Go Paint Something!

Question:

Michael,

Your work is awesome.  I hope you can help with my dilema.

I would like to stain the bricks on the front entry  of my house.  The rest of the house is finished with  shake.

Can you recommend a product to me?  I just want to tone down the orangey color of the brick.  I was  considering trying a spray  system (Set to a spatter)in order to achieve a grainy appearance, and possible stipple over it.  I had a faux painting business for 12 years staining brick is new to my experience.

I have a spray gun and compressor and I am considering masking over the grout by holding a piece of cardboard in one hand and the spray gun in another.

I’d appreciate any advice and would like to buy the product from you if you have something that would work.  Do you have a sealer that would work for brick?

Any thoughts on technique would also be appreciated.

Thanks very much.
Kathleen

Answer:

Kathleen,

Simple. Just have the brick replaced. Kidding!!!

OK, not a real viable option. Here’s what I would do: make a glaze out of using silicate paint. Silicate, or mineral paint, is formulated to be used specifically on concrete, stucco, brick, etc. - basically, inorganic surfaces. It won’t fade, and it won’t peel - ever!

The paint is thinned with what is basically liquid silicate. It looks like fat-free milk, kinda thin and blue-ish white. I would tint this dilution with some Mixol Oxide tints and apply it to the brick. If you use a short-nap roller cover, you could simply roll it on, and not have to worry about repainting the mortar joints. If you want a little thicker consistency, just thin down some of the paint, tint it, and have at it.

If you are really wanting to repaint the mortar joints, do the same thing: roll on the brick color that you want, then go back with a nice heavy brush (one of my XL angled brushes would work great!) and simply paint the mortar joints.

Keim Mineral Systems is probably the world’s largest and best manufacturer of silicate paint. You can get more info by going to Keim.com, or you can contact…

Tom Tipps at KEIM Mineral Coatings of America, Inc.
10615 Texland Blvd # 600 
Charlotte, NC  28273-6201 
Tom Tipps cell phone:  505-400-1257 
email:  tom.tipps@keim.com

Be sure and tell ‘em I sent you. Not sure what good it will do you, but you never know!

Now, go paint something!

Michael Cooper
www.muralsupplies.com

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