Painting Brick: Opaque or Translucent Finishes

Do you have a Brick Wall or Brick Fireplace you'd like to change the look of? You should consider either painting it a solid opaque color or whitewashing it for a more translucent appearance.

1. Painting Brick
2. Whitewashing Brick

Painting Brick

You can paint Brick any color if you prefer a solid tone or appearance. Over the years white, gray, black and taupe have been the most popular color choices in my experience.

Whitewashing Brick

As the name implies you are literally washing the brick with diluted white paint. Some of the old brick finish will show through the whitewash application. This is similar to a deck that has a semi-translucent stain applied which allows the wood grain to show through.

Floor & Wall Protection

Before starting a project like this you must protect the area with plastic and drop cloths, preferably vinyl, so the water & paint won't soak through. Use a quality masking tape, such as Frog Tape, to protect the walls, woodwork, and floors. Rolls of plastic is also a useful option.

Clean The Brick Before Painting or White Washing

1. Use a dry scrub brush and a coarse sanding sponge to remove any loose or flaking materials.
2. Wash the brick & grout (using cotton rags) thoroughly with grease-cutting dish soap, eco-friendly soaps, or TSP if you need a strongerrichard mille rm35 02 rm35 02 026 unknown men diamond bezel cleaning option.  Use one (1) cup of TSP per gallon of hot water. Rubber gloves and eye protection is a must when applying TSP. Let the cleaning agent sit for a few minutes before scrubbing. Use a plastic scrub brush of a narrow size to get into the grout grooves. You can also wet your sanding sponge or use a larger scrub brush for the brick. Rinse with warm water after cleaning.

Painting Brick

We use high-quality acrylic paint with a flat sheen for brick. Good quality paints hide better and don't drip (or run)  as much as cheaper brands. When painting brick you have a few options to apply the paint such as a sprayer, paint roller or paint brush. A paint sprayer will apply the paint faster but you still have to work it into the brick with a brush. Same for rolling; I always back-brush and work the paint into the grooves. I  find that an angled 2.5" paint brush does a great job but a flat brush will do a good job too. Allow the first coat of paint to dry for 4-6 hours before applying the 2nd coat. Brick is a porous substrate so it may take two or three coats of paint to do the job, especially along the grout lines.

How To Whitewash Brick

1. Prepare a whitewash solution of white flat paint by diluting with a 50/50 mixture of warm water. Another option is a mixture of 50% flat white paint  +25% water + 25% waterbased glaze. If you want less of the brick to show through use a greater percentage of white paint. Play around with it and do a test in an inconspicuous area to see how it looks. It's always easier to make it more opaque by applying another coat of the whitewash. If you want it whiter looking do another coat or apply thicker paint.

2. Apply the whitewash paint with a 3" chip brush or large 3" paint brush of your choosing. Use a 2.5" angled paintbrush for "cutting in" the areas near the walls. You have more control with an angular sash brush. Start at the top of the wall or fireplace and work your way down. The diluted whitewash is more drippy than regular paint so it's better to drip onto the unfinished parts. Do small sections at a time starting with the grout lines and next apply to the brick faces. I'd keep it to a one or two square foot area at a time or divide it into small sections of a few rows.

3. "Wash" the paint quickly after applying the diluted paint in a patting or dabbing fashion with crumpled up paper towels or cotton rags. Wiping will give it a more uniform look. Dabbing seems to be the traditional method to remove the excess.. As the name implies, you want a 'washed' look NOT a 'painted' look.

4. If you find the paint absorbing into the brick and drying too fast you can fill up a spray bottle of water and spritz the surface lightly before applying the whitewash.

Tips: The thicker the whitewash you apply the more dabbing or removing of the paint you will do. Buy some bricks beforehand and test out a few wiping methods and dilution % of the paint. 50/50 is the best solution to start with. Allow the brick fireplace or wall to dry 24 hours before judging how it looks.

Optional: If you want the brick sealed with a clear coat I can recommend Modern Masters Dead Flat Varnish. Wait for 48hours before applying the water-based clear poly.