Heatherly
Member
I wanted to share some progress pictures of my new (to me) camper renovations. One of the changes I wanted to make on my list was to paint all table/countertop surfaces with a faux marble pattern. My undergrad degree is technical theatre/art, so the skills I learned in my scene painting classes came in VERY handy for this project - however, ANYONE can successfully do faux painting!
I've been doing some major updating in the camper - replacing the ceiling and the floor, updating colors and replacing the cushion/curtain fabrics.
My color scheme was going to be shades of blue with an ocean theme, so I wanted a realistic, neutral marble color. If you get stuck, there are some phenomenal YouTube video tutorials on how to create a realistic marble look. I've done faux marble in the past, but it never looked quite right, so after watching a few more videos, I learned that adding light layers of the background color on top of the marbling really helped.
To start, I sanded the surfaces to give the paint something to adhere to, then sprayed it down with Rustoleum 2x extra cover white primer. Topped it off with two coats of white Behr Cabinet and Trim enamel. Sand lightly between coats.
That's when the fun begins!
Mix up your base "wash" color - I chose a light grey by mixing white, black and a touch of sky blue. To apply, use a piece of wet sea sponge. Dip it lightly into the wash color and apply it to the surface. Marble is a "wet" design, meaning it flows, so try to get your wash pattern to follow the same direction (roughly) as though streams of water was moving across the surface. I started at the top left, and worked the pattern (roughly) down to the bottom right corner. Water is a little chaotic, so sometimes it will move in different directions, but overall, it should "flow" in the same direction. As you're wet-sponging the base color, stop periodically to feather out the paint so the edges blend in with the background a bit.
Before each section was dry, I took a wet paper towel that was scrunched up and dabbed it to the grey to pull off parts of the paint to make splotches of white that show through the grey. While I paint, I use a picture of real marble to look at and refer to.
After you've got the look you're going for, it's time to start adding some marbled streaks to the grey wash. You can use a variety of tooks for this step - some people like to use a feather, but I prefer using a tiny paintbrush. Your streaks are going to look a bit like lightning bolts. You'll want the thickness to vary, so with your brush or feather, manipulate the tool back and forth in your fingers to vary the thickness of the streak. Each streak should "flow" along the same pattern as the grey wash, but can move in other directions, as long as the overall flow follows roughly the same direction. Stop periodically to feather out your streaks with a dry brush to create a softer appearance.
Once you've finished all that, stand back and look at the whole design - you may want to go back and sponge a bit more wash to the background - or you may have achieved perfection!
Here is where my faux marble painting really came to life: After I painted the grey wash and the lightning bolt streaks in white, I took my cabinet and trim paint and put a VERY small amount on my large brush - not enough to completely cover the designs, but just enough to add a sheer layer over the grey wash and white streaks. It softened the marbling and made the pattern much more subtle and realistic. This was the first time I tried this when marbling and it made a huge difference, I think.
Sand lightly when dry.
Next you'll start adding your layers of poly. If you're going with a dark color with no white, you can use polyurethane - but bear in mind it will yellow. For my marble, because it's white, I used Minwax polycrylic. It did not yellow at all - however - I'm not painting on wood. I've read (though never tested it myself) that if you use polycrylic on wood, the yellow will pull through the layers. (feel free to weigh in on this is you have tried it! I'd be curious to know!) I added about 4-5 layers of polycrylic and sanded lightly between each coat, waiting for each coat to dry thoroughly before sanding. The result was a smooth, glossy sheen that looked as close to marble as possible without breaking the bank.
Cost for this was the spray paint primer, cabinet paint, craft paint (which I already had), sea sponge (I only had a small piece because my dog shredded it before I could use it), paint brushes (already had), polycrylic, cute l'il fine-grain sponge sander, wet paper towels.
Please share your faux painting experiences!
PS: I tried uploading some pictures for you, but they were too large. I do have a few pictures of the marbling in my Instagram, though. Feel free to take a peek.
https://www.instagram.com/heatherpainting/
I've been doing some major updating in the camper - replacing the ceiling and the floor, updating colors and replacing the cushion/curtain fabrics.
My color scheme was going to be shades of blue with an ocean theme, so I wanted a realistic, neutral marble color. If you get stuck, there are some phenomenal YouTube video tutorials on how to create a realistic marble look. I've done faux marble in the past, but it never looked quite right, so after watching a few more videos, I learned that adding light layers of the background color on top of the marbling really helped.
To start, I sanded the surfaces to give the paint something to adhere to, then sprayed it down with Rustoleum 2x extra cover white primer. Topped it off with two coats of white Behr Cabinet and Trim enamel. Sand lightly between coats.
That's when the fun begins!
Mix up your base "wash" color - I chose a light grey by mixing white, black and a touch of sky blue. To apply, use a piece of wet sea sponge. Dip it lightly into the wash color and apply it to the surface. Marble is a "wet" design, meaning it flows, so try to get your wash pattern to follow the same direction (roughly) as though streams of water was moving across the surface. I started at the top left, and worked the pattern (roughly) down to the bottom right corner. Water is a little chaotic, so sometimes it will move in different directions, but overall, it should "flow" in the same direction. As you're wet-sponging the base color, stop periodically to feather out the paint so the edges blend in with the background a bit.
Before each section was dry, I took a wet paper towel that was scrunched up and dabbed it to the grey to pull off parts of the paint to make splotches of white that show through the grey. While I paint, I use a picture of real marble to look at and refer to.
After you've got the look you're going for, it's time to start adding some marbled streaks to the grey wash. You can use a variety of tooks for this step - some people like to use a feather, but I prefer using a tiny paintbrush. Your streaks are going to look a bit like lightning bolts. You'll want the thickness to vary, so with your brush or feather, manipulate the tool back and forth in your fingers to vary the thickness of the streak. Each streak should "flow" along the same pattern as the grey wash, but can move in other directions, as long as the overall flow follows roughly the same direction. Stop periodically to feather out your streaks with a dry brush to create a softer appearance.
Once you've finished all that, stand back and look at the whole design - you may want to go back and sponge a bit more wash to the background - or you may have achieved perfection!
Here is where my faux marble painting really came to life: After I painted the grey wash and the lightning bolt streaks in white, I took my cabinet and trim paint and put a VERY small amount on my large brush - not enough to completely cover the designs, but just enough to add a sheer layer over the grey wash and white streaks. It softened the marbling and made the pattern much more subtle and realistic. This was the first time I tried this when marbling and it made a huge difference, I think.
Sand lightly when dry.
Next you'll start adding your layers of poly. If you're going with a dark color with no white, you can use polyurethane - but bear in mind it will yellow. For my marble, because it's white, I used Minwax polycrylic. It did not yellow at all - however - I'm not painting on wood. I've read (though never tested it myself) that if you use polycrylic on wood, the yellow will pull through the layers. (feel free to weigh in on this is you have tried it! I'd be curious to know!) I added about 4-5 layers of polycrylic and sanded lightly between each coat, waiting for each coat to dry thoroughly before sanding. The result was a smooth, glossy sheen that looked as close to marble as possible without breaking the bank.
Cost for this was the spray paint primer, cabinet paint, craft paint (which I already had), sea sponge (I only had a small piece because my dog shredded it before I could use it), paint brushes (already had), polycrylic, cute l'il fine-grain sponge sander, wet paper towels.
Please share your faux painting experiences!
PS: I tried uploading some pictures for you, but they were too large. I do have a few pictures of the marbling in my Instagram, though. Feel free to take a peek.
https://www.instagram.com/heatherpainting/
