Country Painting - The Preparation of Supports -

In Country Painting, the preparation of surfaces is important to achieve a SUPER result!

Country Painting can be applied to any type of surface; the technique remains the same, the only thing that changes is the preparation of the support being used.

Generally, we can distinguish two types of supports:

• “Porous” supports, such as wood, raw biscuit ceramic, fabric.

• “Smooth” supports like glass, glazed ceramic, and metal.

For all surfaces, I use only one product, the Multipurpose Sealer by Decoart.

THE POROUS SUPPORTS

These supports could also be used as they are, without any preparation … because the color, when painting on an already “rough” surface, “grabs” naturally… but, by using the Multipurpose, you have the possibility to save time, color, and achieve a practically perfect basecoat. 

Let's look at them together in detail:

• WOODEN SUPPORTS

The first thing I do when working on wood is to give it a light sanding with a fine sandpaper, usually I use a n°240. Then with a brush or roller I apply a coat of Multipurpose, let it dry (or speed up the drying with a hairdryer) then sand again with finer sandpaper (n°600) always following the direction of the wood grain.

The question that arises spontaneously is: why do I have to do all these operations?

Simply put: wood is a “living” surface. When it comes into contact with paints/varnishes (which are obviously wet), the “hair” of the wood swells and raises, becoming extremely rough and uneven.

You may have found yourself making a base or a gradient on such an uneven surface... how did it turn out? Perhaps... good... but not great!

The Multipurpose used on wood serves to prepare and stabilize the substrate so that it absorbs less color during the application of the basecoat.

Sanding allows us to achieve a perfectly smooth surface, making the application of the basecoat faster, yielding an excellent final result, and also prevents excessive wear on the bristles of the brushes (which let me tell you... considering their cost, it's not bad to treat them well and make them last longer!)

• THE RAW BISCUIT CERAMIC AND TERRACOTTA SUPPORTS

Both the raw Biscuit Ceramic (the white one, to be clear) and Terracotta are porous surfaces. Unlike wood, when in contact with colors they do not become much rougher, but they still absorb a lot of color. To remedy this issue, before using them I soak them in water and let them dry naturally. Once dry, I apply a coat of Multipurpose Sealer and once it’s dry, I lightly sand with very fine sandpaper (n°600).

• FABRIC SUPPORTS

Painting on fabric is really super fun and less complicated than you might imagine!

The preparation is really very simple, before painting I wash it by hand simply with water and soap to remove the sizing and to let it come back so that it stabilizes. After that, once dry, I iron it so that all the fibers flatten out. 

This way I can transfer the drawing guidelines and start painting the basecoat by working on a smooth and lint-free surface!

SMOOTH SUPPORTS

Supports such as glass, metal, and glazed ceramic, having a smooth surface, require a “bonding agent” that allows the color we are going to apply to stay anchored to the surface.

Their preparation is very simple:

• first, I wash the support with water and soap, possibly “degreasing” it with some alcohol 

• after that, in this case too, I use Decoart's Multipurpose Sealer.

• it is very important to let the Multi-Purpose dry completely before applying the basecoat.

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Happy Painting 🎨

Paola