Swan Studios Mural and Faux Finish Adventures: What Do You Get When You Cross a Cabin Plank with a Raisin?..

Sunday, July 24, 2022

What Do You Get When You Cross a Cabin Plank with a Raisin?..

What Do You Get When You Cross a Cabin Plank with a Raisin?... Mahogany Wood. No joke, you get a mahogany wood look.

Being blessed to live in SW Florida, we live in perpetual summertime with a humidity level that will curl your hair. As in, literally it curls your hair. Our humidity level has been hovering in the 90 % plus mark. This green house level air along with all day sunbeams (exception being each afternoon there is a 5-minute downpour in Biblical proportions) brings challenges when faux painting wood-tones outside. Wood stains deplete and fade too quickly. Oil paints turn to dust. Kits ready made are ready made for anywhere but here. Never fear, there is a Florida sunshine solution. Let’s get into it.

First, if your garage door (or front door has old chipping paint you’ll want to remove that). Typically, I also wipe down the surface with denatured alcohol. Assuming doors are operable and not rusting away (paint won’t fix those situations), you’ll want to apply a quality primer (Bulls eye 1-2-3, Kilz, Valspar bonding just to name a few). Yes, these are all bright white, but it is necessary to prime to ensure proper adhesion. Next up is a base color. Depending on what look you want to end up with, you may want to test out combinations of colors. The combination discussed today is how I created the look below. I used Valspar Duramax (outdoor paint) in Cabin Plank as the base. However, to add a little more depth to the end result, I swirled in into the paint tray (not fully mixed but swirled) Valspar Duramax Amber Sienna and Sherwin Williams Oakledge. I brushed the base on (not rolled) since I wanted just ever so often for the swirl colors to appear. Let the base color dry. Then the magic, create a mixture of Valspar Duramax Black Raisin (I love this color !!) with Faux Effects Aqua Crème (you can use other glazing mixtures- however, if you are painting outdoors you need to have an outdoor graded glazing medium). Brush the glaze mixture be sure to get the mixture into the wood grain grooves of the door (assuming the garage has these and is not smooth). Wipe off any access just be sure to wipe in the direction of the woodgrain (even if the surface is smooth, pretend its wood grain and wipe just as if you were gently wiping an oil-based stain over wood). Joints in garage doors can take a moment longer since paint needs to cure. Move the doors up and down exposing the joints giving them time to dry. That’s it! Using Florida grade exterior paint your wood finish should last for years.