
Build up the colour intensity and depth slowly in several layers using a very dry brush. Use a small amount of paint in a dish or plate, dip in the end of your stencil brush, then wipe the brush firmly onto spare paper or cloths to remove excess paint and make sure the paint is loaded evenly.
When applying the paint, hold the brush as a pencil and start painting around the edges of the stencil in circular motions to avoid paint build-ups. If this happens, wipe the stencil dry before continuing. In small areas, lightly tap the end of the brush.
Hold the stencil with the other hand while stencilling to avoid any slippage. Start with the lightest colour first and work towards the darkest shade last to achieve a subtle blend of shades.
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Bagging
Prepare the surface to be painted then apply a base coat and allow to dry. Bagging is a technique akin to Ragging and Sponging but instead of using a sponge or a cloth, bagging is created by using a plastic carrier bag and so achieves a much bolder effect.
Follow the principals described in Dragging in that you apply the paint first but and then instead of using a brush you use the scrunched polythene bag to lightly dab off the paint. Continue until the area is covered.
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Clouding
Prepare the surface to be painted then apply a base coat and allow to dry.
Then take a soft, lint free cloth, dampen with water and form into a smooth, rounded pad in the palm of your hand.Lightly cover the cloth in paint and apply the cloth to the wall using small, circular movements, as though you are polishing a table, do this approx four times in each section. Ensure that you don't rub the colour in too and this will achieve a cloudy effect. Continue until the area is covered.
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