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| Yep! Stained Concrete! |
So, here is the feather finish (left) and with the base coat (right). Pardon the toilet hole... not sure of the technical term to use, but that's the nicest thing I can come up with (blah!). I used Valspar semi-transparent concrete stain in driftwood, which is what I used in the rest of the house. I just rolled it on with a paint roller.
I used Valspar semi-transparent concrete stain in ember for the darker grain top coat. I is kind of a dark cool gray with a hint of deep blue - I love this color! I picked up a graining tool from Lowes. It is a funny looking little piece of magic! I have no idea how this thing makes wood grain, but it is awesome.
* Important tip - use Valspar mixing glaze to thicken the stain. I used an entire jar which is about 1 pint of glaze with about 1 1/2 cups of stain. I love mixing glaze because you can mix it with any paint to make it more workable for faux finishes.
You work in small areas, 2-3 feet at a time. Spread a thin layer of glaze/stain mix then drag the tool from one end to the other rocking it slowly from back to front to back. You can add variation to this of coarse, to get the desired look. The glaze allows some working time, so if you don't like that pass, just use your brush and spread it back out and try again.
I will warn you, this is a very tedious process. The tool is only about 2 3/4 inches wide. You have to use short passes so it does not flood the tool and make a mess. You have to wipe it off in between passes and transitions are difficult. You can blend them with the tooth edge or a cheap throw away brush works OK also. This is a small area so it wasn't too bad, it took me about an hour.
I'm planning to wood grain the entire master bedroom floor because I love it so much and I just can't live without it! I don't care how long it takes!
I LOVE this! I wanted to eventually do wood tile, but want to pull out the carpet now! LOL for the time being I was considering staining the concrete, but now I am thinking that I can have the best of both worlds. How long did you wait between the base coat and the woodgrain coat? --Courtney
ReplyDeleteThank you, Courtney! I waited until the next day to do the wood grain second coat, but the Valspar concrete stain dries really fast. I'm not sure what the recommendations are on the product label, but if you rolled on the base coat first thing in the morning you could probably start graining that afternoon. I continued the wood grain in the entire master bedroom and used an oil based paint pen to draw planks and nails to look more realistic. You can check out the post here:
ReplyDeletehttp://crookesgirlscountryhouse.blogspot.com/2016/04/more-wood-grain-stained-concrete.html
I love wood tile! I used it in the shower. But I'll tell ya, It's really nice to not have to clean the grout on the faux wood floor. And so much cheaper! I originally planned to try this temporarily also, but I don't think I want to tile over it.
Thank you for your comment! Let me know how it goes, I would love to see your progress! And if your have any questions along the way don't hesitate to ask!