Whether you, your family, pets, etc. have damaged your walls, trying to cover up the damage never seems to be an easy task. That’s because old and damaged walls require a special wall painting technique in order to cover up the surface imperfections- be it loose and cracking plaster or gouged and peeling drywall. Wall flaws can be a real eyesore, but drywall installation or replacement is not the best or only solution available. In fact, the right wall painting technique offers you a faster, cheaper, and easier way to handle the problem. One of the following 3 ways will surely work for your situation.
Fix It Up- With Proper Surface Prep:
Even if the walls look really bad to you, chances are they can still be restored and made smooth. Never underestimate the power of a good, thorough surface preparation. Depending on the extent of the damage, some walls may need to be skim coated entirely, to create a new surface. This is a very labor intensive, multi-step process that requires skill and is left better to the professionals if you want really smooth results- arms with some caulk, compound and his tools, and experiences house painting contractor can create what seems like magic and make the surfaces look like new again. After the repairs and surface prep, follow it up with 2 coats of quality flat paint for a velvet-like finish that will help to further blend in any minor imperfections still left, and make them “disappear”.
Cover It Up- With Wall Paint Textures:
If your walls are really ugly and you aren’t married to the idea that they have to be flat and smooth, using a textured pain may be a better alternative to skim coating (you will still need to deeply gouged spots first but you won’t have to make it perfect). With textured wall painting techniques, not only can you hide many surface flaws, but you will also add a decorative value to your home at the same time. And if you have seen some wall texture style and didn’t care much for the look, think again- there are dozens of ways to texture a wall, so no matter what your preferences are, you are bound to find the look you’ll like.
Depending on the technique, materials, and tools used in the process, you can create a mildly, moderately, or heavily textured surface in any color and finish-brushes, wide knifes, whisk brooms, rags, sponges and even your fingers are all great tools to create a unique, one-of-a-kind pattern. You can also use texture stencils to create raised abstract or theme-based designs on the surface, and some people even use their babies’ little hands and feet to leave cute, adorable imprints on the walls.
Play It Up- With Faux Painting Techniques:
What if you could use those unsightly wall flaws to your advantage? Well, with painting techniques, you can! With faux painting, you can deliberately highlight and enhance any surface “defects” and turn them into benefits, where they will now look intentional, and play an important part in creating a lived-in, distressed or antique look and feel. And unless you have some major holes in the walls, you don’t even need to do any repairs to the walls, because then incorporated into a faux finish pattern, all the dents, scratches and uneven spots will actually add to the chic and authenticity of the finish. The best techniques for this purpose are those that use at least 2 colors for an effective play on textures: color-washing, lime-washing, glazing, rubbing, and sponging.