How to Faux Paint by Striping

Striping is a faux-painting technique that simulates wallpaper. With a little creative thinking, you can come up with lots of interesting effects. Use this technique on a smooth wall surface.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Flat Paintbrushes
• Acrylic Paints
• Glazes
• Rags
• Roller Trays
• Small Rollers
• Acrylic Paints
• Rags
• Tape
• Rubber Gloves
• Sea Sponges
• Rubber Gloves
• Chalks
• Colored Pencils
• Tape
• Yard Sticks
• Ladders
• Ladders
• Tape

1. Paint the wall a solid color. This will be your background color.

2. Select an acrylic paint color that contrasts nicely with the background color.

3. Prepare and tint the glaze with the acrylic paint you have chosen to create your desired glaze color.

4. Use a yardstick and a light-colored pencil or piece of chalk to measure and mark off even intervals across the length of the top edge of the wall.

5. Measure and mark off the same intervals across the bottom edge of the wall.

6. Using blue painter's tape, tape off vertical strips from each mark at the top of the wall to the corresponding mark at the bottom of the wall. Your wall will be covered with evenly spaced, parallel strips of tape.

7. Using a small roller, apply glaze to the exposed surface of the wall.

8. After the glaze dries, carefully remove the tape.

Tips & Warnings

• For an interesting textural stripe, apply the glaze to the wall surface with a sponge or rag. See the related eHows for sponging and ragging techniques.
• After applying the glaze to the wall surface, create a different texture by using a flat brush to stipple the glaze. See the related eHow for stippling techniques.
• Instead of using a contrasting glaze color, try striping with a slightly darker shade of the base color. This will create a more subtle striping effect.
• Vary the width of your stripes. Tape off alternating wide and narrow stripes.
• Keep paint and paint products out of reach of children.
• Have adequate ventilation when you are mixing and applying glazes and while they are drying.
• Wear gloves to protect your hands from chemicals in paints and paint products, and to make cleanup easier.
• Use caution when working on a ladder. Make sure it is stable before climbing on.

on 8/8/2006 I just finished painting stripes on one wall of my family room. I looked far and wide for tips. This is the work flow that turned out a perfect job:

1. Paint the wall (the lighter color) in an eggshell finish and let dry 48 hours.
2. Spend the extra time to get the guide lines on the wall straight ( I used a 3 foot level) and draw lines from the top to the bottom using a light-grey Crayola pencil. This pencil is very soft, so I sharpened it after each vertical line I drew (the paint covered it up perfectly).
3. I used the wide, medium adhesion, blue painter's tape to mask the areas not needing stripes.
4. I used a credit card to flatten the edge of the tape to the wall.
5. I painted the edges of the tape with the lighter color to insure the second color would not seep under the tape.
6. I painted the second color to create the stripes in a satin finish.
7. I removed the tape after 2 hours of drying, I also removed the tape on an angle, pulling to the outer side of the second color.

on 11/22/2005 I wanted to paint stripes in many rooms in my house and tried to look for a tool to help me. I found a tool at http://www.fastfaux.com that helped me paint plumb stripes. It was a huge help.

on 11/22/2005 After applying the tape, seal the edges with a medium paint (clear). This will assure that no leakage occurs.

on 11/22/2005 Instead of using a paint color to do the striping, just use a clear varnish. If you have a flat base coat, use a satin varnish, or if it is an eggshell base, use a higher gloss varnish ... of course, of the same water or oil base as the base coat.

on 11/22/2005 Instead of using a "different" color or slightly darker color of the same family, just do the stripe in a glossier version of the base coat. Do a flat base with an satin stripe of the exact same color ... soft look, elegant!