Faux Rag Painting Technique

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Rag Painting

Negative Technique

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Tools & Materials:

Negative ragging has a "formal" look to it. It is great for dinning rooms and grand entrances. Positive ragging allows you to rag on more than one color and is not wet edge sensitive allowing you to stop and start at leisure.

The Differences: Negative ragging has a very soft look, with nice transparency. I almost always use only one color with one step for negative ragging.

Positive ragging is great for using multiple colors because 1) it is usually done with fast drying latex paint / glaze and 2) the glaze is applied rather than blotted off which allows you to put on all colors in one step.

Primary Tools Needed:

Clean Rags

Vinyl Gloves

Paint Pail with Roller Grid

Short Nap Roller ( 3/8 inch nap)

Base Coat

Click here to see Universal Surface Preparation Rules:

Base Coat

My favorite base coat for negative ragging is BIN, it dries fast, and will give your ragging longer "wet edge" time because of it's sealing capabilities. For negative ragging I like to keep the base coat white. With a white base coat you will not get any odd color hues when your ragging is done over top. Color selection is simple with a white base coat, simply choose a color that you like (stay on the darker side of the color spectrum , because the transparency of the ragging glaze will "bleach" out the strength of the selected color) and your will get various hues of this color when your ragging is completed.

Glaze and Paint

I use oil glaze for negative ragging because (as with any negative technique) you will need longer working time. Either Sherwin Williams Illusions or Pratt-N-Lambert oil glaze will do. I also like Benjamin Moore's oil glaze too.

You will be using a glaze mix of 1/2 oil based paint tinted to your chosen color, and 1/2 oil based glaze. If you are not used to using oil glaze, you will need to thin the glaze with mineral spirits for it to be useable, thin as needed.

Glaze note: I have used Modern Masters Extender with latex paint for negative ragging on smaller rooms and have been pleased with the working time and overall quality of the glaze. If you just don't want to use an oil glaze, I then would recommend Modern Masters Extender with latex paint. Of the two types of glazes, I still prefer oil because it has a softer look to it than the latex.

Working in 4' x 4' sections, roll on the glaze with a short nap roller.

Next you want to rag off the glaze with a soft cotton rag. The ragging off is done in a "pat and scoot" manner. Pat and scoot means to pat the glaze while the rag is moving. I like to do this patting while scooting in a circular or figure 8 pattern of movement. Rag off the whole 4' x 4' section except for the outer perimeter edges of that section, leave that untouched, this will keep the glaze wet and allow for blending of the sections together.

Do the next 4' x 4" section and repeat until you finish the wall.

As your rag becomes saturated with glaze you will need to change to a clean dry rag. So that the change is not noticeable, wait until you reach the end of a wall and slightly pre-ink the new rag so it is not totally clean. Note: "pre-ink" means to dip the rag into the glaze slightly and then wring it out, prior to using.

I use alternate wall sequencing with ragging off. Tape off the adjacent wall with easy release blue masking tape. If you can't wait for overnight dry (i.e. glaze two opposite walls, allow overnight dry, then glaze the other two walls), then I would suggest in lieu of taping, shielding the adjacent wall with a full piece of stiff heavy grit sandpaper (put the grit side to the previously glazed wall), hold the shield with one hand and rag off the the other after carefully rolling and using a brush to apply the glaze right up to the corner.

Technique