Color washing is a perfect paint technique for adding subtle interest to your walls. It’s a simple process that involves mixing latex paint with tintable glaze, and then blending two layers of tinted glaze.
Getting Started. You’ll need satin interior latex for the base coat, tintable glaze, and two increasingly darker shades of interior latex to mix with the glaze. For tools, you will need a 4” brush, painter’s tape, a roller and pan, and a blending tool (such as a cloth or a sponge).
Before you begin applying the color wash effect, roll on a base coat of latex paint. Then mix the second paint color with tintable glaze. Use a 3:1 or 4:1 glaze-to-paint ratio. (At this point, you’ll also want to mix the darkest paint color with glaze in preparation for the step shown on slide 4.)
From this point on, you’ll need to work quickly to achieve the desired color-washing effect. Roll the lighter glaze mixture on top of the base coat, covering only a five-foot section.
With a mixture of glaze and your darkest paint color, brush large Xs on the wall. It's important to do this while the layer of glaze that you rolled on below is still wet.
Use a circular motion to blend the glazes with your cloth. If your mixture starts to set up, dip the cloth in clear glaze to extend your open time. Repeat the process until your entire wall (or room) is complete. Remember that the more you blend, the more subtle the overall effect will be.
