Peeling Wallpaper from TJONES Typepad

Don’t you LOVE stripping wallpaper?  No?  Not a surprise. I don’t know anyone that actually LIKES this task.  It’s why I choose faux finishes over wallpaper every time.

Everyone knows that stripping wallpaper can cause damage… boy, do I know.  Those little gouges can show up like the huge caverns when it comes time to paint.  I have this very problem in my spare bedroom right now.  /  Dogs like to put their paws in the window sill to look out and it’s scraped off the wallpaper & the gouged the drywall underneath.  It isn’t pretty.

So… how do you cover damage from stripping wallpaper?

Got an email from a newsletter subscriber related to this problem and figured it was a good one to share.  Check it out:

I am brand new to this but decided to remove wallpaper from my powder room.

The guy at Lowe’s told me what I need to do a finish called Venetian plaster.  I am priming the wall, lightly sanding some places where it was really rough and caused feathering in the drywall, then
putting on 3 coats of Valspar Venetian plaster with a $10 tool that is similar to a putty knife.

Is Venetian plaster a faux finish?  Does the procedure I was given sound right to you?

Thanks so much.
Love your website and newsletters.
Karen

Wow.  I’m wondering why the Lowe’s guy said Venetian Plaster.. ?  I’m sure that the guy was trying to be helpful… but that’s a large project for some one that is new to all this.  And unless he wants to come over when she does the project to lend a hand…he wasn’t helping!

We asked Karen if she told the man that she wanted a Venetian Plaster finish because we can’t figure out why he’d tell her that if she told him she was removing the wallpaper, had some damage to repair and wanted to paint the walls.

Venetian Plaster is considered a type of faux finish in some worlds… it’s really plaster made with marble dust and the reason it takes three layers is because of the awesome polished finish you end up with.

"Faux Fun" Venetian Plaster How to Vide

It has “special tools” you use to put the plaster on and to create that final “polished” sheen.  “Faux Fun” has a video about it for people to learn how to do this.

But doing a Venetian Plaster finish is a lot… I mean A LOT…of work and in a powder room trying to get the finish just right around a toilet and sink – (unless you pull them out first – ugh) – would just be a nightmare I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy.

Truth be told…if I wanted Venetian Plaster in a powder room I’d HIRE it done to avoid having to do it myself…it’s that much of a pain in that particular space.

And – Venetian Plaster is expensive….

Anyway..I digress.  We’re guessing that Karen wanted to give the walls a smooth finish because their was some damage when she stripped the wallpaper.

So rant over.  We shot an email back to Karen to ask her about the “damage” to the walls and “finish” she was trying to accomplish.  Did she really want to tackle a Venetian Plaster or just want to smooth out the “oops” in the walls.

We asked her exactly how much damage was done to the walls and explained that if she just wanted to smooth out the “oops” spots then she probably only needed a skim coat of regular old joint compound.  This is the easy way to fix damage to the walls after scraping off wallpaper.  Also reminded her that she’d need to sand and seal the joint compound before she started painting.  Here’s what she wrote back:

Thanks so much for the reply. The damage is that I dug in with the scraper instead of spraying more wallpaper remover on. The damage is probably 5% of the wall surface, maybe less.

I took some of the sheet rock paper off and a couple of places I dug into the sheet rock, not deep but enough to make a little stick up (1/16 of an inch?).

It makes sense that joint compound would cover it. I’ll try that. THANKS!

I changed my mind about Venetian Plaster because in the samples, I found it was smooth & shiny, supposedly like marble and what I really want is what Valspar calls Tuscan accents.

Is there an easier way to do this?

P.S. I wish you lived in Houston so I could get your paid services to help me. I really want to learn to do this because I have been in this house 15 years and I am sick of the wallpaper!

I have seen the Tuscan accents in a house and I really like it.  But if it’s tough for a beginner, I might need to scale back to something easier at this time.

P.P.S. My husband doesn’t really think I can do this. He’s always done the painting and that sort of task and I never have. Soooooooooo I have a lot to gain by proving that I can. He’s not mean, just skeptical.

Alrighty then.    So we did a little digging and wrote back to Karen.  Here’s the gist of the second response:

We checked out the Valspar site and the directions they give to do the Tuscan Accents finish, and it seems like it’s actually very simple.  Should be perfect for a newbie! 

MinWax Blending Brush

Really don’t think that there would be anything easier than applying the glaze with a large brush in a criss cross / crosshatch motion and then blending with either their tool (called a Tuscan Smoother) or any soft blending brush – like a watercolor mop brush or a small soft blending brush like this one from MinWax.

What we would suggest (always) is using a good quality glaze, as it will make a big difference in the finish.   Zinsser makes a good one, but we’re pretty fond of Behr products (not a Lowe’s product but a Home Depot product).  They seem to get high ratings in Consumer Reports more often than others.

AND, make sure you tape off the room first.  If you are unsure of your skill, do a couple samples on foam core board (it’s thick poster board) first using the paint /colors you’ll be using on the wall.  It’s a great way to practice first and see if the colors are what you really want. 

Keep in mind that corners can be difficult, so it’s a good idea to have a smaller brush (artist style) to get into those areas.

Again, we reminded Karen that after she applies the joint compound – to fix the gouges – she’ll need to sand and then SEAL IT.  If she doesn’t seal it then it’ll act like a coat of chalk and just soak up the paint in a very uneven manner.

Hope this is helpful!!!

Image by Dee Adams via Flickr

Have you ever gone out on a limb and painted some BOLD color on your walls?  Has it worked out for you?  Or did you just groan when you were done?  I painted my bedroom walls a dark cranberry…almost black cherry – just 3 walls – and was scared the whole time!  But my ceilings are high and it really helped to make the space more intimate.

But…I have to say…painting walls in Glossy Bright Orange is pretty brave!   Brings back memories of the Avocado, Harvest Gold and Orange psychedelic days. You know… Goldie Hawn and the “Laugh In” show.

Which brings us to this readers question concerning her bright orange painted walls:

We painted our living room / dining room in Glossy “Bright Orange”.  We have 1 big french window, leading to the patio, on 1 end and the kitchen on the other end of this room.  Our furniture is in beige or black for the most part.  We love the color, but we think that it makes the room look dark, as there’s not much white in it.  What can we do to bring in more light into the room and to reduce the orangeness?

Well, okayyyyy….  First… don’t try any faux painting white (or beige) over these orange walls.  It would look muddy if you use beige and would look peachy and mushy with white.  Like the technical terms?  “Muddy” and “mushy”. 

If you want to try and faux over it use a yellow.  A soft yellow.  But not too soft as it’ll be too white.  Not “butter yellow” but something closer to “lemon”.  Not goldenrod.

If you want something more FUN – how about painting stripes on the walls?   Wide vertical stripes in white might be really neat.  THEN add some great prints like this one ——–> (by Peter Kitchell) and frame them in black to tie them in to your furniture.

Make sure the prints are BIG, though, and not small or it’ll get way too busy in there.

OR…. Large horizontal stripes in white and black in various widths might be neat, too?

The problem with a huge expanse of bright orange is that it may need to be broken up visually.  Either with art, furniture or another color of paint.  Like I did with my “black cherry” walls. Of the three walls that are painted black cherry one is almost covered with large pieces of furniture (2 chest of drawers & an armoire), another has 3 windows and a large painting on it and the third has two windows and a french door on it…so drapes.

For your bright walls another option is to paint over three of the walls with a shade or two less intense orange.  Say….going from pumpkin orange to more of an orange juice orange.

Hope this helps. And remember…it’s only paint!

Image via Wikipedia

Um…Okaaayy.  I’ve never heard of this before…but… none the less… I got the question.

A newsletter subscriber wrote in with this question:

“Could you give instructions on how to stain a wall that has a knock down texture on it.   I saw on TV that you could stain them with coffee.   To me that would be easier than painting.              Thanks, Shelly”

First…. I wouldn’t paint a wall with coffee.   It isn’t permanent and your room will smell of coffee for a long while.   Now… I love coffee, and I wouldn’t mind a room that smelled like coffee, but I would like to choose when I want that smell.   I might not want it all the time.

Second…  A wall covered with coffee will wash off, unless the base coat paint is a FLAT finish. You all know… I never use flat paint for anything unless I have to.

That all said… you should read the article I wrote about painting heavily textured walls .

Have Fun… and remember…it’s just paint.

Questions about how to paint a mural come up often. It’s kind of a difficult question to answer when it’s such a vague question like “How do I Paint a Mural”.   Lol!    Right?   Reminds me of my teaching days.

But when you ask a question about a specific portion or painting technique for murals…well, I can answer – most – with some ease and clarity.  Keep in mind I said “most”.    I do get stumped now and then.  Shocking…I know…  Lol!!

Anyway…thought I’d share a recent letter with my answers in case anyone else wants to paint a faded mural.  I’ve got three of them in my house!    So here’s the email I got:

Hi Tawn -

I have really enjoyed your tips and expertise.  Thank you very much for sharing so much with me.

I recently did some faux painting in our living room.  I dragged  5″ wide vertical stripes just a few shades darker than the base.  This goes around the entire room about 3/4 of the way down and stops at a chair rail.  I just love the soft effect!  It is barely noticeable but there.  Love it because of it’s subtlety.

Now I would like to paint a soft floral design around the top of the walls.  How do I do this?  I’d like it to be soft and muted.  Look sort of worn and faded.  Barely there.  You know, subtle.  Do you have any tips?

Thanks so much ~
Cheryl

So…have you done this before?  Painted a “faded” mural?  If you have – make sure you leave any tips you have in the comments for the rest of us!    I’ve got something similar to this in my kitchen, but I’ve also done this sort of thing in many homes and some businesses.  Piece o’ cake!!  Here’s what I told Cheryl.

Hi Cheryl:

Your faux finish sounds WONDERFUL!  Love it!  Now for the mural – FUN!

If you are using stencils to paint a mural:

For a faded look – I use the oil based stencil paints and with a stencil brush.  Then apply a tiny haze of color.  Like blush or a light powdering on your face.  Some openings will have color on one side and none on the other.  Like half a leaf or petal blended and faded to nothing.

Use less color than you think you need.

The other way to do it is to – again – use less color than you think you need – then leave it alone for a little bit.  Before it dries take a soft cloth or even a paper towel and wipe away some of the color.

If the mural painting is tooo bright when you finish:

Use original wall color (your base color) with glaze to “haze over” the painting.  Thin your paint with glaze and lightly apply to your mural.  You can do this with a sponge or a dry brush.

If you are painting on the mural with brushes:

Here is a tip I use – Draw the art on with water color pencils (this tip will only work on lighter colored walls).  Use the different colors – like greens for leaves.

Then with an artist brush – I use an oil painting brush because the bristle is stiff (like a filbert style) and brush over the top of the drawing with water only.  Just dampen the brush.  It will blend the colors like a water color.  It is really beautiful and so easy.  Very soft.  If you need more color in a flower or ??  Just draw again and blend with more water.

If you use straight paint – Don’t go too heavy.  Very thin.  Like watercolor.  Donna Dewberry style flowers are hard to have look faded.   If you get too heavy use the same idea as above and “haze over” them to “fade” them out.

I’ve stenciled faux painted walls with heavy color and had the stencil fade in and out around the walls.  It is tricky to paint a mural to look old and faded with bright heavy color.  That’s not to say it can’t be done…it can.  But it is a pain. 

I like to paint a mural that is EASY and fun!  No one likes a “painful” mural.  Lol!

Hope this helps.  Now get out there and splash some paint around!

Image via Wikipedia

Do you ever have a problem with a colorwash blending together tooooo much? You aren’t alone.  It happens more often than you’d think, really.  Suzy wrote in with just that problem, so I thought I’d share it with you … just in case you know someone that could use this information.    Not YOU, of course! 

Anyway…here’s the email from Suzy:

Hello, I want to thank you for your expertise on faux finishes. I love getting your emails.  Thank you so much.  Now I would like to ask you a question if you don’t mind.

When colorwashing, or just using two glaze colors with sponging, my two colors blend together too much, making one color take over the other. It seems that no matter what I do, you cannot see both colors on the wall. I have to go extra steps, playing around too much to get the darker color to show through the lighter color, using much extra dark paint, sometimes leaving it too heavy looking.

I would love to accomplish the faded in and out look of two colors. Could you please tell me what I am doing wrong. On the wall, I used an antique base color and two different greens, two apart
on the color strip, but had to use a lot of extra darker green to accomplish the look. I tried for that softer wash look, but the dark green just looked like the light green when trying to do this.

I hope I am not asking too much of you. Thank you so much.

- Suzy

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First... This letter wasn’t asking too much of us.  We ALWAYS want to answer your emails and help with all your faux painting questions.  We try to get to them immediately, but…sometimes…life and our “day jobs” get in the way!