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The skill level; time to complete; materials; and tools required to Prepare to paint is as follows:

Skill level: 1

🔘🔘 ⚪️⚪️ ⚪️

Details on Skill levels

Time to complete:

Experienced: 5 hrs

Handy: 8 hrs

Novice: 10 hrs

Materials:*

1. Semigloss latex paint
2. second color latex paint
3. latex glaze coat

Tools:*

1. Lint-free rags
2. roller
3. rubber bands measuring cup and container for mixing paint
4. paint tray

Raging helps disguise rough or uneven surfaces though it

won’t hide bad prep work. Before you apply the base coat, scrape, sand, clean, and prime the walls as you would for any other paint job.

Ragging on adds paint, meaning that a paint-loaded rag rolls over (or is scrunched onto) the base coat, leaving an irregular pattern of paint behind. Roll the rag across a wall that has been base-coated, changing the rag when it becomes too saturated.

Ragging off takes away paint. This look is achieved by rolling a rag through wet glaze to reveal the color underneath. When the base coat is dry, roll the wall with glaze, and then begin the process of removing some of it. Change the rag when it no longer picks up enough glaze.

Painters have come up with various techniques for both

ragging on and ragging off. These include:

Using fabric: Any lint-free fabric works; old T-shirts and cheesecloth are favorites. You can make a roller from the fabric, or just scrunch it up and dab.

• Using a roller: Instead of holding the fabric in your hands, wrap it around a paint roller, fix it with rubber bands, and roll the rag and roller across the wall.

Using paper: Try using crumpled-up newsprint instead of a rag. It leaves an interesting texture.

Using special tools: Some paint departments sell readymade roller covers already covered with wrinkled fabric.

Ragging off

Ragging off leaves more yellow glaze on the wall. 🔻

Ragging on shows more of the white base coat. Both create irregular marks. 🔻

Steps for ragging on and off

Step 1. Loosely fold (with wrinkles) a 2×2-foot clean cotton cloth, and roll it into a tube 6 to 8 inches long.  Slip rubber bands over the ends to maintain its shape.

Step 2. When ragging off, roll the rag across the wet glaze randomly until you finish the entire section. Either rinse or replace the rag as it fills up with paint, until you achieve the desired effect on that section.

Step 3. Cut in and roll glaze on the next section while the first is still wet so that the sections blend seamlessly. Rag off the glaze as before

WORK SMART

MOISTEN THE RAG FIRST

Rolling on: A slightly damp rag absorbs the glaz mix better than a dry rag. Dip the rag briefly in water and then blot it on a towel. Put the roller in the paint tray and load it with paint the same way you would load a regular paint roller. Or, if you’re simply holding crumpled up fabric, dip the fabric in a little dish of paint, scrunch it up as much as you like, and start dabbing it on the wall. Either process is fairly messy; wear gloves, long sleeves, and long pants.

On or off-what’s the difference?

Two coats — paint plus glaze—yet the results can look entirely different depending on whether you are taking the glaze off with a crumpled rag, or putting it on. I’s hard to tell which you’ve done by looking at the wall; the only reason it’s important is to help you control how the color appears.

If you want the base coat to predominate, you’ll want to rag on: You can dab on as much or as little glaze as you like. If you’re ragging off, you roll on solid coats of both the paint and the glaze— then it’s hard to take off enough glaze for the base coat to be revealed as the main color. This variance is why it’s so important to experiment on either the wall (before it’s painted) or on pieces of posterboard prior to tackling the real job.

Ragging off leaves a much denser layer of the glaze color. 🔻

Ragging on leaves a lot of the base coat still exposed. 🔻

Ragging on

Ragging on is the exact opposite of ragging off because you’re using the rag to apply, not remove, the glaze.

Those who like to work quickly might prefer to use a roller fitted with a covering of wrinkled cloth (buy this, or make your own). Simply dip it in the glaze and start rolling, but be careful not to overwork the glaze enough to make it look solid For more control, crumple up a rag, dip it in the glaze, and dab it on the wall with a delicate touch. You can obtain interesting effects by combining glazes in several colors, either letting one dry before using the other or just combining them as you go. That’s the fun of working with glazes— the final look is up to you.