Children's Chambers  
       
      STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS
      COMBING

      Combing is a paint technique that can be used on either furniture or walls. If you are painting furniture, it's much easier if the piece to be combed  has a flat surface. Walls are easier if you work on small areas - like below a chair  rail or dado. Combing from ceiling to floor is difficult and needs practice. Experiment with colour combinations of the base coat and the combing colour. Some very interesting  effects can be created with a comb and a little imagination.

      TOOLS AND MATERIALS NEEDED

      • Roller and paint tray or brush
      • Low tack tape
      • Rubber comb or home made comb (cut teeth into a 3" square piece of cardboard or foam core)
      • Blue oil or alkyd paint in a velvet finish
      • Glazing liquid or glaze coat
      • Paint thinner
      • Rag
    Getting Started...

    BASECOAT

    Give the surface 2 coats of either oil or latex paint in a velvet  finish. Oil is preferable, as the glaze will glide off the base coat smoothly. Leave to dry completely.

    PAINTING

    MIX: 1 part blue oil paint, 1 part glazing liquid, 1 part paint  thinner

    You now have a tinted glaze. If the glaze is too thin, add a little more paint. It should not run down the wall or sag. Apply low tack tape to the corner  of the wall to protect the other wall from the glaze. Add tape 4 feet along the wall  from the chair rail to the baseboard. Using the comb as a measure, make marks along  the top and side of the tape with a marker. The marks should be every 3 inches along  or whatever the width of the comb is. Cover the area with the glaze using the roller.  You can use a brush, but a roller is quicker and will give better coverage. Now holding  the comb steady, pull it diagonally through the glaze from the corner to the vertical  piece of tape. Go back to the corner and move the comb 3 inches down the wall and once again pull it through the glaze. Repeat this all the way until you get to the baseboard. Now go back to the top and pull the comb through the glaze, this time vertically down the wall. Skip 3 inches and repeat across the wall. You will now have squares of combed glaze and some squares with flat glaze. Just pull the comb vertically through the squares that are left. You have created a basket weave pattern.  Remove the vertical piece of tape and add another piece 4 feet along the surface from where you stopped combing. Apply the glaze again with the roller right up to the combed line. Repeat the above until you reach the next corner. You will get clean corners if you work on opposite walls one day, leave them to dry, and do the other walls the next day.

    [main] [painting a sky] [sponging a chest of drawers ]