Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Strie Faux Finish

Strie is a French, meaning striate or stripe. Therefore this is a technique of combing or dragging a dry brush though faux glaze so there is an appearance of streaking. This finish can be applied to walls, doors, furniture, paneling and other various surfaces. Strie finishes can be layered so that there are multiple layers for the appearance of depth.



Materials Needed

Base coat of quality paint

Paint Roller and sleeve

Drop cloths

Painters blue tape

Faux glaze (darker than the base coat)

Small 1 gal buckets

Strie brush (wall paper brush or specific strie brush)

Paint brush

Tints for glaze



Painting Base Coat

Normal preperation for painting is preformed, such as fixing drywall nail pops etc. Then you apply the base coat with roller and brush which is usually a semigloss finish or if you are using a specific faux product for your Stie Finish use the appropriate base coat called for by the manufacturer. Cut in your coners and roll out the walls, making sure two coats are applied and allowing proper drying time between coats.

Glazing the Strie Faux Finish

Mix you glazing material well according to manufacturer specification in one of the buckets. Using a small paint roller apply the glazing mixture to the surface working up and down in a vertical strip about 6 inches wide. Before the glaze dries drag the Strie brush through the glaze in one long straight smooth stroke with light pressure. For perfectly straight strokes you may set up a guide made of thin strips of wood taped to the wall , keep moving it accross as you go. Continue working around the room applying your strie finish and slightly overlapping adjacent sections to provide a seamless appearance before it dries.

That is all there is to it! Multiple colors and multiple layeys can add beautiful visual depth to you final Strie Faux Finish.

Faux products can be found everywhere, I will be listing a number of the best products out on the market that I have used in the past, so keep a close eye out!

Friday, April 4, 2008

Popular Faux Painting Finishes

Faux Painting is the art of false painting that resembles real world surfaces. There are many different Faux Painting Finishes that can turn your every day normal surface into a real piece of art work. I am going to try and cover the most highly sought after popular Faux Painting Finishes. These finishes can be found in restaurants, museums or in residential homes of every kind around the world.

Faux Glazing


This would include Ragging, Stippling, Rag Rolling, Colorwashing, Ragging Off, Striping, Sponging on, and Sponging off. Almost any type of material can be used with glazing to produce all different kinds of daramatic and unique looks.


Faux Marbeling

This is a finish applied to many different surfaces to have the appearance of marble. the effect is so realistic that you cannot tell it is paint when done properly. This can be used on walls, mantles, molding, stairs, cabinets and just about any surface you can think of.


Faux Wood Graining

Faux wood graining like marbleing can seem so realistic you can not tell it is just paint. This also can be applied to many surfaces and can resemble almost any exotic wood on the market.


Tuscany Faux Finishes

This is an old world italian finish that is dramatically beautiful. The Tuscan decorating palette includes earthy more natural colors such as reds, browns, yellows, light blues and greens. Stone floors compliment this fish nicely especially terra cotta. This finish can be done with glazes or texured materials as well, textured materials being mor realistic of an old italian wall.


Venitian Plaster

Venitian plaster is an old world italian finish that is compromised of thin layers of plaster applied with a trowel. The plaster is then burnished to create a smooth surface with the illussion of depth


Faux Leather

This finish has a leather texture and usually has a glaze finish to give it a leather appearance. A very bold but beautiful finish.


Crackle

This has a really beautifull look that trully looks like crackled paint, and can be used on many types of surfaces including furniture.