Painting Wood and Brick


Page 1
Castle Gray
Colors
Page 2
Earth Tone
Colors
Page 3
Antiquing
Method
Page 4
Spray
Painting
Page 5
RAL Color
System
Page 6
Cavern
Floors
Page 7
Aging
Techniques
Page 8
Ship
Corridors
Page 9
Wood &
Brick
Page 10
Outdoor
Areas
Page 11
Game
Pawns

Painting Wood

1.

The three colors of paint used for wood are flat black (either spray paint or brush on), the medium earth tone from the Earth Tone painting instructions page, and the light Gray from the Castle Gray painting instructions page.

If you would like me to send you a sample chip of each color, mail me a self-addressed stamped envelope or send me an e-mail when you place an order. Any place that sells paint can mix up a quart the exact color to match the samples.

My color RAL Classic RAL Design System
Earth Tone Medium RAL# 8001 Ochre brown RAL# 070 60 30
Castle Gray Light RAL# 7047 Telegrey4 RAL# 260 80 05

Print out this PDF file and use it as a guide when choosing or mixing paint colors. All of the colors shown on this web site are included on this sheet. Do not trust the colors shown on your phone or computer screen. You must print this from a printer for it to be accurate.

2.

Click on the video to watch it on YouTube.

This video is from the Half Timber project. However, the same colors and principles are used to paint any wooden beams and structures you may have.

How to Paint Half Timber Planks
3.

Before we can spray paint these black, we need to stick these down to a piece of cardboard. I'm going to use cheap permanent double stick tape. You need the permanent kind or the pieces will not hold down.

4.

Before sticking them down, check the back of your planks. If the backs are concave, then you will need to sand the back slightly with fine sandpaper so they will stick to the tape properly.

Simply lay a piece of fine sandpaper on a flat surface, place a plank on the sandpaper and give it a few quick swipes. This is much quicker and easier to do than you may think.

5.

Check to see if your pieces are stuck down properly by taking a wide brush and brush across them with medium pressure on the cardboard.

Just pretend you are dry brushing your planks with paint. If they do not come loose from the cardboard then you know they will stay in place when you go to paint them.

6.

The first coat I am spray painting it flat black. Be sure to do this outside or in a well-ventilated area.

Be sure to spray from all angles so that you get the sides and ends of each plank as well.

7.

The second coat of paint is earth tone medium color from the Earth Tone Painting Instructions page. This is sort of a "pumpkin pie" color.

Click on the photo for a larger version of it.

If you are using house paint, thin the paint slightly and make the brush as dry as possible. If you are using acrylic craft paint then you may not have to thin it.

If the paint is too thick, you will get solid brown on the top of your planks. If you thin the paint but put too much on, the paint will run into the cracks.

The trick here is to thin the paint slightly, dip your brush in and brush almost all of it off on a paper towel (even more than usual for dry brushing).

What you want are lots of thin coats of paint. When first brushing over the planks, it will not look like anything is happening. This is exactly what you want. Don't go back for more paint but instead keep brushing over the planks.

If the coat of pumpkin pie color is thin enough, the black transmutes through the brown and changes the color completely. Pumpkin pie turns into a dark oak. Remember to brush lightly, keep the paint thin and keep the brush really dry.

8.

To gray up the planks a bit, I'm going to dry brush them with light gray. You want to do this very lightly, just to highlight the edges and grey out the wood sections a little.

You do not have to do this, but it works very well to give the wood an aged appearance.

9.

Dry Brushing the Light Gray

Click on the video to watch it on YouTube.

This video shows the same process as above but with the added step of dry brushing the light gray.

Skip towards the end of the video to see this last step of light gray dry brushing.

Painting the Dock Pieces
10.

When finished, pull up the tape and the planks should come up with it.

Your wooden planks are now completely painted and ready to glue on. The most time consuming part of the whole process is sticking them down onto the cardboard at first.

When pulling them off of the tape, it's best to sort them into piles so you can find the right length of plank you need easily.

Painting Above Ground Brick

1.

Brick Base Coat

Click on the video to watch it on YouTube.

This video demonstrates what color is used for the base coat for painting the brick sections of this project.

Brick Base Coat
2.

To paint the brick you will need the following supplies:

The medium earth tone and the light gray are both shown at the top of this page and are also used for painting wood.

I found the Kiwi shoe polish at my local Wal-Mart in the shoe department.

The magenta India ink can be found at most craft or art stores where they sell calligraphy supplies. I know the photo on the right looks a little odd. Originally, I had made a mix of Kiwi liquid brown shoe polish and Kiwi liquid Cordovan shoe polish. However, Kiwi no longer makes the Cordovan shoe polish, so I had to switch to the magenta India ink to give the shoe polish its red hue.

You can find the recipe for the light gray paint on the Castle Gray painting instructions page.

3.

The first coat of paint is the earth tone medium. It's kind of a pumpkin pie color.

You can thin the paint slightly so it will go into the cracks easier. However, if the paint doesn't go into all the cracks, it's really not a problem because the shoe polish will end up going into the cracks anyway.

It's a good idea to wear a rubber glove on the hand that is holding the piece to be painted.

4.

You may also choose to spray paint the base coat if you like. For the final examples, I'm testing these four base colors:

  • Krylon Satin Almond
  • Krylon Satin Pebble
  • Rust-Oleum Camouflage Sand
  • Earth Tone Medium (already shown above).

Spray painting the base coat can save a lot of time. Be sure you cover the brick completely but do not put a thick glossy coat of paint on it. Otherwise your brick will be glossy when finished.

5.

Staining the Brick

Click on the video to watch it on YouTube.

This video demonstrates how to apply the shoe polish mixture onto the painted surface of the brick.

Brick Stain
6.

After it's completely dry, I'm going to stain the piece with a mix of Kiwi liquid brown shoe polish and magenta India ink.

The proportions are 1 tablespoon of liquid brown shoe polish to 1/2 teaspoon of magenta India ink. Pour them both into a cup and mix them together. The magenta ink has kind of a purplish red color to it.

I felt that the brown shoe polish alone just didn't have quite enough red in it for brick. However, you may feel differently about the color when you try it.

Be sure to always test your paint colors on some extra castings before applying them to your project. It's not just a matter of getting the colors right, it's also a way to practice how to apply the stain to the surface.

7.

Jam the brush into all the cracks when applying the shoe polish and apply it liberally to all the surfaces.

Afterwards, scrape the excess stain off of the brush by scraping it on the side of the cup. Then dab up any excess drips you can find.

The shoe polish will get sticky as it starts to dry.

8.

Afterwards you can dab up a little of the stain with a paper towel to mottle the texture somewhat.

Dabbing the surface is optional. If you wipe up too much of the stain, you won't leave enough brick color on the surface.

You will also find that the rubber glove will leave prints on the brick, so dabbing the surface helps to blend these fingerprints away and give your brick a more random look.

The shoe polish is water based so you can clean your brush out with water.

9.

Dry Brushing the Brick

Click on the video to watch it on YouTube.

This video demonstrates the method to dry brush the surface of the brick with light gray paint.

Brick Gray Drybrush
10.

After the stain, I'm doing a light dry brush of the light gray. Doing this brings out the details and texture on the surface, as well as toning down the color of the brick.

This step is optional! If you like the color of the brick after you stain it, then don't worry about doing the dry brush because brushing on the gray is kind of difficult and easy to mess up.

Here is what makes the dry brushing difficult. You notice that in the top photo we have a nice flat surface to cover. You'll get the best results on a flat surface.

However, these wall sections have a lot of uneven bricks and protruding bits all over. The same amount of paint it takes to dry brush a flat wall will be way too much paint for the random protruding brick edges.

I ended up frosting the edges of the brick too much. It's really easy to get too much paint if you're not careful.

11.

After the gray dry brushing, I've compared the four kinds of base coats (from step #4 above) after the brick was painted. Surprisingly, there's not much difference between the colors, even though the base coat colors were very different. Click on the photo for a larger view.

12.

This type of brick painting is what I have used for above ground buildings for the Zombicide Walls project.

I also used it for the Haunted Dice Tower project.

Painting Underground Brick

1.

Overview, Paints and Materials

Click on the video to watch it on YouTube.

This video gives a quick overview of the painting process and also goes into detail about what kind of paints and materials are used for this painting method.

Underground Brick Painting 1
2.

White Paint

This will be used to undercoat the walls and also to lighten the dirt color for the stone floor. There are several kinds of white paint you can use.

  • White acrylic craft paint: You can find this at most craft stores or at any Wal-Mart. This is the least expensive but is also fairly thin when mixing.
  • White flat latex house paint: This is my favorite choice because it is inexpensive and durable. But you have to buy at least a quart of paint if you choose this.
  • White artists acrylic tube paint: This is probably the most expensive and has the strongest pigment. It's difficult to mix because it's so thick, so I would only use this if you can't find any of the other two paints.
3.

Red Oxide Acrylic Artists Tube Paint

This is the main color ingredient that we use in our red brick wash. Cheap acrylic craft paint will not have enough pigment or a rich enough color to use for this step.

You will need to go to an art or craft store to buy this but you might find it in the craft section of your local Wal-Mart.

4.

Dirt Colored Acrylic Paint

This is what we will use for the base color and dry brushed color of the floor tiles. When you place an order for molds, we can send you a color chip of this color that you can take to your local hardware store so they can mix you up a quart of this color of flat exterior latex house paint.

However, if you can't find this color, you can always mix up your own by using raw umber acrylic artists tube paint (shown on the left). This will be mixed with white paint to make the dirt color we need.

The amount of white mixed in is covered further down below in these instructions. Since you are probably going to need to visit an art store for the other ingredients anyway, you might as well pick this up also.

5.

Sepia India Ink

This ink is used in our ink washes and gives a nice strong color, even when thinned down. Different brands may vary in strength so be sure to do some tests before actually painting your finished project.

Also be sure to mix up the ink before using by sticking a paint brush handle into the bottle and stirring it up. Just shaking the bottle won't do the job. This color of ink seems to settle a lot.

Sometimes inks can be hard to find. If you don't have any luck finding Sepia India ink, then you can mix your own using cheap liquid food coloring. For this brand (found at Wal-Mart), I mixed 1 part green with 2 parts red. I found that this color was a bit darker and stronger than the Sepia ink, so you might have to thin it slightly to get it to work. However, I strongly suggest that you use the Sepia India ink instead.

6.

Matte Fluid Medium

This is a product by Liquitex, but I'm sure you can find something similar in another brand. This is added to the paint to help it flow like a wash. This product is:

  • Matte, so it will dry with a matte finish instead of being glossy.
  • Fluid, so it flows like heavy cream or milk to thin the paint.
  • Medium, which means that it's a glue that will help stick the paint pigment down to the surface, even when you thin the paint down a lot.

You can find this product at most art or craft stores, right next to the artists acrylic tube paints. To the right is matte medium by Liquitex, which is pretty much exactly the same thing only packaged differently (and is more expensive). Be sure that it flows like thick milk if you buy a different brand.

7.

Slow-dri Fluid Retarder

This is used instead of water when thinning paint and ink. What it does is retard the drying of the paint so that it doesn't skin over as quickly when painting.

I found this to be very helpful when painting large sections, especially when you want your paint to act like a stain so you can wipe it off several minutes later.

I had to order this product online because my local art store did not carry it. If you cannot find this product then you will simply have to use water instead. But you will need to work a little more quickly to keep the paint from drying on you.

8.

Various Painting Supplies

These include:

  • Paper towels (lots of these).
  • Plastic cups.
  • Paintbrush, I would use a good quality 3/4" wide soft bristled brush. You should spend at least $12 for a good one.
  • Baby wipes, or flushable moist cleaning wipes. These will be used to wipe off excess stain.
  • Measuring spoons for mixing paint.
  • Rubber gloves so you don't get paint all over your hands.
  • Big piece of cardboard to lay down over your tabletop.

Painting and Staining the Walls

1.

Undercoating the Walls with White

Click on the video to watch it on YouTube.

This video shows the paint and method of undercoating the walls with white paint.

Underground Brick Painting 2
2.

The first thing we will do is to paint the wall sections white. We need to do this because the red color of the stain will not show up if painted on a dark surface.

The walls also need to be painted because otherwise the stain will soak in to the walls instead of just flowing over the surface and into the recessed texture.

For this reason, even if you are using white dental stone or plaster, you will still need to undercoat in white paint.

You may also use white spray paint instead of brushing it on but I would not recommend it. I have tried using white spray paint but if you get too much paint on, the wall texture will be glossy and not allow the stain to flow correctly. I've also found the cheap spray paint does not hold the pigment onto the walls very well and your brush will pick up a powdery white coating when you try to apply the red stain.

3.

Applying the Red Stain

Click on the video to watch it on YouTube.

This video shows the recipe for the red brick stain and how to apply it onto the brick walls.

Underground Brick Painting 3
4.

Here is the recipe for the red brick wash:

  • 2 parts matte fluid medium.
  • 1 part red oxide artists acrylic tube paint.
  • 1 part sepia India ink.
  • 2 parts slow-dri fluid retarder.

I would start by using 1 tablespoon for 1 part, so you will end up with 6 tablespoons worth of wash and that will do most of your dungeon. You can always mix up more if you need to.

5.

Be sure that you stir the ink with a paintbrush handle completely before using it.

It's also a good idea to put the lid on and shake it up a bit afterwards. For some reason the pigment settles to the bottom and should be stirred before each use.

6.

Be sure to test the stain on a spare wall section to make sure it acts correctly. When painting it on, you should see:

  • A fairly good coverage of red color on the surface.
  • No fine brush marks after leaving it for 30 second.
  • A variety of different shades of red over the whole surface.

Keep in mind that the sample in the photo still needs to have the excess ink dabbed off by scraping off the excess ink from the brush back into the cup. Click on the photo for a larger view.

7.

If your test wall section shows brush marks and does not have a variety of red shades then you need to thin the paint by adding either more matte medium or slow-dri.

If your test wall section has a light faded color then you need to add more red oxide tube paint to the mix.

Click on the photos for a larger view.

8.

Liberally apply the stain to all sides of your walls. It might be helpful if you wear a rubber glove on your left hand to keep the stain from getting all over your fingers.

Click on the photo for a larger view.

You will notice that the ink will pool up on the bottoms of the walls and above the arches.

9.

A good way to scrape the excess stain out of the brush is to tape a plastic lid down to your work surface.

Then you can scrape the excess stain out of your brush easily. This is also a good way to collect the excess stain so you can use it again without having to mix up more.

After scraping off your brush, dab off the excess ink that pools up on the bottoms of the walls and above the arches.

Painting the Stone Floor

1.

Undercoating the Floor with Dirt Color

Click on the video to watch it on YouTube.

This video shows how to mix up dirt colored paint if you cannot match the recipe given on the web site.

Underground Brick Painting 4
2.

This dirt color of paint is what we will use for the base color of the floor tiles. When you place an order for molds, we can send you a color chip of this color that you can take to your local hardware store so they can mix you up a quart of this color in flat exterior latex house paint.

However, if you can't find this color, you can always mix up your own by using raw umber acrylic artists tube paint (shown on the left). This will be mixed with white paint to make the dirt color we need.

3.

The dirt color recipe will vary depending on the kind of white paint you mix with the raw umber.

If you use white acrylic craft paint, the recipe is:

  • 1 part acrylic craft paint
  • 1 part raw umber artists acrylic tube paint
  • 1/2 part water

If you use flat white latex house paint, the recipe is:

  • 1 part flat white latex house paint
  • 1.5 parts raw umber artists acrylic tube paint
  • 1 part water

If you use white acrylic artists tube paint, the recipe is:

  • 1 part acrylic artists tube paint
  • 2 parts raw umber artists acrylic tube paint
  • 1.5 parts water
4.

Paint all of the floor sections completely with this dirt color.

The dirt color of paint should be thick enough to cover in one coat but not have noticeable brush strokes in the paint after it dries.

You may need to adjust the amount of water or paint to do this. If you have noticeable brush strokes after the paint dries, then you will see the brush strokes after you dry brush and ink wash the floor tiles.

5.

Dry Brushing the Floors

Click on the video to watch it on YouTube.

This video shows how to mix up a lighter version of the dirt color to dry brush over the floor tiles.

Underground Brick Painting 5
6.

The lighter dirt color is made by mixing the dirt color above with white paint. The recipe depends on the type of white paint you use.

If you use white acrylic craft paint, the recipe is:

  • 3 parts acrylic craft paint
  • 1 part dirt colored paint

If you use flat white latex house paint, the recipe is:

  • 2.5 parts flat white latex house paint
  • 1 part dirt colored paint

If you use white acrylic artists tube paint, the recipe is:

  • 2 parts acrylic artists tube paint
  • 1 part dirt colored paint
7.

This lighter color of paint will be dry brushed onto the floor sections. To do this, load up the brush with paint and wipe it all off onto a paper towel until it seems there is no paint left in the brush.

The very lightly brush over the surface of the floor tiles. If you can see any paint streaks, then you have too much paint on your brush. Wipe the brush off some more onto the paper towel.

Lightly brush back and forth over the entire surface of the floor tiles. If you continue to see no difference after about 10 strokes then use a little more pressure until slowly you will see the texture start to emerge from the surface of the tiles.

I like to paint a test set of tiles (the sample test in the upper part of the photo) which gives me some practice on the tiles beforehand. This sample can also be used as a guide to show me how light I should make all of my other floor sections. When the floor section I'm working on matches the sample, then I know to stop painting it.

Click on the photo for a larger version of it.

8.

Applying the Stone Floor Ink Wash

Click on the video to watch it on YouTube.

This video shows how to mix up the ink wash that is painted over the floor tiles. It also shows how to glue the wall sections down onto the finished floor tiles.

Underground Brick Painting 6
9.

Here is the recipe for the wash that will go over the floor tiles:

  • 3 parts matte fluid medium
  • 2 parts sepia India ink
  • 3 parts slow-dri fluid retarder

Using a teaspoon measure for this should make enough wash to do all of the floor tiles in this set. Also, be sure that you mix up the sepia India ink well with a paintbrush handle before pouring it.

10.

Liberally brush the ink wash onto the floor tiles. Don't forget to put wash on the sides of the sections as well.

After applying the ink, remove the excess wash by scraping out your brush and soaking it back off the surface of the tiles.

If you still have ink pooling up on the surface, dab your brush onto a paper towel to soak off the excess, then use the brush to pull the excess ink off of the surface. Click on the photo for a larger version of it.

11.

Here is a quick comparison between the floor tiles after the ink wash and before the ink wash.

I feel that the ink wash helps the stone to look like it belongs underground and gives it a slightly damp look (even though it is actually dry).

The floor without the wash looks like it belongs above the surface of the ground, or rock that has been sitting in the sun for a long time. Click on the photo for a larger view.

12.

After the wash is dry, glue the walls down onto the floors.

You can see which walls go in what position on the Brick Dungeon Building Instructions page.

Final Brick Wash and Wipe

1.

Final Brick Wash and Wipe

Click on the video to watch it on YouTube.

This video shows how to apply the final wash which is wiped off using moist baby wipes.

Underground Brick Painting 7
2.

Here is the recipe for the final wash that will go over the walls and extend over onto the floor tiles:

  • 1 part matte fluid medium
  • 2 parts sepia India ink
  • 1 part slow-dri fluid retarder

Using a tablespoon measure for this should make enough wash to do all of the walls in this set. Also, be sure that you mix up the sepia India ink well with a paintbrush handle before pouring it.

3.

Apply this dark wash completely covering the walls and just about 1/2" onto the edges of the floors.

I would do only one wall section front and back, then stop to wipe up the drips and then wipe off the surface of the brick with a moist baby wipe.

Click on the photo for a larger view.

4.

Tape a large plastic lid down to your work surface.

You can then use this to scrape the excess ink out of your brush, allowing you to dab up the excess ink.

You want to remove the excess ink wherever it pools up.

5.

After mopping up the drips, use a moist baby wipe to wipe over where the floors meet the walls, removing any excess on the floor.

Then wipe over all surfaces of the brick walls. Be sure to flip the towel around so you are using a clean side wipe the brick surface each time.

6.

On the tops of the walls, wipe the edges of the brick around the filling but do not wipe the centers.

This will darken the filling inside the brick wall to look more like dirt or rubble.

7.

This final wash will darken the cracks and add more color to the brick. Click on the photo for a larger view.

Wiping off the excess wash helps to darken the recesses much more than the face of the brick.

This allows the main details such as recessed arches and buttresses to stand out.

8.

This type of brick painting is what I have used for the Underground Brick Dungeon project.

I intend to keep using this method for all of my future projects and expansions to the dungeon.

I think that washes work better for brick than dry brushing because dry brushing ends up over frosting the edges of main elements such as buttresses and arches.