How to do Faux Fabric Technique with Pop of Color Paints
We have another great furniture refinishing paint technique to share with you today! Nicole of NC Art and Restoration is showing us how to do a faux fabric technique using our Pop of Color Shock Paints! The results are so fabulous and we can’t wait for you to see.
There are a lot of fun ways to upcycle and refinish furniture pieces. The faux fabric technique that Nicole shows us in the video below is one of our new favorites for sure! You can use this paint technique on just about anything with a flat surface and it really looks like fabric.
Nicole has used this method on furniture with beautiful results. But you can also do it on mirrors, storage boxes, and picture frames. You just need a mostly flat surface in order to get the brush strokes to come out right.
So, grab your favorite Pop of Color Shock Paints, a scrub brush, and let’s get painting!
How to do Faux Fabric Technique with Pop of Color Paints
Prepping your piece will be the most time consuming part of using the faux fabric technique. You want to use a bright color as your base coat so that the fabric look really pops. Nicole uses Pure White as he base coat and then Navy Blue as her fabric coat. But you can use any color that you love for the top color.
Important to work section by section. The paint dries quickly and you want to complete one whole section before moving on to the next. That way each section is consistent in its design. It’s ok if the sections don’t match each other exactly. But you do want consistency within each section.
If you mess up or don’t like the look that the tool you chose is giving you, you can try to quickly fix it with a different brush. Or, you can just paint the white over it and start again! Painting is very forgiving. As permanent as it seems, it can always be redone!
Different Tools for the Faux Fabric Technique
In the video below, Nicole explains that there are many different tools that you can use to get your faux fabric finish. There is no right or wrong way to do it. The “brush” you use will depend on the look you are going for and your own personal preference. Nicole told us that a lot of artists like to use a small broom with the handle removed. It isn’t her favorite tool but it may end up being yours!
Large Grill Brush
Nicole has also used a large grill cleaning tool with good results. The bristles on it are a very hard wire and they are evenly spaced. That means you will get nice large squares that are also evenly spaced. This will give you a look that is a little more messy like grass cloth or burlap.
Small Grill Brush
You can also use the smaller version of the grill cleaning tool. This one is great for working into corners and tight spaces. These guys also give you a more denim look if you use them with a scrub brush on a whole piece.
Plastic Bristles Scrub Brush
Nicole explained that one of her other go to brushes is just a good ole’ plastic bristled scrub brush. The kind you would use in your kitchen or to scrub floors. She likes this one because it is flat, has a handle, and isn’t too big.
Faux Wood Finish Tool
Nicole’s most recent discovery is her faux wood finish tool. She says it can do all of the things that the other tools can do and she is loving it! It is perfect for when she wants the look of a really tight fabric. It makes lines that are super straight like actual tightly woven fabrics.
Whatever you decide to use, go with a cheap one. If you have a dollar store in your area, that would be a great place to buy what you need. Because no matter what tool you choose, it’s going to get ruined. So you don’t want to spend a lot of money on them. But it’s all for a good cause! Wait until you see the fabulous results!
Watch the Video Tutorial Here!
How to do Faux Fabric Technique with Pop of Color Paints
Materials
- A mostly flat furniture piece
- Ready Prep
- Sand paper
- Pure White Pop of Color Shock Paint
- Navy Blue Shock Paint
- Premium Flat Furniture Paint Brush
- Latex paint conditioner (Nicole uses Floetrol)
- Paint tray
- Protective gloves
- Paint stick
- Plastic bristled scrub brush or preferred tool
- Towel for removing clumped paint from your bristles
- Continuous Water Bottle Mister
- Painter's tape
- Pop Coat OR
- Finish it Wax
Instructions
- Start by dusting and vacuuming your piece of furniture. Then use the Ready Prep to clean the whole piece. This will remove and grease and grime.
- Then scuff sand the whole piece and remove any dust that is left behind. You can use tack cloth or go over the piece with Ready Prep again.
- Now give the piece a base coat of the color you want to come through. Nicole used Pure White for this project.
- Once the paint is dry, tape off the top and bottom of your piece to avoid hitting them with your brush. You can also keep a damp rag on hand to remove any excess paint from your piece if you don't want to use tape.
- Next, pour the Navy Shock Paint and paint conditioner into the paint tray using a 50:50 ratio. Use a paint stick to mix them together thoroughly.
- Spritz your towel with a bit of water so it is ready to clean your brushes and you are ready to paint!
- If you are doing a dresser like Nicole is, remove the drawers. Each of them will be its own section. Each side will be a section. And the front (with the drawers removed) and the back (if painting) will be their own sections.
- Now for the fun part! Use one of our Premium Furniture Paint Brushes to apply a coat of the Navy paint to one section of your piece. You will want to move quickly because you don't want the paint to dry or you won't be able to create the faux fabric finish.
- Then use the plastic bristled scrub brush and drag it against the section horizontally. If you have a steady hand, this will only take a few passes. But you can use as many passes as you need to get it even. Wipe your brush on your towel every few passes as it starts to fill with paint.
- Then repeat the same process going vertically on the same section. This will give you the cross sections that give the faux fabric finish. If you like the more denim look then you can stop here.
- If you want a more grated fabric look you can continue with the faux wood tool. Alternating between vertical and horizontal lines will give you the tighter fabric look.
- Once you are done, allow each section to dry and then seal it. You can use Pop Coat varnish or Finish It Wax to seal your piece. Which one you choose depends on your personal preference and the finished look you are going for.
The Finishing Touches
Not sure whether you want to use Top Coat or Finish It Wax in your final steps? Check out or post How to Get the Perfect Finish with Furniture Refinishing Paint! We cover both types of finish in that post so you’ll be able to make the best choice for you!
And that’s it, friends! Once you have your piece prepped, getting your faux fabric finish doesn’t take much time at all. The first time you try it there will be some trial and error. You will need to get a feel for it and decide which tool will be your favorite one to use. But once you’ve spent a little time with this method, you will be on your way to many a fabulous faux fabric pieces!
A big thanks to Nicole for sharing her time and talent with us. This technique is so fun to do and is a great way to add texture and dimension (not to mention beauty!) to our pieces. If you loved learning from Nicole, you can check out more of her work on Facebook and Instagram.
Pop of Color Shock Paints are sold exclusively at Counter Culture DIY. So now you have even more reasons to stop by!
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