How to Create a Frottage Faux Finish

If you're feeling adventurous and want to try a different look on your walls, consider frottage. It's a faux painting technique that involves rubbing a material such as paper or plastic in wet paint to create a textured finish.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• 2 colors of paint
• Paintbrush
• 2 paint roller tray setups
• Spackling compound
• Old boards
• Sandpaper
• Plastic wrap
• Rubber gloves

1. Choose two colors of paint for your frottage faux finish. For an elegant effect, choose two similar shades. For a more dramatic effect, choose different shades of the same color such as dark and light blue.

2. Repair any holes or cracks on the walls. Gently sand out any rough edges left from spackling compound.

3. Practice the frottage technique on an old board. It's a lot easier to learn how to do the frottage faux finish on a practice board first than to possibly make major mistakes on a wall in your house.

4. Give the room two coats of the base coat of the paint. For maximum effect, the base coat should be the lighter of the two colors. Let the paint thoroughly dry. If possible wait overnight before proceeding.

5. Paint a small section of the wall. Place crumpled plastic wrap over it. With a clean, dry roller, press the plastic wrap into the paint. A light touch is best when getting the plastic to adhere to the wall.

6. Leave the plastic wrap on the small section of the wall. Continue to the next small section and repeat the process. Do this until you cover the entire room with plastic wrap.

7. Gently pull back the plastic wrap. Notice that you have unique patterns covering the entire wall from the frottage. Your faux finish is a success.

Tips & Warnings

• You can remove the plastic wrap as you go. Experiment with the practice boards to see which effect you like best.