How to Paint Faux Finishes Furniture?

Some furniture is centuries old and their looks had noticeably aged. Throwing, selling or giving them away is not an option. You have to admit it; some things are just priceless that you cant afford buying new furniture and even you can not just bare the thoughts of throwing it away especially if that furniture is your ancestral treasure. So let us say you have decided to change it. Then what better way to reinvent your old furniture that through faux finishing. Faux painting or Faux finishing are terms used to describe a wide range of decorative painting techniques which replaces woods and marbles with paints. Faux finishing or painting can be applied to walls, floors and is now commonly applied for furniture .From obscure and what seems to be a complex form of painting, faux finishes or faux painting has become one of the most popular painting techniques nowadays that even you, can do it yourself. How to paint furniture is a frequent question that is as easy as 1-2-3! • Preparation of the furniture. Gather cleaning materials such as sandpapers, sponges, gloves and some stripping tools if you prefer. Cleaning the surface of the furniture is the very first step in any painting jobs. Sanding the furniture surface thoroughly will ensure that the paint will stick. • Know your paints and know how to paint. You do not have to worry about your artistic skills. One major way to paint effectively is to know what paint you are going to use in painting the surface of your furniture. There are lots of faux finish products in the market. Latex paints are the most common to be used and painting the basecoat is the start of every faux painting. You will then need to apply the painting glaze from coat to coat once the paint is dry and you can use any media in applying glazes (rag, sponge, brush or even feathers). Depending on the faux techniques being used, one or more glaze coats can be applied. • Choosing your techniques There are actually several faux painting techniques. Below are several examples of different techniques along with some basic process to do it: • Antiquing. As what its name suggests, it is the process of using glaze to create an aged or old appearance to a surface, may it be on walls or furniture. A base colored paint is first applied. After it dries, a coat of glaze is then followed. You can use a lint–free rag to wipe the excess glaze, leaving hints of color in the crevices and presto! You have now the antique look. • Crackled. This type of technique is the most common on furniture. It gives an aged to perfection look to furniture as it creates an old crack paint look. After painting, liquid hide glue is applied over it. As soon as it dries, a paint coat is applied over the glue. Depending on your artistic taste, there are lots and other faux finishing techniques to choose from.