Faux Woodgrain

Professional Painters Sydney

Occasionally we might want something other than a smooth painted finish.  Some people like a wall that has a brushed rag look. Others like re-occurring patterns. Another option best used in moderation, is wood-grain.

Many people find wood-grain attractive as it combines randomness and order. Things that are too neat and orderly risk feeling sterile. Anything that is completely random can be dis-settling. But moderate order as with woodgrain feels fine.

Real wood is expensive, at least real wood with attractive grain. It might be used on high quality floors, but rarely on walls. So people sometime create the semi-random pattern of wood-grain with special  paint techniques.

A tabletop, or a feature wall, or some shelves would be a good projects for artifical wood-grain. It looks most realistic with natural brown or earthy colours, but an unusual modern look can be created with other well chosen colours.

Technique

Creating a faux woodgrain finish requires a graining tool. These are available quite cheaply online. The are a simple hand held device that look like a paint roller, only it has a series of grooves where the flat roller surface should be. By dragging this over fresh paint we can create an effective woodgrain pattern.

Choose if you want dark wood effect with light grain or light wood with dark grain. The grain colour goes on first. The other colour, the effective colour of the wood, goes on after.

• Prime than material with the right undercoat
• Apply the paint the first layer, this will be the colour of the grain.
• When dry, apply the top layer of paint.
• While the second layer is still wet, run the graining tool over the top, rocking it back and forth. This removes some of the top layer of paint, creating the wood-grain pattern.
• Continually wipe the tool clean as you use it, lest you end up putting the paint back on the surface.
• Perhaps apply a clean protective coat when all is dried.

Professional House Painters Sydney

There are many options for home painting. And even if it is just a change of colour the paintwork is enough to change the look and feel of a room. Talk to the professional painters for the best advice and the best results.