Customer Reviews

Great Paint Finishes for a Gorgeous Home

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I am an experienced trainer with the products used in this book, and I am very impressed with the range and caliber of finishes demonstrated . Each finish process utilizes a professional perspective of achieving the most visual impact with the least unnecessary steps and layers . Straight forward understandable and well illistrated processes allow the beginner to duplicate what they see and the experienced finisher to build a limitless portfolio by integrating techniques and altering color. The gallery of homes section is a wonderful tool for showing whole room settings of a finish to prospective clients. I have had to sell my personal copy 3 times in the last month to prefessional finishers and students. When I can keep my own copy for a few days, I am looking forward to adding to my own portfolio and improving the techniques I teach. Thank you Mr. Lord .

Just looking through this book has my brain reeling with all kinds of ideas for the walls throughout my little tiny house. The ideas in this book look as good for small spaces as they will for large ones. Just reading the book, I've already picked out three techniques I want to try. The book offers a list of materials for each project, tips and a really clear explanation of all the how-to steps to complete them. I heard about this book when Gary Lord was on the Discovery Channel show Home Matters. He did the technique in Chapter 7 using tissue paper on the walls. The way he prepares for this project allows you to remove the tissue at a later date when you're ready to try something different. This had always been a concern of mine when I'd see one of these wall treatments done. After all, times change and so do peoples' tastes. Can you imagine the nightmare of scraping tissue paper off the walls? Well, this book looks like it has everything under control. I'm planning on using this particular technique on a stairway wall that has a lot of cracks in it that I haven't been able to seal permanently. If you can't fix it, camoflage it!

I think this book must have been commissioned by the company that makes the specialized products used in this book. Many of the more sophisticated and complex treatments use products called Aquabond, Aquatex, Aquastone, Aquacreme, Aquacolor, etc.

There are many nice paint finishes and faux techniques in this book. The chapter on stone block is pretty awesome and I like the clear instructions on how to get the color variations in the "stone." There is also a Sand Drifts technique that is gorgeous and has the look of travertine. Several of the projects involve a lot of time, which is not unexpected with a complicated technique.

Some of the techniques are old standards - striping, combing, rag rolling, using tissue paper and even torn brown kraft paper. I have never heard of Aqua products and when I looked online, it appears that it is a product sold online through Faux specialty stores. The Aquacreme often requires tinting with Aquacolors, that then requires mixing of products.

From my brief look online, I did not see any local distributors in my area and the products seem quite costly, especially considering how much might be needed to do an entire room. For example, a quart of Aquacreme at one site was $20.95 and an 8 oz bottle of Aquacolor was $15.95 (the smallest size). Because no alternatives for these specialized products were given, I am giving this book a 3 star rating. If alternatives were given that were readily available, I would have given this book a 4.

Although the book gives many projects, most of the information on "how to" is vague. Many projects require using and mixing colorants rather than using latex paint. NOT for anyone without some professional training.

The Lord techniques, while somewhat comprehensive in their scope, do not address problem areas such as, corners, edges, lap lines, problems with product drying early, the dangers of tint products near and on carpets just to mention a few.

The advertising brochure for Aqua Finishing solutions would lead one to believe that the room painted to resemble a castle was done with Aqua products when in fact it was done with dry wall compound.

The products recommended in this book are different, and easy to use. I have been able to use oil-painting techniques (transparency, longer drying time, etc.) using water-based paints, and the clean-up time is almost non-existent. Latex paint is a thing of the past!

Great book for it's descriptions of all aspects of the techniques, i.e. photos of tools, resources, finished rooms. Plus the examples of styles and moods they create is so varied. The authors tone is concise and to the point and consistently encouraging. No girly girl stuff. Passionate, but no fru fru. Wow! Such a deal!