Two-Tone Patina - Part 2

Choosing to use a decorative painting technique can be a bit frightening at first, especially if you've never done anything like it before. However, it can also be a lot of fun and the reward of a finished product that is unique and beautiful makes the experience complete.

Gathering Your Paint Supplies

Having chosen patina, you already know that you need a base coat plus two glazes and a tube of tint in order to arrive at your goal color. Using an alkyd paint (oil based) is the better choice because of its longevity and durability. Just remember that clean-up can be a job in and of itself. Be sure all surfaces that could be splattered or affected by the paint are covered well before you get started. Your paint supplies for your project will include base color, untinted glaze, goal-color tinted glaze, and tinted glaze one shade darker than your goal-color.

Having The Right Tools

Once you have the supplies, you can begin to create a patinaed plaster look on your walls. The tools you will need for your project are an oblong stipple brush with flat bristles, a round glazing brush with rounded bristles, a fine, thick, rectangular brush with squared-off bristles and a few rolls of cheesecloth. Use a piece of drywall to try the technique out before committing to the wall. After you have done so, then you'll be ready to take on your room.

Preparation Of The Walls

First, prepare the wall, or walls, you want to patina by painting the base color onto the wall. Allow the color to dry thoroughly. The best suggestion is to work in 5-foot sections rather taking on the whole wall at once. That way, the paint doesn't dry before you're finished doing what you need to do. Spread a thin coat of glaze onto the wall with cheesecloth to keep the area workable for a longer period of time.

Application Of The Glazes

Using the round glazing brush, apply the first tinted glaze to the wall using short, quick wrist movements to make a random, loose X pattern. Keep your elbow steady while exercising this manoeuvre. Fill in the blank spots on the wall with the second (darker) glaze, using the same wrist action as you make more Xs. Now, using the dry stipple brush, tap against the wall starting at one side and moving slowly across the area you are painting. Here's another wrist/arm manoeuvre for this part of the process: As you are tapping the brush against the wall, tap from the wrist and, at the same time, twist the brush like a dial by raising and lowering your elbow to accomplish the movement. (Great forearm exercises!). You have now applied the color and blended the brush marks.

Blot, Smooth, And Admire Your Work

To blot the excess glaze, take a 4-foot section of cheesecloth and crumple it into a loose ball. Using the same wrist/arm action as above, blot the wall. Once the cheesecloth becomes saturated, shake it out and re-crumple it. When the cloth is soaked, toss it and get a new piece of cheesecloth.

To finish up you need to smooth out the color. Do this by taking a dry, fine brush and stoking it across the glaze. This softens any marks that appear sharp or dark. To feather the colors into one another, make broad horizontal figure eights with the brush.