THAT PainterLady.com

Several years ago I made the huge mistake of allowing my teenage daughter to pick the paint color for her room. She picked a bright shade of apple green paint. Now she's gone, and my husband wants something blue.

This is an old house with lath and plaster walls, so the wall surface is not quite as smooth as you might see in a drywall installation. I was thinking something textured would work to diminish minor imperfections. Can you suggest some overpainting technique/color that would tone down the apple green paint and turn it toward blue? Maybe a little of the green could still show through.

Your in luck! Green is actually a mixture of yellow and blue… so something blue should be easy to achieve.  

I also have another article here about How To Tone Down Apple Green Paint. 

Apple green is more yellow than blue… so to go over the top of this color we need to choose something with the same intensity just more blue.

First thing to do… hit a big paint store and pick up every paint chip that you think might be a match for your apple green color.  Then head on home… and choose one that looks very… very close. Just hold the paint chips up to the wall until one looks like a match.

Now you know what the color intensity is. The chips usually have 4 or 5 color variations on a chip card. Lightest to darkest. If your color is the middle color then you know that when you go back to the store your going to choose a color on a chip that is the middle color.

For a soft, natural look on your wall… keeping the color intensity the same is best.

Okay… so what color blue?  Choose something in a turquoise color.  I mean really turquoise. When you thin this color down with glaze and it is layered over the apple green color… the turquoise color will become more yellowish. This is because the yellow that is in the apple green is bleeding through.

The more blue… like sky blue… your new color is, the less the green will be noticeable.  Which should please your husband. :) 

A color wash technique should be easy to apply over your apple green paint.  But… make sure the apple green isn't a flat finish paint or this won't work. And… by using a color wash, you are creating a slight textured effect which will minimize the imperfections in your walls.  

I had my kitchen fauxed about 3 years ago and never been happy with it. They used gold under tone and light green and dark green it almost looks like an army jeep. How can I tone this down to a more yellowish gold color?

Judy

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Hi Judy…

Wow… an army jeep green kitchen?  Yikes.

So… let's remember one thing… the final layer of a faux finish will usually be the most predominate color.

That being said… adding a gold glaze over the top of you already faux painted walls will turn it more of a golden color.

You may have to go over it a few times to get the deep gold color you are looking for… but it should look fine after you have don this.

Good Luck!

Debra 

Hi,  Can you answer this question for me, just what the heck is glace made of?

Thanks, Bonnie

p.s.  I did the faux leather on my bathroom walls.  It looks awesome!!!!!!

Thanks

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Hi Bonnie:

I think you mean giclee. It's a process for fine art reproductions done 

with a digital printer. 

Oh… I bet you meant glaze. duh… :(   The best answer I can give you

without going into chemistry is…. Glaze is paint without color. Paint

is always a mixture of colorants and pigments and a substance that is

clear. The clear stuff is glaze. Now glaze is usually mixed with stuff

that keeps it from drying too fast.

The higher the quality glaze ie… more expensive glaze products,

are mixed with an extender. Meaning a working time extender.

Hope that answered your question.

Debra