Techniques for Aging Walls

[Front Yard Fright]

For the past couple years I've been experimenting with different ways of aging walls. I've used wood stain, which turned out pretty good, and then I've done a few washes using watered down latex paint.

What do you guys do to make your walls look aged and gross?

[elswarro]

i am interested in this topic as well! i will building a few sets next month and any tips are welcome!

[Killer Katie]

We have used good old drybrushing on our walls. In different colors sometimes to give a little 3d effect.
Lately, I've used a spray can to create a moldy effect. I've also seen walls painted by brushing onn paint at the top, then spritzing with a water bottle. This works pretty good for a rusty effect.

[Greg Chrise]

I use 100% acrylic satin or semi gloss exterior house paints for the proper body. Blacks, Browns and whites. Then water them down to where it is only about 1/3 paint or 1/2 paint. Is the glass half empty or half full?

Then with a hand held water sprayer, first dampen the surface. Brush on or sponge on the concoction the use the water sprayer again to dilute it even further making it run and have no definition.

I keep universal tints like what the paints are tinted with at the paint store and wil shift these colors like make a black/green mold or several shades of a dark to medium brown and whites can get any number of tints depending on what the final lighting colors will be in the room.

Clear coats can be applied to seal the job and make it stand out a bit more. You can put any number of things in the clear to make it have a texture. Sand either white, tan or brown, rock salt, even dirt and real rust flakes for piping and faux metal work.

Solvent base clears will further float the detail work. This same aproach can be used to make convincing marble finishes.

If you want to get really insane, you find real examples in real old buildings and study the colors and reasons why stains flow a certain way, how the sun bleaches strange patterns and so on.

Anything from crappy stiff old china brushes to $14 anitquing sponge rollers become tools. All of these tools can be taken care of and be used for years and a gazzillion square feet.

I joke with my paint supplier that I had the same roller since high school and their paint screwed it up and they need to give me another one. It was 30 years old and had sentimental value. They have been trained to sell a new roller and brush with every paint sale.

For huge jobs we will make even 4 foot wide rollers with plastic wrapped around PVC pipe just to apply wash in an irregular fashion and move up to bug sprayers or even pump water spray out an airless sprayer. Slow and small, totally by hand yields more dramatic results and if you are being paid for the work, it is kind of a performance art for the customer.

[AW]

aging walls

These are from our slaughter surgery - looks a little over done in the daylight but w<a href="http://s302.photobucket.com/albums/nn119/FrightfulNights/?action=view&current=009_9.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn119/FrightfulNights/009_9.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>orks well with our scenic lighting at night on the hayride

[AW]

One of these days I'll get this right the first time

[Jim Warfield]

"Put on your red dress honey, cause we're going out tonight!
Put on your red dress baby, incase some fool might want to fight!"

A mannnequin dressed in a British Red Coat costume holding a paint sprayer would really set off such a room.
Chitt! Just gave away another original idea!