This post is sponsored by Velvet Finishes, however all opinions are 100% mine.
You guys. You guys. You guys.
No. Really. You guys.
I did something.
I did something I wasn’t sure I could do at all. I was sure it would be an utter failure. I held my breath with each brushstroke and removal of FrogTape.
But it wasn’t a failure.
It. Was. A. WIN.
You see that plaid beauty? I painted it. It’s not a stencil, it’s not contact paper, it’s paint!
And I didn’t measure one iota of a thing to do it….because I’m lazy…and bad at math.
How to Paint a Plaid Pattern Without Measuring
Affiliate links may be contained in this post.
Materials & Supplies:
- A surface to be painted, of course. 😉
- Ready Primer
- Velvet Finishes Vivid
- Velvet Finishes Luxurious
- Velvet Finishes Timeless
- Velvet Finishes Minimalistic
- 1″ Delicate Surface FrogTape
- 1.5″ Delicate Surface FrogTape
- A Yardstick (preferably one from the Home Depot – you’ll see why in a minute – or one that is approximately 1.5″ wide)
- Protect
- Paintbrush
Step 1:
Prep your painting surface. My little table had a leopard print I stenciled on it a couple years back. It had resided on the screened-in porch, but never really got used all that often. I didn’t want to part with the table as I really liked it’s bones, so I opted to re-do it with a plaid print. First, I used Ready to prime the table.
Just spray it on, let it sit for a few minutes, then wipe down the surface. Ready will remove any shine the previous finish may have had and any dust or dirt as well.
Step 2:
Give the surface a few coats of Vivid.
Reds are always hard to even out in color, so it might take a few more coats than with other colors. It took three for my table. Let the final coat dry overnight.
Step 3:
Place your yardstick in the middle of the table. It doesn’t have to be perfect – I eyeballed mine. On each side of the yardstick run a piece of 1.5″ Delicate Surface FrogTape along the length of the table. The yardstick I have from Home Depot is almost the exact same size as the 1.5″ FrogTape, thus why I suggested it – it makes the spaces between your tape and the tape almost identical in size, thus no measuring!
You do want to make sure you use Delicate Surface tape as this paint is still relatively fresh. Delicate Surface tape is made for painted surfaces that are just a few days old.
After running two pieces of FrogTape along each side of the yardstick, remove the yardstick and place it on one side of either piece of tape, then run another piece of tape along the side of the yardstick that doesn’t have tape.
Continue moving your yardstick and running your tape until your table has strips of tape all across it as shown above.
After all your tape has been ran, firmly run your finger or a credit card edge along the edges of the FrogTape to seal it. Do not skip this step! If you don’t do this, you risk having the paint bleed through the tape.
Step 4:
Paint two coats of Luxurious in between the tape pieces on your surface.
Remove the FrogTape immediately after brushing on your final coat. Let dry overnight.
Step 5:
Place your yardstick in the center of the surface perpendicular to the black stripes you painted. Once more, run two pieces of 1.5″ Delicate Surface FrogTape along both sides of the yardstick.
Just like you did before, move the yardstick to one side of a tape strip and then place another tape strip along the other edge of the yardstick. Repeat this over the entire surface until your surface resembles the image shown below.
Remember to firmly press down along the edges of the FrogTape after you have applied it to seal the edges.
Step 6:
Using the 1″ Delicate Surface FrogTape, cover the black stripes on your surface.
The easiest way I found to do this was to take a piece of the 1″ FrogTape and run it along on edge of the black and then run another piece of tape along the other edge of the black. The tape will overlap in the middle. Repeat this until your Luxurious stripes are covered and you have lots of little squares. Once more, remember to firmly push down on the edges of the FrogTape to seal it.
Step 7:
Within the squares you created with the tape, paint a couple coats of Timeless.
Remove the FrogTape immediately after applying your final coat. Your surface should look similar to the image below after you remove the tape.
Let dry overnight.
Step 8:
Using the 1″ Delicate Surface FrogTape, run strips of tape just a little outside each black edge. This should create small lines of black within the tape as shown below. Once more, I didn’t measure this at all – I just eyeballed it.
Firmly seal the edges of the tape with your finger or the edge of a credit card.
Step 9:
Brush on a couple coats of Minimalistic between the tape where the black is.
Immediately remove the tape after your final coat. Let it dry overnight.
Step 10:
Repeat the previous two steps above, except this time on the gray areas on your surface.
Paint Minimalistic between the pieces of tape. Remove the tape after your final coat. Let dry overnight.
Step 11:
Velvet Finishes paint does not always require an additional topcoat as there is already a topcoat built into the paint. However, if you have painted something that is going to get a lot of action and use, then an additional topcoat is suggested. I plan on this going into either the den/man cave or Bill’s room as a side table or night stand at the 70’s Landing Pad, so I opted for the extra protection.
I just brushed on one coat of Protect to give the surface more protection and even a bit of shine.
This table turned out more awesome than I ever dreamed. I fully realize that sounds corny and I fully don’t give a damn.
Ok, what are you going to plaid up?
You might also want to see…
How to Make Furniture Glaze in Any Color
Disclosure: This post was a collaboration with Velvet Finishes, however all opinions and over-excitement about painting a plaid pattern all by myself are 100% mine.