 |
Marble Faux FinishDue to natural marble’s beauty and rarity it has been used throughout history to denote wealth and taste. Castles, churches, manors, and banks used marble extensively in their décor. The wonderful thing is, you no longer need to be a prince or an oil tycoon to bring the tasteful beauty of marble into your home. The marble faux finish is slightly more complex than many of the faux finishes found on this site. The technique calls for layering two tinted glazes over a lighter base coat, then creating marble’s signature veins with an artist’s brush. As with all the faux finishes on this site, I suggest perfecting your technique on a practice board or spare piece of drywall. Practice is of extra importance with this technique. Some extra time and effort is necessary to blend and perfect the “veins” of the faux marble. Use a visual aid as you practice. This can be a real piece of marble or merely a picture in a magazine, but it will give you a solid visual basis to work from. One last piece of decorating advice before we begin. Over very large spaces, marble can appear overwhelming, so you may want to use the marble faux finish sparingly. The marble faux finish works best as an accent decoration, such as a fireplace mantle, pillar, or piece of furniture. Stop! Very Important! Before beginning, be sure your walls are properly prepared. Not sure? Click here for surface preparation instructions (opens in a new window). Not looking for the Marble Faux Finish? Click here to return to the site home page. Here is what you’ll need: Necessary Paint Products
Necessary Paint Supplies and Applicators
New! Buy all the painting and faux finishing supplies you'll need at: STEP 1: Painting Base Coats Begin by taping around the ceiling, windows, doors, floor trim, and any other woodwork or trim that is present. Use a high-quality nylon-polyester brush to “cut in” around the ceiling and trim work. Using a moderately-loaded 3/8” roller, roll on the satin base coat. When rolling, finish each section with a smooth ceiling-to-floor stroke to help eliminate roller marks. Per paint manufacturer’s instructions, wait at least four, and preferably six, hours before applying the necessary second coat. Wait at least 24 hours for the second coat to dry before beginning the marble faux finish. STEP 2: Mixing the Glaze Begin your marble faux finish with two different paint shades of the same tonality.
Mix one part satin paint, one part untinted glaze, and one part water in a small dish. This will give the glaze a slightly thin consistency that will give the finish transparency and depth. STEP 3: Applying the First Glaze Color Begin by rinsing your sea sponge in warm water and ringing out the excess water. Now, using a clean brush, brush some glaze color onto one side of your sponge. Do not saturate the sponge. Apply the glaze to the surface. Do not press too hard, as this will cause the glaze to run. Turn your wrist as you move across the surface, creating random, dappled patterns. The idea here is to create a slightly textured surface. You don’t want precisely defined sponge patterns, but rather a well blended coat. Much of the basecoat should still show through the fairly transparent glaze. This gives the finish the necessary depth. STEP 4: Applying the Second Glaze Color Rinse the first glaze color out of the sponge with warm water and wring the excess water out. Repeat Step 3 with the second glaze color, mottling and blending the second color with the first. A small amount of base coat should still show through, but the three (similar) colors should blend seamlessly together, creating areas of light and dark. STEP 5: Softening the Glaze Using a dry badger or softening brush, go back over the still-wet glaze, smoothing out harsh lines and softening the overall effect. Use the badger brush in a crosshatching pattern in very quick, light strokes across the surface, almost as if you were dusting the surface. If you see many brush marks in the wet glaze, you are pushing too hard. Finish the entire surface while the glaze is still wet. STEP 6: Adding Veins Once the glaze coats are completely dry, you can begin adding the veins to your marble faux finish. Using the fine-pointed artist brush and a shade of white or gray satin paint, begin painting the veins of the marble. Veins in marble are very random, so perfection is not required, but here is where your visual aid can come in handy. Use it to guide you toward the authentic look you’re trying to achieve. Veins are wide and narrow, often start and stop abruptly, and intersect each other regularly. Achieve this look by using different pressures on your artist brush and turning (twisting) the brush as you pull it across the surface. Avoid patterns. Marble is very random and a regular pattern of veins will make it appear very phony. Use the badger brush to soften each vein as necessary before you move on to the next one. STEP 7: Sealing the Marble Faux Finish This step has a dual purpose. The first purpose is to give your marble faux finish the polished luster of real marble. The second is to protect your finish against marring, sunlight, and many other hazards of the home. You can apply polyurethane with either a brush or a foam roller. The polyurethane finish should level itself out and dry smooth, without brush- or roller-marks. STEP 8: All that’s left now is to enjoy your luxurious new marble faux finish.
|
