My fireplace surround is stark white and tends to look dirty easily. I don't want to paint it, but had seen something that looked like a stain, sort of collected a bit more in the grout. This stuff is very porous. Any ideas, instructions and/or instructional websites would be greatly appreciated. I'd like to save money and do it myself, but would like to be told if this is something that could be easily messed up and better left to a professional.
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1 response so far ↓
1 mary ann // Apr, 2008
You could try using a wood stain-I would go with a very light walnut shade. You should have your brush almost dry when you start to dapple on. In other words, dip the brush, then wipe til only a tiny bit of stain remains in the bristles. Start in an inconspicuous place in case you don't like how it looks. Wait until your first "experiment" dries before proceeding. The color is always lighter after the stain dries. Even better would be to try and find a piece of precast with the same texture/color as your surround so you could practice on it first. You can put the stain on and then wipe off immediately for a very light color, or leave longer for darker. Faux painting is faux painting…it's hard to mess up…it just looks different from one project to the next. If you are really worried about the porosity of the surround, seal it with a clear sealer before staining. Also try checking websites of paint/stain companies. They want their product to look good, so they will give you good advice on how to proceed.
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