Sponge Painting

Sponge Painting

Try sponging if you're a beginning decorative painter. It's fast, it looks great, and it's tough to mess up.

From Paint Decor

Sponge Painting How-To

Add visual punch to a plain-color wall with sponging. It's a quick and easy way to achieve a subtle texture and add depth to your walls. And if you mess up, it's easy to fix less-than-perfect spots.

What You Need

* Benjamin Moore paints: We use Jack o' Lantern 2156-30 and Harvest Brown 2104-30. Satin sheen is preferred but semigloss works too; flat is not recommended.
* Benjamin Moore Studio Finish latex glaze in Clear
* Paint roller for base coat
* Wide painter's tape
* 2 plastic paint buckets
* Paint stir stick
* Paper plates
* 2 natural sponges
* Newspaper
* Cardboard
* Trim brush or sponge roller

Instructions:

Using a paint roller, base-coat a clean, dry wall with a Jack o' Lantern; let dry. Apply a second coat if needed and allow to dry. Use wide painter's tape to mask around doors, windows, the ceiling, and the floor.

In a paint bucket, mix 1 part Harvest Brown and 4 parts Studio Finish latex glaze. Fill another bucket half full of water for rinsing sponges.

1. Pour a small amount of glaze mixture onto a paper plate.


2. Dampen a sponge with water and wring it out thoroughly. Dip the sponge into the glaze mixture and blot excess onto newspaper. Practicing on a piece of cardboard, dab the sponge lightly, overlapping edges of color and rotating the sponge for a random effect. When comfortable with the color intensity and texture, apply the sponging technique to the wall, beginning in an upper corner.


3. Cover 8-foot-square sections at a time, dipping sponge into glaze mixture as needed.


4. When the sponge becomes saturated with glaze mixture, rinse it in the bucket of water and wring it out thoroughly before continuing.