Ragging is a very common interior painting technique that gives a feeling of timelessness. Just imagine having walls in your room that look like a historical cathedral or a cottage of a farmer from the medieval age.
You can easily create these timeless wall effects using ragging, one of the easiest faux painting techniques to date. All you have to do is apply a series of colors on your room wall using the ragging technique with a folded rag instead of a painting brush. Some degree of basic interior painting knowledge is required to follow this guide.
Before we explain how you can pull this technique, here are the things you’ll need.
- Damp sponge
- Primer
- Protective gloves
- Semigloss paint or latex satin
- Primer
- Rags (lint-free)
- Nap roller
- Cleaning cloth
- A Painter’s tray
- A painter’s tape
- Painting colors
- Latex glaze
- Mixing bucket
Step by Step Guide for Applying Ragging
The ragging technique is very easy. Here are the steps you need to follow.
Priming
- Before you begin, you will have to prepare the room walls by filling in any holes so that they can become fully flat. To do this, clean the walls thoroughly using a damp sponge and let the wall dry completely.
Now use a painter’s tape to seal any adjacent walls, ceiling, and floors. Apply some to the trim of windows and doors if required. Now roll the primer and cover the complete wall. Use at least two coats if your drywall is new because it will absorb the paint.
Base Coat
- Pick the lightest color you have and roll on the semigloss latex paint as a base coat. Now paint the baseboards and molding if you want the wall to show a look uninterrupted.
Before you move to the next step, make sure you give plenty of time for the coat to dry up. This should take at least four hours. Repeat the process to get more base paint before you begin with ragging.
Mixing Colors
- Prepare your colors by mixing a gallon of latex glaze with sating or semigloss color. The ideal ratio should be around 4:1. When the paints have thoroughly mixed together, pour the mixture into the painter’s tray.
Now slightly dampen the lint-free rag and crumple it into a ball. Dip this rag into the paint mixture and start to dabble the paint on the wall. Start at the uppermost corner first.
Continue to Dab
- This is the most important part of the ragging technique. You will have to dab in a random pattern making sure that you are holding the rag softly in your hand and reshaping it as you move along the wall.
Make sure to turn and twist the rag plenty of times as you glaze the wall to get a variety of effects. When the rag becomes full of paint, use a fresh piece of rag. Continue to rag the entire wall and repeat with additional color if required.
- When you are satisfied with the look, you can marbleize the wall by dabbing white color over the wall through a damp sponge.
Look at the Results
- Step at least 10-15 steps back from the wall and see if the color appears blended without any marks left behind by the rags. Now go for another round of ragging by putting a final coat of glaze only.
This will give a shiny look to your walls.
Keep Ragging
- You can keep using the ragging technique to achieve a texture you like the most. Apply the paint and glaze mixture to the entire wall with a paint roller. While it is still slightly wet, dabble the rag into the paint mixture and remove a layer of the color.
Repeat this step with a fresh piece of the rag until you get the texture you want.
Get Expert Help
Get the desired texture through ragging can be quite difficult if you’re doing it for the first time, or you do not possess the basic knowledge of interior painting. If you’re struggling with the paint job, give us a call and let us help you out.
Encore Painting has been providing glaze and faux painting to homes in Texas for almost two decades now. Our work is always clean and exactly as you want. Get free estimate today and let us handle the job for you.