Praise for Glaze

Steps to creating post-Victorian wall finishes.

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Do your walls need more pizzazz than a monochrome coat of paint can give them? Are they drab, yet not enough to warrant the expense and rigmarole of hanging wallpaper? For centuries, homeowners have turned to decorative wall finishesÑglazes, washes, and creative dabbles of paintÑto jazz up, mellow out, harmonize, or unify interior surfaces. Now, after 50 years of near obscurity, these age-honored techniques are back big time, making them as fashionable as they are historically appropriate for old houses.

Wall finishes are techniques worth perfecting for your design-solution arsenal because they are easily manipulated to produce the effect you desire. A warm umber glaze over harsh or monolithic colors creates a subdued glow. Light-colored glaze over a dark color perks up a room. Two or more blended colors can unify a room by integrating the colors of carpeting, upholstery, or curtains. Wall finishes are excellent transitions between rooms of diverse colors or contrasting styles. Not only do they provide textural and dimensional qualities impossible to obtain with an ordinary painted surface, but they can hide a multitude of blemishes, bulges, and bugaboos on your old plaster walls.

Advanced decorative wall finishes can be tricky to learn, but the basic repertoire of techniques is straightforward to master and can be successfully employed in a wide variety of settings. The new water-based glazes developed over the last decade have made the effects even more accessible and user friendly (while adding the cachet of proprietary names such as Ralph Lauren). All of the following techniques require 1) a base color and 2) one or more topcoats or glazes.

The Basic One-Two
The materials you need are not exoticÑin fact, household objects create some of the most interesting effectsÑbut they do vary with each finish. You can create wall finishes with either paint or glazes (oil-based or water-based). Whether decorating walls, doors, dados, or trim, select the first coat (base coat) carefully because this coat will show through the later glaze, and the final finish partly depends on this color. My choice for the base is satin or semi-gloss latex enamel. You want to be able to slide your finish coat around on top of it. Avoid flat paint (too absorbent), and glossy paint (the finish slides too much).

Apply the base coat just like a standard, high-quality, single-color finish, covering the old color as smoothly as possible. Despite label directions, most water-based enamels need thinning to level out like oil-based enamels. I add Floetrol brand conditioner and a little water. Between coats, and after your final base coat, wet sand dust specks, runs, or rough areas with 320-grit wet-or-dry sandpaper. Your final base coat should dry at least 24 hoursÑlonger if cold weather or excessive humidity retards drying. ItÕs best to let the paint cure three days before applying your glaze. Wall finishes are mixtures of thin paints or, more often, semi-transparent glazes. To obtain a particular color glaze, you can ask your paint store to tint a container of glazing liquid or mix it yourself using approximately one part glazing liquid to five parts paint. Or you can choose a pre-colored glaze from one of the convenient proprietary systems. The trick is to create a glaze that, when manipulated, will allow some of the base coat to show through.

Always test your glazes before beginning on your walls. Try them on large scraps of cardboard, wallboard, or Masonite, both to determine if the colors youÕve chosen look good on large areas and to develop or improve your technique. When itÕs time to begin, start on the least conspicuous wall; your technique might improve as you move along. Start in the upper left hand corner if youÕre right-handed, the upper right hand corner if youÕre left-handed.

Dragging
The most basic and perhaps most prevalent wall finish used in the last 120 years is a simple brush glazeÑoften referred to as wall dragging or stri. Dragging creates a subtle textural finish but is not as easy to produce as it looks. Especially when working on a long, uninterrupted wall, the most efficient way to drag is with two people: one neatly applying the base coat, followed by a second manipulating the glaze from ceiling to floor. This is even truer with the new fast-drying glazes. You can buy a special dragging brush, or just use a wide paintbrush or a wallpaper smoothing brush.

As a guide, use a hard lead pencil and plumb bob or carpenterÕs level to draw vertical lines around the room, 2« to 3« apart. Apply the glaze coat between each pair of lines with a short-nap (1/4ý thick) roller, hot dog roller, or a wide brush, moving ahead of the person doing the dragging. The trick is to develop a machinelike rhythm, never losing your wet edge as you proceed. Dragging top to bottom, take care to feather out any heavy buildup of glaze where the wall meets the ceiling and baseboard. If at all possible, finish each vertical brush width with one ceiling-to-floor swoop.

If keeping the wet edge is a problem, add a small amount of Floetrol to the glaze or lightly mist the glaze with water. Another solution is to mask the wall into vertical sections and carefully glaze every other section one day, then the remaining sections the next, removing any overlaps with a rag. If you begin to lose your wet edge, mist it with water or pat it with a damp sponge.

As you move around the room, your brush will load up with excess glaze, creating streaks or a darker finish than you want. To avoid this, keep handy identical spare brushes or clean cotton rags for wiping off excess material as you work. Use these pauses to inspect your work from a distance.

A variation of a simple brush glaze is sometimes called a linen finish because of the pattern it leaves. After you apply vertical glaze, use the same tools to brush horizontally before the glaze sets up. Or you can apply a second finish of the same glaze the next day, applying and removing it horizontally.

You can create bolder stripes by combingÑdragging with a rubber graining tool, steel graining combs wrapped in cloth, or homemade tools made by cutting ÒteethÓ into an autobody compounding rubber or rubber squeegee. Pull the tool top to bottom, following your pencil guidelines and cleaning your tool after each swipe. To create a checked pattern, pull your tool horizontally across the vertical lines you just made in the wet glaze. This is best done on small areas or by dividing the room off in sections and decorating every other section the following day.

Stippling
For the subtlest of all finishes, try stippling. Used alone or as the basis for many other finishes, it is an excellent way to add interest with color. As with other techniques, large areas are best stippled by two people. To begin, youÕll need a stippling brush (IÕve seen them for more than $100 or as little as $8), stain brush, or possibly a shoe shine brush that doesnÕt shed bristles. The bigger the brush the more area you can cover quickly. Sparingly roll your glazing liquid over the base coat in an area approximately 2« square, then pounce the glaze with your brush. Your force will affect the appearance; youÕll have to decide how much pressure to use. Take care to create an even pattern, and avoid working in straight vertical or horizontal lines. To maintain your wet edge, leave a few inches of unstippled glaze on the opposite side of your starting place so you can apply more glaze without ruining the area just worked.

Sponging and Ragging
These are related finishes created with two different glazing tools, each in one of two ways. Using a sponge or rag, you can either apply the glaze (often called sponging on, or ragging on), or remove portions of it (sponging off or ragging off) or apply the glaze directly with the sponge or rag. (See pages 53 and 55) First, prepare your walls the same as for dragging. For sponging, obtain a natural sea sponge; man-made sponges make repetitious imprints. For sponging off, dampen the sponge slightly with water; for sponging on, dip your sponge sparingly into the glaze from a roller pan. The trick is to pounce the wall, frequently turning the sponge to create a surface that is evenly applied, yet distinctively mottled. Take care to sponge neatly into corners, around trim, and next to your masked ceiling. If you desire, when the first sponge coat dries, you can sponge the walls again for a more subdued finishÑor rev up the finish with a second or third glaze color.

Ragging is similar to sponging except that the tool is a wadded or twisted cotton rag. To rag off, follow these directions with a damp rag, after first applying the glaze as you would for the other techniques.

For wadded ragging on, saturate your cloth with water, squeeze and wring it as dry as possible, fully immerse it into the glazing mixture, then dab or squeeze out most of the excess glaze. Next, form the rag by holding it on one end and letting it drop into your other hand in a wad that looks like a head of cabbage. As with sponging, pat, pounce, and dab the wall to get the effect you want.

For twisted ragging on, take a damp cotton rag and twist it tightly until it has a ropelike appearance. Roll the rag in a pan of glaze, again squeezing out excess. Then, using both hands, roll the cloth in all directions across the base coat. Twisted ragging can be combined with other methods; ragging off can create a realistic leather texture. You can sponge or rag two or three colors either after each color dries or wet-on-wet; each produces a different effect. Wet-on-wet leaves what was called a ÒjazzÓ finish in the 1920s and Õ30s; itÕs also called a polychrome finish. It takes some practice, since if you overwork your colors theyÕll mix and look muddy.

Color washing
Color washing is a subtle finish useful on both smooth and textured walls. With the base coat prepared, mix a very thin glaze of glazing liquid and paint. (You can also use paint thinned with lots of water). Next apply the glaze with a brush or short-nap roller, then wipe most of it off using a rag, sponge, or dry brush. Textured walls are especially easy to work on because you simply highlight the texture with the leftover glaze. Smooth walls are harder because your technique must be consistent (or consistently inconsistent) to prevent an unevenly mottled surface. ItÕs up to you how much color to remove or leave on the wall, and you can also leave faint highlights of brush strokes, swirls, or other patterns.

Clear finishes
Most wall finishes are durable enough to use alone without a protective finish. However, if you use them in hallways or other high traffic areas, consider applying a clear protective finish. Some glazing liquid manufacturers make special clear finishes, but you can also use a low-sheen water-based varnish. Avoid oil-based varnishes and polyurethanes. Their tendency to yellow can drastically alter the color of your finish months or even weeks after you have finished.

Once you have mastered these basic techniques, the beautyÑand funÑof classic wall finishes comes in varying the materials and methods for different effects. Try twisting your sponges or stippling brush as you pounce, or switching from rags to crumpled bread wrappers. YouÕll be surprised and pleased at the results.

Special thanks to Bill Farley owner of Faux Creations in Rochester, New York, for demonstrating the techniques shown here.



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