Paint a Faux Granite Finish in Miniature or Full Scale Using Basic Supplies

By Lesley Shepherd, About.com Guide

Once you have your basic undercoat started for your painted faux granite finish, you can add the illusion of depth to sections of your faux granite by using glazes. You make a glaze by adding a bit of pigment or paint to a clear finish, either gloss or satin depending on the final finish you want your faux granite to have. (For honed finish granites use a satin or matte finish). Glazes allow you to layer the color effects in your stone and make your painted finish seem like a much thicker stone pattern. Glazes made with iridescent paints or mica pigments can create the effect of crystal layers in granite. For my miniature granite I used a glaze of a mustard yellow or 'gamboge' color across some areas of my base coat. I also applied a thin glaze of to add the shine effect of small irregular crystals along some edges of the white undercoat layer. (see photo above). You can also add thin washes or sponged on dabs of of Jacquard Pearl Ex Pigments to add colored mica specs to your granite layers. If working on a full scale finish, a section of sea sponge is the best way to add irregular paint flecks.

You will be gradually building up your granite finish so experiment with one or two colored glazes in irregular sections of your faux granite surface. Don't apply these glazes everywhere, only in areas where you want to build up bits of a color.

• Simple Techniques To Paint Realistic Granite Finishes In a Variety of Scales
• Start Painting the Base Coat and Pattern for Your Particular Faux Granite
• Use Paint and Glazes to Create Depth in Faux Granit Coatings
• Creating The Color Shifts of Crystaline Structure for a Painted Faux Granite
• Add Fine Spots And Lines of Darker Colors to a Painted Faux Granite Finish
• Build Stain Layers with Glazes on a Painted Faux Granite Finish
• Add Dark or Light Flecks to Your Painted Faux Granite Finish
• Applying a Final Finish To Your Faux Granite