How To's: Wall Stenciling Tips
Stenciling Wall Borders
Acknowledgment:
This information was prepared for you by Tracy DeGarmo, Former President of
The Stenciling Round Table, Certified Stenciler.
Surface
It is best to stencil on flat to satin finish
walls. You can stencil on the glossier paint finishes, but it is much more
difficult. You can also stencil on wallpapered walls or stencil on blank wallpaper
and hang it (this is a good alternative for when you have semi-gloss or glossier paint
finishes on your walls).
Preparation
Whenever you are wall stenciling, you
really should begin by correctly preparing the wall to insure ease of stenciling and long
wear-ability. Begin with a clean dry wall. If the walls have been recently
painted, allow the paint to cure for 2 weeks before stenciling.
Stencil Placement
You will begin your stenciling in
the corner that is opposite the door to the room (this is the most dominate corner).
If you wish, you may just go ahead and begin stenciling, but you may have to deal
with stenciling in the corners which can be a frustrating ordeal. Or, if you follow
the instructions below, you can avoid having to bend your stencil to fit into a corner.
Measure the wall from one corner to the other (either left or
right). Divide this measurement by the length of the repeat of the stencil.
The length of the repeat of the stencil is usually given on the package of the stencil,
but can be determined by measuring from one of the openings of the stencil to it's
corresponding registration mark.
A good beginner's way to measure this (and to get in a bit of practice) is to
lay the stencil on a long piece of paper (like
fan-fold computer paper, the matte side of freezer paper or roll butcher paper) and
stencil the design onto the paper and then stencil it again next to the first one.
Select a particular piece of the stencil and measure the distance between the piece you
chose and that same piece in the second stenciling. This measurement is the length
of the repeat. Take this number and divide it into the length of the wall.
The number you come up with is the number of times you will have to stencil the design on
that wall.
If the number you end up with has a remainder that is less
than half the length of the repeat, divide the remainder by the number of repeats. *This
is the amount of space you should put between each application of your stencil to stretch
it out to cover more length of wall than if you just stenciled normally.
If the remainder is greater than half of the length of the repeat,
subtract the remainder from the length of the repeat and then divide this number by the
number of repeats. *This is the amount of overlap you will need to squeeze the
repeats together.
*This stretching or squeezing is usually no more that ½" to
1" per repeat for a full wall; something not too noticeable. You will have to
do this measurement technique for each wall in the room.
Irregular Rooms
If you have a room that is
irregularly shaped or has obstacles, "map out" your stenciling on long sheets of
paper (like computer paper or butcher paper) so that you can plan the best placement of
the stenciling. This also gives you ample practice plus the opportunity to hang the
paper on your walls for a couple of days while you decide if the design and colors are
right. Once you get more confident of your measuring skills, just mapping out your
room on graph paper works well.
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