THAT PainterLady.com

Here are a couple great questions from one of our readers:

What is the best way to ensure a faux finish is scrubbable and mold/mildew resistant (for a bathroom/vanity area)?

If you are concerned about mold and mildew, you will want to start the project by priming with a mold resistant primer & sealer. Some paint companies offer mold resistant paint as well.

Does the base coat’s lustre (eggshell, satin, semi-gloss) affect the visual appearance/effectiveness of the glaze?

The lustre or paint sheen does not affect the appearance of effectiveness of the glaze. But, I would suggest using a satin or pearl finish paint. It gives the wall surface just enough smoothness for the glaze to move and be manipulated easily.

Do you recommend a clear protective coat over the glaze? Does that protection affect the appearance of the glaze?

You can use a waterbased (flat finish) varnish. It does not affect the appearance of the glaze or faux finish. This can be used on murals, venetian plaster, and any other faux finish. Don’t let anyone convince you to use polyurethane, because that will yellow over time. You many have a hard time trying to find flat water based varnish, so I included a link below where you can purchase it. Click on the picture.

That Painter Lady ~ Dawn

“What is the easiest way to apply a purchased glaze to my lightly textured walls?

The room is the kitchen which has texture on the walls like houses built in the 70s. The walls and ceiling are painted with Laura Ashley gold #3. It has been suggested that I use van dyke brown on the walls to age for Tuscan like appearance. My living room and hallway are painted the same gold.

I also painted bookcases and fireplace with a white and plan to use glaze on fireplace. When I painted the fireplace and hearth I rolled on the white lightly on the surface of the brick leaving the dark grout with little change and the texture of the brick rough. When I apply the brown glaze to the fireplace I just want to tone down the white a little and brighten the brick. So far the built in bookcases on either side of the fireplace look wonderful. ~ Thanks Sharon”

Hi Sharon, I would suggest doing a color wash on your walls. Van dyke brown sounds like a good color to go over the gold. A dark glaze will tone down the yellow and give your walls that Tuscan finish that you are looking for. This book- Paint Style: The New Approach to Decorative Paint Finishes has a section that explains the color wash finish in more depth.

Here are few simple steps that you will need to follow:

1. Gather Supplies

• Paint
• Glaze / glaze extender
• Large kitchen sponge
• Bucket
• Rags (for spatters & spills)
• Paint Brush

2. Mix your glaze - 1 part paint to 3 parts glaze. Use a good quality glaze that has a longer open time. If you already have glaze that dries faster than 15 minutes, then add a glaze extender. Follow the directions on the bottle to see how much you need to add.

3. Brush on Glaze - Apply the glaze to your walls in a criss cross motion

4. Wash Walls with Sponge - Wring out your sponge in the bucket of water and wash the glaze into the surface of the wall. Dip the sponge again in the bucket of water and then wash off some of the glaze. Because you have lightly textured walls already. The brown glaze will settle nicely in the recessed areas. You want to wash off the raised areas the reveal the gold color underneath.
photo credit: the Original Muddog

I hope this helps, Let us know how it goes, That Painter Lady - DAWN

Click here to read one of our recent articles: Painting Techniques Colorwashing With Same Color

How do you make yellow pine look like driftwood? any paint techniques for that? I want the trim in my house to resemble driftwood. ~Susan

Hi Susan, this sounds like a fun and creative project. Be sure to get a few pieces of REAL driftwood to use as samples of how you want the finish to come out.

photo credit: TSayles photo credit: Andy Tinkham

1. Remove any paint from the trim using paint stripper and a sander. Get as much off as possible. It is important to see the natural woodgrain

2. Randomly rough up the edges of the wood using an electric sander.

3. You can use a hammer or other tools to bang up the wood if you want a more distressed look

4. Use a drill with wire wheel to grind out the soft grain, leaving the hard grain of the wood.

5. Mix Glaze: 50/50 mixture with 3 shades of grey paint (dark-not too dark, to light) You can play around with these colors to get the exact colors that you want.

6. Randomly brush darkest glaze onto raw wood and wipe excess off with a cotton rag

7. Then brush the medium grey onto the wood.

8. Finish by dry brushing the lightest color glaze onto just the surface of the wood. Try not to get a lot of this into the recessed areas.

9. Wipe again with a cotton rag to remove any excess glaze

10. You can seal your surface with a flat water based varnish.

Good luck with your project! ~That PainterLady, DAWN