Color wash

Example of a color wash in multiple hues

A color wash is a popular technique in faux painting using paint thinned out with glaze to create a subtle wash of color over walls or other surfaces.

Color washing is an easy and forgiving form of faux finishing often used by beginners, but perfected by professional finishers. It was historically created with oil-based products because of the long drying time, but today's environmental and health conscious companies are producing user-friendly water based glazes. Color washing can be done in any color of paint and is generally applied with brushes over a solid paint color, using long sweeping strokes to meld the glaze colors together.