Painting Fabric? With Colorantic Products, it Is Possible!
It is the craftswoman Émilie Côté of the company Rien ne se perd – Meubles revalorisés (Nothing is lost – Upcycled furniture) who was lucky enough to find an abandoned sofa that was just waiting to be saved and restored. In this article, she shares important details and techniques about how to paint fabric using Colorantic products. She offers you the tips and tricks you need to succeed in a fabric painting project. You will be pleasantly surprised with the result.
Above all, the colour chosen for this transformation is called Summer Garden, a soft and luminous green. This is Emilie’s favorite chalk paint colour.
List of Product Used :
- Sanding block
- Colorantic XL brush
- Colorantic Clear Glaze Paint
- Colorantic Chalk-Based paint – Summer Garden Colour
- Colorantic Natural Beeswax
- Colorantic 16mm wax brush
- Spray bottle filled with water
- Clean white damp cloth (for wiping)
The Preparation
Prepare the Fabric
First, in order to paint on fabric, it must be well prepared. With a spray bottle filled with water, you soak the fabric to soften the fiber. If the fabric is dirty, put a little dish soap in your water and spritz the fabric. Rinse and pat dry. All traces of grease, residue and dirt must be removed. Colorantic varnish cleaner and remover is a good option to completely clean your leather sofa, for example. Dampen your fabric before applying the paint to improve adhesion and let the paint penetrate the fibers. Be careful not to wet the fabric too much so as not to dilute your colours and prevent them from streaking.
Mix Products
Subsequently, when it comes to a sofa, it is recommended that you purchase a minimum of 58 oz of Clear Window glaze and 32 oz of chalk paint of your choice. You will need to mix together 1/3 glaze, 1/3 chalk paint and 1/3 water. In fact, no matter the quantity, the recipe is the same. It is always an equal part of each product (one part Clear Window glaze + one part chalk paint + one part water).
Painting Fabric
Applying the Glaze-Paint Mixture
In this case, to apply the mixture, Emilie used the Colorantic XL brush.
More specifically, this round brush with natural bristles is perfect for covering a large area evenly.
Apply a thin coat of the glaze-paint-water mixture evenly to the fabric. Let stand 1 to 2 hours or until completely dry to the touch. And if the weather allows, you can place it outside, reducing the drying time.
We continue with the next coats, using the same mixture, but slightly reducing the amount of water. Moreover, depending on the type of fabric, you may need more Colorantic glaze and chalk paint. Also, the amounts of glaze and chalk paint needed may vary from fabric to fabric.
Between each coat of the mixture described above, sand lightly with a sanding block. Yes, you can dampen the fabric between layers by lightly misting water with your water spray bottle.
If you want to go from a dark colour to a light colour, you may need 4 to 5 coats. Otherwise, going from a light colour to a dark colour, the number of coats will be less. You will have to redo these steps 2-4 times depending on the project. It is strongly recommended to do a test on the back of your sofa or chair. This will allow you to see how the product works and you can readjust yourself if necessary.
Finishing
Once the last layer is dry, you apply natural beeswax with a wax brush. It is recommended to apply wax with an XL round natural bristle brush or a 16 mm round brush which are specially designed for spreading wax. It should be noted that if you use a cloth, it absorbs a certain amount of wax. To avoid losses, a brush is recommended.
To conclude, wipe the wax lightly with a slightly damp white cotton cloth to allow the wax to penetrate into the fabric. A “t-shirt” style white cotton fabric is ideal to leave no marks.
Finally, let it dry for 1 to 7 days. Know that the wax takes several days to dry, patience is required in this kind of project.
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