Setting The Groundwork…
I need a nice base to work from…
The second coat stayed tacky for almost 2 days, as well. Since the wet sanding didn’t go so well for the first coat, I decided to try dry sanding with fine sand paper. This seemed to work better, and I was able to smooth it all out.
With the base color prepped, it was time to start the faux wood painting. To do this, I used water-based craft paints (like, Apple Barrel, etc.). I chose various shades of darker brown and black, to get a color that looks like the base color for the wood grain. Then, using a variety of brushes, strips of cloth, and natural sea sponges, I added in the faux grain. Looking at the various screen shots, I was mainly looking to get the deepest level of grain in this step. I am planning to do several layers of graining, using a gel medium mixed with brown paints, to try and recreate the actual look of real wood.