Wednesday, January 6, 2010

How to make latex paint transparent?

I am trying to figure out how to make latex paint ';transparent.'; Is there anything I can add? Its a technique I am trying after painting a solid color on my wall, and then adding a transparent color (darker) with possibly a feather duster. My friend suggested I buy irredescent paint for this purpose, but I have already purchased the color I want, and it is just a solid color of latex. Any idea's?How to make latex paint transparent?
I would say thin it out with water. Water is the primary solvent in latex paint, so it would be the best choice.





Try taking a small sample of your paint, and add maybe 1 part water to 3 parts paint. Try this combo out on a surface you don't care about (like maybe paint a piece of cardboard or something). If it's not transparent enough, increase the ratio of water to paint. Like 1 part water to 2 parts paint, etc.How to make latex paint transparent?
Because of it's nature, it will never truely be tranparent. The thing you need to do is add a bit of the paint to clear GLAZE. Go to HGTV.com and there you should be able to find the ratio you want. Or, go to Lowes and ask in the paint dept. They should know. I've done what you are thinking of, and I just did trial and error to find the correct amount of paint to glaze. It was something like 1 part paint to 3 parts glaze.
Add a little water and mix it up. Then use anything you want: feather duster,rag,trashbag,sponge,t-shirt,whate鈥?to do the effect desired. You can make it less or more transparetn by diluting the paint more or less.
Read Harry Potter.
Glaze is the answer. Zinsser makes a product called ';Blend and Glaze'; which is compatible with latex paints and is designed specifically for your intended purpose (www.zinsser.com ; look for it under ';products'; then ';other specialty products';). You would have to experiment with the ratio to find the level of translucency your looking for. 50-50 is a good starting point. Remember that as you add more glaze, the color will become lighter, so you may want to darken your color first.


They also make an additive that will thin the mixture, which is sometimes desirable in faux finishes.


Hope this helps.
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