Mixing Faux Painting Glaze
Also see:Use the color wheel below to adjust paint and glaze colors using red, yellow and blue colorant or paint. To mix secondary colors use equal parts of two of the primary colors. To mix intermediate colors mix a primary color and a secondary color. To darken the shade of each color use lamp black or raw umber; to lighten a color's tint use white paint.
- Orange Tones: Add red paint or colorant to yellow paint, add yellow colorant to red paint or mix yellow and red colorant to white paint to make orange.
- Olive and Khaki Tones: Add blue paint or colorant to yellow paint, add yellow colorant to blue paint or mix yellow and blue colorants with white paint.
- Violet and Purple Tones: Add red paint or colorant to blue paint, add blue colorant to red paint or mix red and blue colorants with white paint.
About Painting Glaze
Faux painting glaze is a translucent liquid that mixes with paint and colorant to create a see-through paint finish. Because glaze dries slower than paint, it allows time to manipulate the finish with a sponge or other faux painting tool to create attractive finishes. For many faux painting techniques 2 or more colors of glaze can be used, one over the other, to create the impression of depth in the finish.
Glaze is available in alkyd–based and latex formulas. Mix latex paint with latex glaze and oil or alkyd based paints with alkyd glaze. Use a ratio of 1 part paint to 4 parts painting glaze. This is the basic formula for most faux finishes but a thinner mix may be needed for some effects such as when using the glaze dragging and combing or stone faux painting techniques on this website.
For faux painting techniques with one glaze color like sponge painting on walls, a quart of glaze will cover an average 9x12 room. For more complex processes where two or more glaze coats may be used, a gallon of glaze may be needed.
Choosing Your Colors
Choose the colors you want for your faux painting project using a paint color card. Most paint supply stores will have sample cards with several complimentary colors on the same card to help with color scheme.
In general it's better to use light colors in small rooms and darker colors in large rooms. For a small bathroom or powder room for example, use a light glaze color over a slightly darker base color. Try a light tan basecoat and a lighter tan or cream colored glaze coat. This will create a bright, open feeling in the finish. This color scheme works well for a sponge or rag painting effect using just one or two glaze coats.
In large rooms use a more complex finish like frottage painting, comb dragging or opaque sponge painting. Choose a light shade for the basecoat and followed by progressively darker glaze coats.
Always buy all the paint you will need for your project at one time. It may be impossible to get the exact color mixed again. For an average 9x12 room, a gallon of basecoat paint will usually be enough. If you are making a radical change to the color however, you may need more for multiple coats.
Mixing Your Own Colors
For faux painting projects with multiple glaze coats, using premixed paint colors can get a little pricey, so it may be better to mix your own colors. You can use white paint or a light premixed color and alter it using colorants available from your paint store. Small 1 or 2 oz. tubes of colorant will be enough to tint many different glaze colors for multiple projects.
To mix colors use a plastic paint bucket or a discarded plastic food container. For a 4 to 1 ratio use a quart of glaze and a cup of paint. Before mixing the two together, add colorant to the paint, a few drops at a time until the desired color is reached. Test the color on a sample of the basecoat for the faux finish. If the color is too dark add a little white paint to lighten it. Darken the color using lamp black, raw or burnt umber. Add a couple drops at a time until the color is right. When you have the color you want, mix the paint into the glaze.
