joeHi Darrell, I have a question about painting on walls (drywall to be exact). I want to do a mural for my friend, can i do it with oil paint or would i have to use something else. Rob.
I paint on drywalls with the oil paints.
First off, do you have bare drywall, or do you have a painted surface?
For bare drywall.
Paint the surface of your walls with either a black primer, or a light gray primer. I do not suggest white. Paint three coats allowing each to dry. If you skip this step, you will regret it. A bare drywall will suck the life out of your medium.
Put masking tape on your borders. Paint inside the masking tape just like you would on a canvas. Take your time, because if you’ve planned ahead you know how much you can do at each setting. Again, consider your wall a hard canvas and you’ll do fine. I often paint a copy of what I want onto an 18′x24′ or 24″x36″ canvas ahead of time just to get everything planned out.
Let dry thoroughly for at least two or three weeks. Keep pets out of the room if the paintings go to the floor.
For painted walls, you will need to lighten them up if you’re using a light grey surface. So paint your wall with the light grey paint, let it dry….examine the color and add additional coats as required until the wall is a light grey. If your painting requires a dark wall, than generlly one coat of a black primer is sufficient. Verify that this statement is true after the initial coat is dry. I’ve never seen more than two coats required in this situation.
Let us know how your project turns out.
Darrell