Faux Painting

People love to create their own milieu, be it at home or at work. Home-decorating is no longer an arena for professionals alone, everyone has started to express their interest in the same and this has led to greater than before learning in do-it-yourself ventures. Faux painting is one such way of dressing up your walls.

Faux in French means false or fake, and this is the succinct description for this style of painting. Faux painting techniques engage several special procedures that amalgamate paint and glaze using a choice of tools to craft finishes that mimic marble, stone, wood and other texture including raw silk.

Faux paintings are an imaginative way to generate visual curiosity in any room. In the past two decades, ornamental painting has come into its own. Be it residence, café, place of work or other surroundings, ornamental painting is seen all over.

Faux painting is amazingly easy, as well as enjoyable to do. Many hobbyists are satisfyingly astounded by the attractive and eye-catching effects they can produce with some paint and sponge. Indulge in faux painting, and grant your walls the brush off!

Faux Painting techniques

If you are bored of plain, dull walls then faux finishes are an easy way to add spice to your room. The basic faux painting technique recommends commencing with a solid background color. Apply the background and let it to dry totally, prior to starting the next step. All night drying is preferred. Subsequently, mix the glaze with the color you have chosen for the next layer. Usage of glaze as a substitute of regular paint is recommended to attain the finest finish. Two basic finishes can be achieved using the faux painting technique.

• Broken color is merely merging colors to obtain what you require.
  
• Imitation tries to ape the look of stone, wood, marble etc. on your walls.

There are various techniques that can be followed for faux painting, of them the popular ones are listed below.

Glazing: Over the first coat of paint that has been already applied and dried overnight, glaze needs to be applied. Glazing will lay a transparent coat above the base coat of the paint, making the wall look glossy and translucent. Any number of glaze coats can be applied till the desired look is achieved.

Combing: While combing, a squeegee with teeth is used to comb through the top layer of the paint. A bottom layer is required so that while you comb there will be a corresponding layer underneath it. In this technique, you can use the squeegee to make wavy, zigzags or any other type of desired design on the wall. It is inexpensive but a little more difficult than the sponging technique.

Sponging: This is the easiest of all the types of faux painting techniques available. Children too can lay their hands and try out faux painting. First a base color needs to applied and after that dries you can take a sponge, douse it in paint and apply the paint arbitrarily on the walls. Though the paint is applied randomly, care needs to be taken that the paint does not leave back thin or thick patches at any point thereby drawing attention later to that particular spot. Sponging is very easy to follow and is very cost effective.

Trompe-L'oeil: is coined from a French term that means 'fool the eye'. This type of finish fools the eye into believing that there is a granite or marble finish. This is the most difficult type and finish and is best done by a professional painter. To achieve the marble finish, the process is more or less like the sponging technique but involves a bit more flair.

Venetian technique: Joint compound is used for this technique. If the compound is too thick, you can use little water to get a thinner applicant. Use a mud knife to spread a thin layer of the compound on the wall and then allow it to dry. If extra depth is required in any particular are then apply extra compound there alone. Next paint the wall with 50-50 paint and glaze mix.

Feathering technique: This faux painting technique involves application of the base coat and use of feather to apply the top coat. The top coat should be a little diverse from the base coat. Depending on your choice, you can apply as much or as little and keep varying the pattern. There is no rule on the way the paint needs to be applied, so pick up the feather and begin painting.

Rag washing technique: Apply the base coat and prepare your top coat with three parts of glaze and one part of paint. Polyacrylic can be added to the mixture as it gives a gloss. Another color can be mixed with glaze in 50-50 ratio and start painting with the 3:1 mixture first. Then with a fresh cloth rag start painting the wall with the 50-50 mixture in sweeping and swirling motion.

Faux painting finish

Initially faux painting was restricted to painting exteriors, including walls, furniture, floors, counter tops and trim, to appear akin to something else. Nevertheless the expression currently refers to other ornamental and unique paint finishes that bear a resemblance to wallpaper. One major advantage with faux painting finishes is that you don't have to necessarily replace the wallpaper each time you want to see your walls decorated.

Many illusions can be formed with faux painting finishes on even exteriors, textured products can produce stunning three dimensional result. Effects like real stone, crumbling masonry, peeling paint etc. can be produced. New synthetic products can emulate old-fashioned colored or white plasters. Listed below are few of the special finishes available in faux painting finishes.

Venetian plastering: This is one of the most sought-after faux painting finishes of the late. Traditionally, ornamental plaster finishes can be classified into two major types. The foremost is well-known as fresco (from Italian for fresh), that includes combining pigments with water and applying them to a plaster exterior that is wet. The next, known as fresco secco (from Italian for dry), involves decorating the plaster with pigments combined with water once it has dried. The latter is used most extensively for its long-lasting properties.

This faux painting finish has wonderful hiding properties and is the best solution for old homes. Venetian plaster presents a texture that plainly cannot be reproduced with a painted effect. This type of faux painting finish lends a rich, deluxe finish that will last for years to come.

Marbling: Marbles are metamorphic rocks that can be polished to a high extent. Marble is white in its purest state but various colors can be produced by mixing organic materials. Not all of them can afford this highly expensive genuine marble, thus faux painting finish comes to the rescue as it can imitate this marbling effect on your walls.

Marbling is a desired faux finish chiefly because of its extravagant look, and its cost effectiveness. It is not as heavy as marble and does not crack away as quickly as marble does. Faux marble finish comes as a rescue to old buildings that have marbles that need to be repaired, as those marbles cannot be brought down and can be replaced with the faux paint.

Marble panels: With the soaring prices of marble and its products it is best suited to use marble panel faux finish for the bathrooms and kitchens. It is a realistic depiction of the original and is a practical option for marbles. Marble panels create a luxurious feel and look. With the finish complete nobody can differentiate that from original marble.