AVOID A BLOTCHY FINISH ON YOUR CHALK PAINTED DECORATOR ITEM WHEN YOU USE WAX A blotchy appearance can come from either a poor painting job, waxing in sections and not blending the areas in the final phase, or sometimes – over wiping wax off and causing some areas to seem buffed and other areas not. I received an email from a customer who painted the piece shown in the first photo shown and that is why this post was inspired! I feel that her project looks pretty good, but she was disappointed in that she felt it looked blotchy. So, here are some tips and suggestions that if applied – will benefit everyone when approaching your project to avoid getting a blotchy look. Let’s focus just on the raised panel sections shown in the second picture (wish you could insert pictures INTO a post??) When we begin painting a piece – often we will do short segmented brush strokes, but after you have painted a section – make sure to lay your paint or do a finish brushstroke from one edge all the way to the other. (meaning from the top blue arrow all the way to the bottom blue arrow) This will create a fluid solid pass of paint and lay the paint in one smooth plane. Some people may paint in small sections, especially on the sides of tall piece, so this is very important or you run the risk of seeing those broken brush strokes. This same tip applies to waxing as well. Apply your clear wax as I instruct in the brochure I include in your shipments or as shown on the Techniques page of our website . But then, also remember, in the final phase of removing the excess wax, always start at the top of the panel and wipe to the bottom, to blend the wax from the top blue arrow to the bottom. On straight grain timber I wipe the wax in a straight line from one edge to the other. I hope this makes sense. This tip is especially important when working with darker coloured Chalk Paint. Just like black cars show off dings, dents or scratches more versus a white car, when working with dark coloured chalk paint, make sure to wipe off wax and buff in an even smooth and fluid approach - incorporating a section from one edge all the way to the other edge- if wanting more of a clean finish. Besides the above- what also causes a blotchy appearance is when you are applying your first coat of soft wax. It is important to apply clear wax in thin and uniformed coats. When I say thin- I mean – not sparse- but rather a reasonable amount - dont waste your wax,then, after applying it- wipe the excess off. Something important that happens during your application of wax is that the wax intensifies the paint as it is absorbed. You will literally see a deepening in the colour of your Chalk Painted Decorator item (the darker the colour of paint, the easier it is to see) As you apply the wax- make sure the intensity of your wax is uniform and covers 100% of your painted area. Not just in some spots. You cannot easily “correct” this after the wax has dried if you do have sections where the wax has been unevenly applied! So, after you have applied your wax and removed the residual and the wax has dried so it is no longer tacky….the final part of your project may be to buff the surface to achieve your desired sheen. The more you buff- the higher the sheen. Also, experiment with buffing strokes. During the final buffing phase, buff from one side, all the way to the opposite side (end to end.) A TIP! YOU will control the shine by how long you buff the piece. However, if you want a super shiny piece…after initially buffing with your soft lint free cloth, take a pair of nylon pantyhose- ball your cloth into the foot of it – and buff again. The nylon causes a little more friction and makes the final finish even shinier.
Posted on: Fri, 08 Aug 2014 06:47:26 +0000
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