Faux Rag Painting Tutorial

• Faux Painting Glaze
• Faux Painting Prep
• Interior Painting Ideas
• Faux Sponge Painting

The techniques covered here will produce a finish resembling leather or suede. Rag painting techniques work best on small wall features such as under wainscoting or as a leather or suede inlay on furniture. See the Faux Painting Prep and Mixing Glaze pages for surface preparation, base coating and glazing mixing instructions before beginning this rag painting project.

Leather Faux Finish

Use cotton rags similar to bed sheets. Roll several one square foot rags into tubes and set them aside. Apply the glaze to the project using a brush, not a roller. Use a thin to medium coat of glaze for the best effect. Work on a small spaces that can be rolled with the rag before the glaze dries. Coat the area with glaze and roll the rag across it immediately. If working on large wall spaces, coat about two feet of wall space and leave a few inches of thicker glaze along the edge. This will help to keep the glaze wet until it can be blended into the next section.

Starting at one side of the glaze, roll one of the rag thru the glaze all the way to the other side without stopping or lifting the rag. Lifting the rag in the middle of a run will create an unwanted pattern that may ruin the effect. If this happens, try to roll the rag over the glaze again before it dries to blend the finish. Rolling horizontally or vertically is optional, experiment to see which creates a more realistic leather appearance.

On large spaces roll the rag across the glaze in parallel rows. Let the end of the rag overlap each row slightly to blend them together. Continue until you reach the thick glaze edge but don't touch it. Brush out the thick glaze at the border and brush another 2 feet of wall space. Roll the first row on the new section letting the end of the rag overlap the first section, blending the two together. Continue with this process until you reach the end of the wall.

When the rag becomes saturated with wet glaze, discard it and use a new one. One rag will probably cover several square feet before it will need to be replaced. Avoid letting the glaze stand for more than 10 minutes before rolling with the rag. If a delay causes the glaze to becomes tacky, coat the area with fresh glaze to soften it before using the rag rolling technique.

After rolling the project let the glaze dry for at least 24 hours before handling. If your project will see a lot of traffic, such as with a tabletop, use a clear shellac or varnish to protect the finish. Apply two coats for added protection.

Suede Faux Finish

Use wadded plastic wrap or rags to dab at the wet glaze to create this finish. Experiment with both rags and plastic to find a finish you like. Rags will create a finish closely resembling suede, while plastic will create a finer grained appearance like lizard skin. As with the process above this technique works best on small spaces.

When using plastic wrap for this process, cut several strips of kitchen type wrap about 18 inches long. Wad the plastic into tight balls and straighten it out several times to create multiple fine creases in the plastic. Place the plastic balls in a box or bucket to keep them tight until ready for use.

Brush the glaze onto the project using the same process used for the leather finish above. Immediately begin dabbing at the wet glaze with the wadded plastic or rag. Go over the glaze with the ball until you have the finish you want. If you don't like the finish you've created you can roll the glaze out again before it dries and try again.