In a recent discussion on LinkedIn I was asked
Can I share my faux finishing glaze recipes?
“Arthur, are you willing to share your recipes for the oil glaze?”
“I agree with you on the Faux Effects mediums. I also like some of MM products, it really does depend on the project!”
I know there are some great paint glazes out there, but I prefer not to use them. Reason being is I don’t like the chalky transparent look due to the titanium that is in most house paints. If I am to use a house paint for a faux finish then I generally use a broken color technique where I use no glaze at all. I have used the Adicolor product Wet Edge for both interior and exterior which works very well and of course the Aqua glaze which dries a little quicker. I don’t like any of the paint store glazes because they’re really not a glaze at all and are just a paint without color and get very sticky and problematic with dry lines and other issues
There are several that I haven’t tried so I would have to say the Adicolor line would be my choice
@Heidi, In response to your question as far as mixing my own oil glazes it’s really no secret and just common knowledge that the masters have used for many years.
There are two books I would highly recommend one getting
The Art of Faux by Pierre Finkelstein
and the
Art and Techniques of Decorative Painting by Michele Nadai
These masters have various formulas for both water and oil mediums and by following their basics and your own trial and error you will eventually come up with the right formula that works best for you. All and all I use the same basic formulas but being here in Southwest Florida I adjust them to my purpose.
When I started painting 30 years ago the linseed oil, turps and siccative or japan driers we’re used then, but where not durable for exterior applications and are still not today and if you are using kerosene in the mix I would advise to use this mixture only on oilbase base coats. Kerosene will actually penetrate a cheap latex or acrylic paints and can destroy the bond of the paint to the surface.
Artist oil made glazes made with linseed oil should never be used on exterior applications. A huge mistake I am seeing people make is adding kerosene to oil base stains, and polyuerathanes to slow the dry time down to wood grain overhead metal garage doors which voids the manufacturers warranty on the door and in most cases will fail within a year or two by flaking, cracking, fading amongst other things. The only way to fix this is to completely strip the door and start over which is more expensive than to just replace the door itself.
If you look on the inside of your overhead door there is a label that tells you “No oil base products” this includes primers as well. It also says to use acrylic (water base) paints only when finishing the door which is why I use exterior rated water base colorants and glazes for exterior wood grain applications
Home owners are tired of these huge mistakes that the ones who don’t know are making and it’s driving them out of the market which hurts all of us, so it is important to buy these kind of books that have been written by the masters to continue our education.
Pierre has many of these types of books that were written by master artisans available on his website and yes some are very expensive but some of these books were written over a hundred years ago and rarely reprinted but they are from the European masters of the trade and it is only one of the many ways these gentleman have learned their techniques that has been passed down from one generation to another. So it would not only be unfair to the masters to tell you my formula but would also be disrespectful without telling you that not only can you learn the formula from these books but also so much more on how to use it and where. I hope you or anyone else are not offended that I just don’t tell you what it is because its easier but I honestly think if I direct everyone to a source that forces them to learn more than just giving you my Faux Finishing Glaze Recipe’s I would be honoring not only the art form but helping in the education that we all need to be doing on a continuing basis
no matter what our experiences are, wouldn’t you agree?