Metallic Paint – Myths & Facts
Everyone wants a metallic or pearlescent finish on their walls! It’s understandable, it looks cool! It’s new, interesting, and can be elegant. What’s the problem then? There is a LOT of misinformation about it. Let me try to clear some things up.
Benjamin Moore makes two metallic finish products. One is a metallic glaze, and the other is a hammered metallic. Neither of these products are a consistent solid finish!
Studio Finishes Metallic Glaze (620) is a very transparent water based GLAZE, not paint. A glaze is meant for two toned decorative faux finishing. You can achieve many different looks with a glaze including Sponging, Ragging, Strie, etc. All these techniques are done with a base coat of regular latex paint in one color, and then a transparent glaze in a second color applied with a specific faux technique. This gives you an inconsistent decorative finish. You will see both colors.
Please visit this page for examples of faux finishing:
http://tinyurl.com/fauxfinishing
Ok, so you want a solid metallic finish? You want it to look like the color chip from Benjamin Moore? Unfortunately that will be difficult, sorry. The color chip looks solid, and is misleading. You may think your glaze will look like that chip, but it won’t (at least not easily). The chip is printed to show you what the color would look like. It is not possible to make a chip transparent, so your chip is solid and your glaze is transparent.
Benjamin Moore does not recommend using the Metallic Glaze as a solid finish, because it is difficult to achieve a consistent film without lap marks. If you brush or roll a transparent glaze, then you get lap marks! Everywhere you overlap will show. It doesn’t blend easily and will look very obvious. It isn’t pretty.
There is hope. If you are going to try to achieve a solid look, then please follow the instructions below. Remember it won’t be easy, but it is possible.
Paint your wall with a base coat of regular latex paint in a color that is very similar to the glaze color.
Apply the glaze with a spray gun. Make sure to keep a wet edge to minimize lap marks.
You will see the color of the base coat through the glaze, so choose a very similar color. Spraying the glaze will avoid lap marks. Seem simple? It’s not. If you fail Benjamin Moore will not stand behind it. Good luck!
Here are the 620 custom Pearlescent Colors:
Studio Finishes Molten Metallics 621 is a solid solvent based oil paint with a hammered finish. It has inconsistent lines which makes it look like hammered metal. It could also be described to be similar to a crackled look (without the cracking). Solvent based oil paint is going to have a strong odor, and you should have adequate ventilation when using it inside.
Molten Metallics is great for using on ferrous metal interior or exterior, as it is rust inhibitive. It can be put on most substrates including ceilings, walls, furniture, etc. It has a high gloss finish, and is very hard and durable.
-DISCLAIMER-
THE COLORS WILL NOT LOOK EXACTLY LIKE THESE PICTURES!!
The images above are pictures of the brochure that contain color chips. They are affected by lighting and your computer screen. Please make your final color selection with a real color chip or a sample of the product.