Wall Stencils: Advice From a Pro

A sample stencil from a MB Historic Décor catalog. The company uses Mylar sheets to recreate stencil patterns from antique homes. The Stencil Hold your stencil to the light and make sure all the holes are popped out. If not, poke them out with a pointed object. Place #2 stencil over #1 and align it using the register marks (small holes that are not part of the pattern). With your indelible pen, trace the outline of an outer shape, at either end, from the first stencil onto the second one. These will be a lot easier to use when applying the second color than the registers would be. Spray the backside of the stencil with adhesive and use according to directions. Stick it to the wall. Painting Put out about a tablespoonful of paint. Get your brush into it and work it up into the bristles on a clean part of the palette. Wipe your brush gently on all sides of the paper towel to make sure no excess is on the edge. Wipe the blunt bristles gently. Little pigment should come off. A very "dry brush" technique reduces the likelihood of excess paint causing mistakes. There is always a delicate balance between where "elbow grease" should give way to more paint. Each person must determine the comfort zone from the danger zone by making small mistakes. Rotate your hand in a clockwise/counterclockwise motion, keeping the bristles of the brush perpendicular to the wall. Start at the edges of the stencil and move in toward the middle of the openings. Cleaning The Stencils Clean the stencil only when paint smears on the back, the pattern gets "gummy" and small holes and slits clog up, or when you take an extended break. For oil paint, pour some solvent in the pan. Put the brush in the solvent. The pattern is on the cardboard. Lift the brush out of the solvent and clean the pattern with it. Carefully blot or wipe the front and back of the pattern with paper towels. Use proper ventilation. For water base paint, clean the pattern in the sink on the flat with fingers or green Scotch-Brite scouring pad. When cleaning the stencil always use a flat surface. Be careful of vulnerable places such as serrated leaves and long curved openings. A bristle brush works well with the solvent. For oil paint, clean on a flat piece of cardboard. Blot the back and front carefully with paper towels. For water base paint, clean in a sink on the flat with a scrub brush, Scotch-Brite or fingers with soap and water or Simple Green for stubborn paint. If using the stencil again right away, be certain the back is totally clean and dry. Adhesive spray on the back of the stencil will dissolve with paint thinner. Repairing A Stencil If you do have the misfortune to tear a stencil, Scotch tape across the place back and front. If you break off a piece, for example, a point of a leaf, stick both sides with Scotch tape over the missing part so the faces stick together and re-cut it with a single edge blade knife on a pane of glass for a background. Freeing Up Stencil You may bend one corner up to have a "tab" to start pulling the stencil from the surface. Take care to free up and away from your work. Do so gently so as not to stress it and cause it to tear. Maintaining Your Brush After you have been stenciling awhile, your brush will get "gummy". To fix this, either take a baby wipe or put some solvent on a folded paper towel in the palm of your hand and pass the brush across it closing your hand around it. Brush the tips of the bristles too. Be very careful with solvent! It can cause too wet paint and a great mess very easily. If a few drops of thinner must be added to the paint, mix it thoroughly with your palette knife. Never go directly into it with your brush while painting. Do go into it at the end of the day and clean your brush very well ending with soap and water. Do not use again until dry. Fat Over Thin This rule means that you can paint oil (fat) over latex (thin) with success, but not to reverse the procedure as in acrylic (thin) over oil base background paint (fat). Fixing Mistakes On a latex wall using acrylic paint, try wiping clean with water and cotton swabs or paper towels and/or paint over the area with the original shade of latex paint. You can paint over huge areas and start over! In this case a hair dryer comes in handy to speed the paint drying time. On an oil-base paint wall, use a solvent on paper towels and wipe clean. Follow with cleaning agents for large sections. For small places try wiping back with cotton swabs. Allow your wall paint to be totally cured before stenciling. Attempting to stick anything to it may pull it off.

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