COMMUNITY FORUM
Over the Christmas holidays I painted my Mother's washroom with Ralph Lauren's navy coloured River Rock paint. Now it warned us that it would take two coats of paint to achieve the full affect. I read the instructions carefully and painted the washroom exactly how it said to. After two coats, it looked like hell, very streaky, like the affect of velvet has. We went out and bought another gallon of paint, and another...after lots of money spent, and 7 coats of paint, there was still streaks in some spots!!! My Mother and I were and still are very upset over this. I was thinking about going to get a clear glaze and sponging over top of the River Rock paint. Has anyone ever done this and if so, how did it turn out??? And what paint would you recommend? I would love it if someone could give me some help quick!! Thanks
Hi Echodropz,
Bummer!!! I can't help you, directly, but perhaps I can shed some light on the cause of your problem (perhaps for your benefit and that of others ...)
Ralph Lauren Paints have been 'complained' about notoriously. I hear of VERY few success stories with their paints and methods of application. So I don't recommend this brand when attempting 'exotic applications'. You need to search-out what works well and hear it from someone OTHER than a Ralph Lauren salesperson.
Prep-work goes a long way. SOmetimes, 2 coats of Primer/Sealer are needed, especially for novice painters. (The Pros know all the short-cuts and tricks.) Anyways, buying a HIGH-quality Primer/Sealer (as well as finish paint) goes a long way, especically when you're only talking about a few $$$ when it comes to a washroom. One should never skimp on material because you may get what you pay for.
And lastly, even using the best of paints can prove disasterous. The paint needs to be THOROUGHLY mixed, the walls/room needs to be dry, AND the temperature needs to be just right. Although this may sound silly, one should read the Instructions on the paint can WHILE STILL IN THE STORE to see if it, and what's being painted, will meet their needs.
All that said, you may end up having to 'start over'. If you do, DEFINITELY Prime/Seal a minimum of 2 coats since the paint is Navy-colored. Otherwise, the Navy will 'bleed through' to your topcoat. And, expect a MINIMUM of 2 topcoats for novice painters. (Even I am not that good to get away with 1 coat.)
My best to you (and others) and hope this helps.
Jay J -Moderator
PS: GOd Bless America!
Thanks for the help. I know that I 'should' strip the paint off, prime it and redo it, but that is out of the question because it's not my house. My options are either using a clear glaze and sponging or making vertical strips. The problem with the stripes may be that it won't completely cover all streaks and I probally won't get a clean crisp line due to the texture. What glaze should I use and what method would be best?
You really dont need to strip or sand the RIver Rock paint. You can actually paint right over it and with in 2-3 coats it will cover the texture.
Yours is the most common complaint about the Ralph Lauren River Rock paint. It requires very specialized application techniques that come from practice and rarely work well the first time.
You need to roll gently over the seams so that no seams appear when it is wet. If they do, roll over them lightly and quickly with just a bit of paint on your roller. Also, use big strokes and minimize the number of seams by not re-rolling up and down quickly. Big, long strokes that cover the most area in one swath are the best.
Ultimately, I decided against against the River Rock paint for this reason and others The texture is also too subtle and the little alternative, complimentary paint specks (which I liked) are not visible from far away. I also realized that the look I wanted was accomplished from faux finish techniques that used complimentary colors subtly painted on top of each other (sponge, diluted paste, or otherwise).
I ultimately just decided to use top-quality paint that creates as good a finish and cost the same or less.
[This message has been edited by Lawrence (edited March 14, 2002).]
Hello again,
well a few weeks back i fixed the walls. i went out and bought a glaze, mixed it w/ the river rock paint, 4 parts glaze, 1 part river rock, and sponged it on the walls. after about 4 coats of sponging, the walls look great!!! i got this suede-like / cloud-like effect. we're very happy with it now and we've learned our lesson: never buy ralph lauren's texturized paint!!!
Sorry to hear about the poor performance of the River Rock technique; I've heard similar horror stories about Ralph Lauren Suede.
On the positive side... I just finished a room in Ralph Lauren Denim finish, which went off without a hitch. The technique was easy, even for a beginner like me. (I used Flag Blue over Hacienda Blue, which gives a very nice navy denim look.)
Just finished using River Rock and it looks great. Didn't follow RL's directions since after reading some posts thought the public knows best. Best pieces of advice, use a very, very light touch and just divide your wall into equal columns of about 30" wide and divide that length in half. Load the roller with paint, don't be skimpy. Try not to overlap too much. If lines still appear after all dry, go over ever so lightly but with well loaded small roller. It seems to me that as I added the texture (well loaded roller) it took away the streaks. Good luck -- keep it light and it does look nice.
