Fay's Tips

How would I seal and exterior mural?	There are several things to consider when deciding on a sealer. ie, is the building wood, stucco, cinder block or special siding? If the building is wood or other siding you can purchase Krylon CLEAR sealer in a spray can, labeled interior/exterior that is absolutely clear. Anything else will turn yellow and ruin the appearance of the mural. It happened to me with a light colored faux finish I did on a bathroom floor. Of course it may be costly to do this if the mural takes up the entire side of a building. I would suggest you purchase exterior grade paint to do your mural. You could purchase small individual colors, OR a can of white which you would divide into as many tubs or jars as the individual colors you plan to use. you would then add bottled acrylic colors to the white, slowly, until you attain the color you are wanting. Sealable containers would be best so the paint can be sealed and used again once mixed. Try to keep a record of the amount of white and how many drops or spoons of color you added to the white to get that particular color for mixing at least an approximate duplicate of that color. Since the exterior paint is the same consistency of bottled acrylic you would use the same method to stencil with it. I'm sure Victoria's stencils have those instructions. If not, contact her and she will give you the details.
Doing a Mural on Stucco or Brick	If you are doing the mural on a stucco, brick, cinder block or other type of material such as these you could seal the mural with concrete sealer, which also dries absolutely clear and water repellent. Any of these sealers will give you a somewhat shiny finish, however. Again, the use of an exterior paint should eliminate the need for sealing. Years ago I made window boxes that I painted with exterior paint and stenciled with stencils creams that lasted without sealing and the boxes wore out. I just made new boxes to go under the windows in my apartment and used the plaster stencil for a contrasting design. I plan to use the concrete sealer on the last one I made, so if you aren't going to be ready to seal in the next week or so I can also let you know how the concrete sealer works on the wood as well. I'm always game to try new things and pass on the information if I find it works well. If you are stenciling inside with bottle acrylic or with stencil creams, which are oil based you can use a bottled sealer labeled as such in the section with the bottled acrylic paints. You can also get this in a matte, (non shiny) finish. The purpose for sealing is to protect against damage in washing a wall.
What can I use to do plaster stenciling on hollow wood doors?	surface for applying the stencil and spraying the sealer. They could easily be re-hung once they are totally dry and no mess inside. I hope this has helped you. If you have other questions, please feel free to email me and happy plastering. vertafay@yahoo.com
Creating a stenciled "screen".	You can buy window or door screening, metal or synthetic at any hardware store and as Victoria said you could stencil through the screen, spray paint through it as Carol suggested, but do get a handle for the spray can which has a trigger that allows better control of the paint. Also, make sure you keep a good distance from your door to avoid running of the paint. If you have one available an airbrush would be great as well. There is no reason any of these methods should fail, although the stencil brush would probably be more sure of being successful.
Various Mediums for Plaster Stenciling	To answer your question about the different materials. Spackle, basically used to fill nail holes or very small cracks in a wall. The most durable for plaster stencils. Plaster, used to do hard plaster finish on walls which I have in my house. Dries very hard. Joint compound, used to tape and texture dry wall materials on the house walls. Good for plaster stencils. If you have a "wet" area you are plastering the plaster would do fine. I would use about 1 Tsp. of glue per cup. Hope this helps.
From one of our helpful Customers! Using "Spackle" for Plaster Stenciling!	Hi Patrick, In a kitchen for a backsplash you need something that is definitely non-yellowing. Almost every varnish or polyurethane does yellow to some degree. I use "Patio Paints" (brand name acrylic paints) They have a clear sealer that is great. Also, it dries quickly and after 10 days of curing without being washed this paint becomes weather and dishwasher safe. Water just tends to bead up and run off so it should also be easy clean up when dirty. I used this sealer on my mailbox and it has snowed and rained on it and hasn't dulled the finish in the least. This can be used and dry in minutes opposed to varnish or poly. Hope this helps. It would certainly be dry enough for anyone to view by January 10th. Good luck! Fay
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