How to Faux Paint Marble

Faux marble effects make a surface look like polished marble. Typically this effect is used in office buildings when using real marble would be prohibitively expensive or the stone would be too heavy for the type of construction that supports the building. However, you can use this technique in your own home as well, and while it can take many years for an artist to perfect this method, many people actually enjoy the effects of faux marbling for their own merits as well as for their imitation of marble. As a result, even if you would not confuse your faux marble effects with the real stone, the look will still be beautiful and original in your decor.

Things You'll Need

• White eggshell paint
• White spirit paint
• Lamp black artist oil paint
• Paint brushes
• Soft, artist quality paint brush
• Goose feathers
• Lint-free cloth
• Boiled linseed oil
• Plastic bowls
• Glossy paint sealer

Instructions

1. Paint the entire surface that you plan on marbling with the eggshell paint. Start small, because this process is time consuming. Let the paint dry for 12 hours before you continue.

2. Paint the entire area with the boiled linseed oil. This will cause the paint to dry more slowly and give you more time to work on your faux marble effects. Paint this layer on thin, because you do not need much to impact the drying time of the paint.

3. Create your colors. Mix a little black oil paint with the eggshell to make a soft, gray color. Make several shades of this color, from light to dark. Three should be sufficient. You can mix them in the bowls so that you can access each one when you need it.

4. Blot on the grays over the linseed oil. They should be swirly, blobbish shapes. Use the lightest gray for the most shapes, and use the darker grays to fill in the gaps.

5. Soften up the colors using a rag and a soft, dry brush. Dab the blobs to lift off excess paint and soften up the area, exposing small amounts of white behind the dark areas. Use the soft brush to further blur the edges of the gray colors and create a swirly look.

6. Add diagonal veins. Use one of your lighter shades of gray and the small, soft artist's brush to add in diagonal lines that do not stop or start in any particular fashion. They should all run roughly the same way and they should not cross each other, although they can run in directions that would eventually run into each other if the line continued far enough. The lines should always fade out before this happens. Continue to soften and swirl as you add in veins. If you feel you have added too much of a color, then wipe some or all of it off using a rag dipped in white spirit.

7. Add the finest veining by drawing the goose feather across the wet paint. Move in the same diagonal patterns as you drew on.

8. Allow the paint to dry. This could take up to five or six days depending on the amount of linseed oil and the thickness of the paint that you used.

9. Apply several layers of the glossy paint sealer to the finished faux marble surface. This will make it shiny just like real marble.

Tips & Warnings

• Start out by painting your effects on small pieces of wood if you want to refine your technique before attempting a large surface.

References

• Faux Marble Effects.