Birthday Surprise - Page 2

Last Updated on Saturday, 16 January 2010 10:08 Written by Dave Wednesday, 30 December 2009 15:11

I didn't take pictures of the raw, unpainted piece since I really wasn't going to do a how-to on this project. The pictures were taken only because I was trying a different finishing technique and wanted to see what the different shades would do to the previous colors.

First, everything was painted with 2 coats of flat white latex paint. I took a dark wood stain and applied it to everything. I removed most of it from the candle area with a paper towel. I let that dry for almost 36 hours. Wood stain doesn't really dry in that time, it remains sticky so I tried for a sticky but not come off on my hands stage.

The next steps were what I wanted to change. I've done most of my props with a dry brush painting technique. This time I was going to try a paint "wash" and see how that goes. It's just a very thin wash of latex paint and water. I mix it up, slop it on with a brush and then wipe off with a damp rag.

I believe when it was completed, I had done 4 different paint washes and barely a dry brush touched this skull. I left the candle alone for most of the washes.