Tray Ceiling Faux Finishing Techniques

an update on this tray ceiling faux finishing technique that I have made available on DVD

as a simple  step by step “How To Faux Finish” is an the exclusive the “Trompe Loeil Foil” finish I am performing on a dining room tray ceiling and let me tell you it is turning out very cool. I’ve already base painted the cei.

and I’m getting ready to apply the stencil relief which I will pick from a Melanie Royals Design as per my client’s specification.

Here is a picture of the tray ceiling progress so far. This unique faux finish idea is designed for small flat areas with no texture and is not meant for large areas because of high application costs.  My DVD training series showcase unique designs that someone creates mainly for accents which can work along with whole room projects or by themselves as standalone tray ceiling designs. The main reason for this is because this particular look takes 2 or 3 foil applications to achieve that “just right” amount of coverage.

I have done many tray ceiling foil applications and have found that every tray ceiling and wall will take  foil differently. For instance in this Dining room it took three applications of foil, but in the entry tray ceiling, which is the same finish, it only taken one. But the beauty of these type of applications is once you have applied the foil you can resize it and do it again without any problems once the first layer has dried.

I could have used a  soft brush like a few other artists use but I didn’t want to take the chance of scratching or putting any kind of swirls in the finish even though with the first application you will see this can also happen by using a soft cloth. Not to worry because the swirls will go away once you achieve the proper coverage with the foil.

At this stage I have invested a total of 2 hours including the basepaint (2 coats) and three foil applications. What’s really unusual about this foil is you can see the base color right through it from different angles even though you have nearly 100% coverage with the foil as you can see from the two photos posted below…

I will keep  updating this post as I progress as but I encourage everyone to check out the step by step instructional video for anyone who wants to tackle a project like this tray ceiling and learn the behind the scenes faux painting techniques that don’t come across as well when you are writing about them as opposed to showing.

As you can see from the close up how the foil changes in the tray ceiling to reveal less background color when I took this shot.

I am also working with some other foils that have some rather unusual effects for a tray ceiling that will be showcased in my upcoming video series.

If anyone has any particular questions about this process please leave me a comment down below or catch up with me on Facebook or any of the other networks listed on the right side of the blog. Happy painting!