What are Faux Finish Painting Techniques?

13 Faux Finishes to Consider for Your Interior

When considering your options for interior painting, you may come across the idea of doing faux finishes on your walls. What are faux finish painting techniques, how do you perform them, and how much would they cost? Here is a primer.

To learn more about how we can help you with your faux finish interior painting, or to schedule a free painting estimate, we encourage you to give us a call today.

Common Interior Faux Finish Painting Techniques

There are several techniques which will produce a faux finish. These are 13 which are more frequently considered by our customers.

Sponging

One of the most basic forms of faux painting, sponging requires just a few simple materials and an eye for the finished product. Once you have the wall properly primed in and coated with whatever color is to be your background, use a sponge to apply color until you have achieved the desired result.

Materials Required for Sponging

• Painting sponge
• Paints in two or three complimentary colors
• Glaze
• Paint tray
• Primed wall with painted background color

Demonstration of Sponging

Color Washing

Color washing involves painting over your primed wall surface with a brush in an x pattern.

Materials Required for Color Washing

• Glaze or other paint
• Good bristled brush
• Paint tray
• Primer (background color)

Demonstration of Color Washing

Rag Rolling

Once your wall is properly primed and ready for the rag-rolled color, all that is required is a relatively light application of paint using a special rag-roller head on your roller. A sponge roller head or a rope wrapped around a regular roller head can be used to create similar, but unique, effects. You will want to practice before you being painting so you get a feel for the technique.

Materials Required for Rag Rolling

• Special rag roller head
• Paint or glaze
• Paint tray
• Primed wall with background color

Demonstration of Rag Rolling

Marbleizing

This advanced technique should be practiced thoroughly before it is applied to any walls in your home. Attention to detail (and referencing back to a real piece of marble) is required over the course of multiple layers of paint application and removal – including with a feather – to produce the desired result.

Materials Required for Marbleizing

• Several complimentary colors of paint
• Properly primed wall primed with background color
• Softening brush
• Standard brush
• Rag
• Detail brush
• Feather
• Paint tray

Demonstration of Marbleizing

Granite

Through the clever application of the right chemicals and plenty of patience, the effect of real granite can be simulated on almost any wall.

Materials Required for Creating Faux Granite

• Eggshell primer
• Rollers and paint try
• Glaze to simulate the color granite you’re going for
• Spray bottle
• Wallpaper stripper (chemical)
• Rags

Demonstration of the Faux Granite Effect

Crackling

If you want to simulate the rough look of old leather, dry mud, or elephant skin, crackling may be the way to go.

Materials Required for Crackling

• Roller
• Paint tray
• Rabbit hide glue (size)
• Paint or sealant applied to wall prior to work
• Wall texture (plaster)
• Putty knife
• Desired color of glaze
• Rag

Demonstration of Crackling

Dragging (or Strie Effect)

Dragging creates a burlap effect using some common materials, a steady hand, and a special brush to create the strie (pronounced stree-ay) effect.

Materials Required for Dragging

• Paint and glaze
• Primed surface (ideally smooth, satin or semigloss) with base paint
• 4″ high-quality brush
• Strie brush
• Rag

Demonstration of Dragging

Diamonds and Stripes

While it may take a bit of math, creating diamonds or stripes are a way for those of us with a less less artistic hand to create walls that make an impression. While the video below shows only diamonds, stripes are created by the same principle.

Materials Required for Creating Diamonds and Stripes

• However many colors you wish to use
• A well-primed wall painted in your desired base color
• Tape measure and pencil
• Level
• Painter’s tape
• Roller (small)
• Paintbrush

Demonstration of Creating Diamonds and Stripes

Stenciling

The idea may seem easy, but sometimes getting a good result with a stencil can be frustrating. Be careful of loading the roller with too much paint, clean your stencil(s) if needed, give everything time to dry, and above all, make sure you line up that stencil before you put paint to wall.

Materials Required for Stenciling

• Primed and painted background surface
• Stencil(s)
• Paint
• Painter’s tape
• Appropriately-sized roller (low nap)

Demonstration of Stenciling

Wood Graining

This effect is best done on a smooth surface or as an effect on an accent piece of a wall.

Materials Required for Wood Graining

• Well primed wall painted with an appropriate base color for the wood you’re trying to recreate
• Paint to color the “grain” of your pattern (darker)
• Toner or glaze
• Roller and cover
• Paint tray
• Rocker-grainer
• Whisk broom or oak-ticker
• Paint brush

Demonstration of Wood Graining

Whitewashing/Pickling

While whitewashing sounds simple, there are a wide number of ways you can vary it to produce different effects. This works especially well when you’re painting furniture, but could also work on walls with a color on them already.

Materials Required for Whitewashing

• White paint or pickling stain
• Good brush or roller
• Rag(s)

Demonstration of Whitewashing

Combing

The variety of effects that can be created with this simple technique will surprise you! The main part of the combing method is running a comb through paint before it dries.

Materials Required for Combing

• A primed, painted, smooth wall for the background color
• Gloss and glaze for your combed color
• Roller
• Paint tray
• Rubber or metal comb
• Rag

Demonstration of Combing

Faux Suede

Similar to color washing but with special paint, this effect gives a cozy feel to a room which has a “heavy” or “cozy” feel to it.

Materials Required for Faux Suede

• Well primed and prepared wall
• Paint close to the color of your faux suede effect
• Brushed suede paint
• Roller
• Paint tray
• Quality brush

Demonstration of the Faux Suede Technique

Prices for Faux Finishes Done by Professionals

It is difficult to give a value without knowing a few more of the variables. Things which affect the cost of an interior faux finish paint job include:

• Size of the walls
• Technique to be performed and the expertise required
• Ease of access

Rather than guessing or using an online painting costs calculator, we encourage you to get a few quotes from local interior painting contractors. Not all painting contractors will even do this kind of work, so it will never hurt to ask.

Why is Glaze so Important in Faux Finishes?

You might see that glaze is an element of most or all faux finishes. This is because glaze allows for a longer drying time so that the effect can be created. It also creates a greater depth of color, improving the effect. Glaze is used differently depending on the finish you’re going for, so watch the relevant instructional video carefully.

If you are in the Lake Oswego or Portland area and are interested in faux finish painting techniques and applying them to your interior walls professionally, we encourage you to give Mt Hood Pro Painting a call, or reach out to us via email.