AN EASY WAY TO IMPROVE BORING AND SIMPLE WALLS
Are you tired of plain, boring walls?
With this simple technique, you will be able to achieve fantastic finishes in a quick and simple way.
Sponge painting is a simple procedure which achieves a very attractive monied effect on the walls.
The technique entails using a natural sponge to apply one or more colours on a base of a different colour. The final aspect will depend on the number of coats that have been applied with the sponge and, most importantly, on the colours that have been used.
Due to the simplicity and speed, it is ideal to cover large areas, although it also works very well on small panels or doors. This technique enables sting hide small imperfections on the surface that is going to be painted. Natural sponges produce the most attractive affects. They obtain marvelous and varied pattern that is impossible to copy with synthetic sponges.
If only two tones are used, the result is very subtle from a distance, the colours will merge together but they will not look as flat like a wall painted in just one colour. If two or three coats of different colours are used, the effect is much more impacting.
You will, of course, have to use the same type of paint as for the base. This means that if the surface is painted with water-based paint use this type of paint and if it is a vinyl or oily paint, you must use paint with the some characteristics. It is also necessary to prepare the surface to be painted, in the same way as for all decorating: washing the surface, filling cracks, plastering if necessary and applying a base, if this is required by the support (porous, damp, too smooth, etc.).
Before you begin to paint, it is necessary to check on a piece of paper or cardboard how much pressure you need to apply, in order to achieve the desired effect. It is important to remember that you must test the consistency of the paint (whether or not it needs to be diluted), how much paint you need to put on the sponge and carry out colour tests, before applying the paint to the wall.
Use a brush or roller to apply two coats of undercoat, in the same way as decorating in a traditional manner, and leave the paint dry for 24 hours. Before we start painting with the sponge, it is necessary to first wet it and then squeeze the excess water away. This will mean the sponge is ready to be used for painting in a gentle and uniform way. We will also need a container holding the paint we are going to use. Fill the sponge with paint but before applying the pains, squeeze the sponge against the side of the con ins to remove the excess paint. Too much paint will cause a confusion of shapes and the risk of lumps.
In order to avoid the sponge golfing saturated, it is necessary to rinse the sponge in water from time to time, removing all excess water before continuing with the painting process.
We will apply the paint by tamping the sponge gently against the wall and using different pressures. Avoid pressing too hard or wiping the sponge against the surface and remember changing the position of the sponge in your hand, in order to vary the effect. Try so often to stand back from the surface so you can check that the paint is uniform and that there are no “empty” areas. Corners and narrow places will show better result, if you use o small piece of sponge to paint these areas. We recommend you changing the sponge when you use different tones and to allow the paint to dry between each operation.