Best Faux Painting Techniques

Check out these brilliant faux painting techniques DIYers can use on a variety of different surfaces. These tips will save you a bundle over the real thing.

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faux marble table living room leather chair
Family Handyman

Faux Marble Painting Techniques

One of the easiest and most impactful ways to update a wall is to paint it with a faux painting technique. And you can take it up another notch by adding a decorative faux marble finish. While it looks difficult, it’s actually quite basic-you just need some paint, a handful of tools and a smidgen of patience. The following steps will show you how to paint faux Carrara marble.

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decorative painting
Family Handyman

Decorative Painting

Dual-roller decorative painting systems can create unique color and texture effects on your walls in a fraction of the time required by more traditional methods.  Do-it-yourself painting systems, can get you darn close to the high-priced expert effects. Here’s how they work.

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Faux stone wall
Family Handyman

Create a Faux Stone Accent Wall

No painting needed for this accent wall. You can transform any room with a stunning stone accent wall like this. Modern materials and methods allow you to create the look of a traditional stone wall with a fraction of the work. While you’re it, learn how to create a paint that looks like wood.

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Instant Hardware Patina HH
Family Handyman

Get Instant Hardware Patina

I’ve found that using gun bluing gives off-the-shelf hardware an attractive, aged patina. Simply dip nuts, bolts, washers or other hardware in a cup of gun bluing. When the hardware turns black, rinse it with clean water and dry it with a paper towel. Be sure to wear rubber gloves and eye protection. — Matt Boley

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Plus: How to remove paint from hardware.

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Faux marble spray paint
Blick

Faux Marble Spray Paint

Montana Marble Effect Spray incorporates fine paint strands for a deceptively realistic marble effect, making it one of our favorite faux painting techniques. It can be applied on many different materials such as paper, wood, glass, metal and other paintable surfaces. The can features a special calligraphy cap that can be adjusted to create a variety of different lines and the paint can be top-coated once thoroughly dry.

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Make a simple spray painting booth to keep paint where it belongs.

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DIY barn wood
Family Handyman

DIY Barn Wood

Whether you’re creating a rustic interior or adding aged wood accents to a modern decorating scheme, barn wood is a popular choice. And the good news is you don’t have to pick through piles of splintery old lumber or pay exorbitant prices for the look of barn wood. You can easily transform inexpensive pine boards into rustic boards that are almost indistinguishable from the real thing. We’ll give you a recipe for creating your own barn wood. The 8-ft. 1×6 boards we used for creating our authentic-looking “aged barn wood” cost about $4 each.

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Faux Wood Look

The Giani Wood Look Paint Kit is a simple, two-step application that will transform smooth, embossed, flat or raised panel doors in just three hours.

Ideal for use on painted steel or wood garage doors of any color, there is no need to prime prior to applying Giani Wood Look. The system contains a Wood Tone Base Coat that will cover most existing colors in a single application, and our specially formulated Wood Grain Finish Coat that completes the wood look transformation.

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brick
Teresa Odland

Faux Exposed Brick

Want a brick or stone accent wall without the commitment and hassle of masonry? Try this DIY faux brick accent wall you can create in one day with interior house paint and a few supplies.

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modern dining room feature wall
Photographee.eu/Shutterstock

Faux Concrete Wall

For a soft, contemporary look and feel to your faux-finished walls, consider replicating the look of concrete. In a nutshell, this faux painting technique involves random yet strategic incorporations of white, grey, and black paint and glazing with a 9-inch plaster blade. Here are 15 of the best accent wall ideas for your home.

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Faux Copper Patina

Use the Green Patina Aging Solution to speed up the oxidation process to create a beautiful, authentic green patina finish on any paintable surface, thanks to a two-part paint application. The base paint contains copper bits, so any item can have this rich look. And oxidizer turns the paint the color of patinated copper.

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