How to Faux Marble a Plaster Column联合网

How to Faux Marble a Plaster Column

Post Date: 28 Apr 2009 Viewed: 968

Turning pedestrian plaster into believable marble takes time: Oil paints are slow to dry, and replicating even a semblance of marble's depth requires several layers. The effect can be fabulous, however, and the process is fun. This is definitely worth a try.

Step1

Choose a color scheme (try gray and white with dark gray and black lines; pink with peach and terra-cotta; or eggshell with yellow-gray and green).

Step2

Coat the column with white or eggshell alkyd (oil-based) paint and allow to dry.

Step3

Re-coat two or three times with glazes of varying density, blotting irregularly and allowing to dry between each coat. (A glaze is simply paint thinned with mineral spirits; for an eggshell marble look you might want a pale yellow, a grayer eggshell, and a white glaze.)

Step4

Glaze again when you're ready to marble in earnest; this time blot so that the surface is damp but not runny.

Step5

Choose a color and a starting point and paint a very thin, continuous, yet wavering line (say, from one bottom corner diagonally up and around the column, over the top, and down the other side). Continue in the same color until you've got an irregular, gridlike network.

Step6

Use a toothpick wrapped in cotton or a cotton swab to wipe off excess, and a fan-shaped brush to push the paint around on the glazed surface.

Step7

Repeat the process with a second color.

Step8

Play around with the layers: Reglaze some parts; feather a denser glaze into the column's crevices; highlight some lines with a pale or white shadow.

Step9

Allow to dry fully and coat with satin (matte) polyurethane varnish.