Stencil Brushes

BASIC SUPPLIES

Spray Adhesive

STENCIL BASIC

The Royal Design Studio Stencil Collection features a versatile array of allover wall stencil patterns, borders, panels, and motifs that can be mixed and matched to create whole room treatments, or simply used to create colorful accents on everything from furniture to floors. When combined with the wide range of decorative finishing products from the decorative painting products available in our Paint & Create Decorative Paint store online, your creative options are almost limitless.

Most of our single layer stencils are cut from 10mil mylar: the industry standard that is a high quality, durable and easy-to-clean plastic. With proper care you should be able to use your stencils over and over for a wide variety of projects.

The key to a successful painting project is to properly prepare your surface, assemble the finest materials, gather the best tools, and practice! Decorative stencil techniques are easy to master, but I highly recommend that you practice these techniques on paper or poster board prior to tackling a larger project.

For MORE Stencil Tips and Techniques please visit our How To Stencil pages at:

http://www.royaldesignstudio.com/pages/how-to-stencil

Our Signature Stencil Brushes are designed specifically for the purpose of easily controlling & applying paint through a stencil pattern and are the best stencil brushes available. They feature a circular head of densely packed, soft, natural bristles.

Choose your brush size according to the size of the stencil pattern you are using, and how much you need to control and limit the application of your paint colors. For stenciling larger designs and areas with a single color, a larger 2” brush will be your choice. If you want to apply color selectively in smaller spaces, smaller brushes will do the trick.

Repositionable Spray Adhesive is not necessary for

most stencil projects. Spray adhesive is most helpful

when stenciling in corner areas and ceilings. Please

note: Spray Adhesive will NOT keep paint or plaster

that is applied too heavily from seeping under your

stencil edges!We recommend 3M Super-77 Multipurpose

Spray Adhesive. To use, lay your stencil out in a

well-ventilated, well-protected area. Hold the can

about 12” away and mist the back lightly with

the adhesive. Allow to set up for a few minutes

before applying to your surface. Avoid applying

an excessive amount of adhesive at once. This can

leave excess residue on your surface. Reapply the

adhesive as necessary throughout your project.

✓ Royal Design Studio Signature Stencil Brushes✓ Blue painter’s tape✓ Spray adhesive (optional)✓ Good quality paper towel (such as Bounty) ✓ Paint medium of your choice

We highly recommend our Royal Stencil Cremes; the ultimate stencil paint designed specifically for brush stenciling.

Enjoy!

Melanie Royals

INSTRUCTIONS

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Dry-Brush Stenciling Method 1-2-3

STENCILING METHODS

Stippling Stencil Method

You can achieve a wide range of different looks, from dramatic and opaque to soft and sheer, by stenciling with Royal Stencil Cremes. Other popular paint options include Chalk Paint™ decorative paint, latex wall paint and craft acrylic paint.

The most useful stenciling technique is the “dry brush” stencil method. It can be used with all types of paint recommended above.

1. Pour out a small amount of paint into a small, shallow container or plate. Using a straight up-and-down motion, dip just the tip of the brush into the paint.

2. Immediately “offload” excess paint by rubbing the brush very firmly onto several layers of good quality, absorbent paper towels in a hard circular motion. This action helps to distribute the paint evenly on the brush and removes excess paint, leaving the brush in “drier” state, which is the key to successful stenciling.

3. Apply the paint to your surface using a soft, circular motion with the brush. Control the depth of color by applying more or less pressure to the brush, and by building up additional layers of paint.

The dry brush method will allow you to apply a nice, smooth layer

of paint to your surface while maintaining a clean, crisp edge to the stenciled print. Using a

brush with too much paint on it will cause the excess paint to be pushed under the stencil. Always remember to off-load your brush each time you add more paint!

DRY BRUSH TIP:

Stippling or “pouncing” is another useful stenciling technique. It provides a way to add additional color or even texture to the look of your stenciling as the pouncing motion creates a more uneven, grainy look.

For stippling you will load the brush in the same manner, dipping the brush straight in and applying just to the tips of the bristles. You will still want to “offload” the excess paint, but you can leave a little more paint on the brush for this method.

Dab the brush straight up and down through the stencil, focusing more time and pressure on the areas that you want to deposit the greatest amount of color.

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Stenciling with Stencil Rollers

Roller Stenciling Steps:

1. Put a small amount of paint into a paint tray. Hint: Line the paint tray with a leftover plastic bag for easy cleanup later!

2. Load your paint roller well by rolling it through the paint, and rolling it repeatedly over the textured part of the paint tray. This ensures that the paint is evenly distributed on and throughout your roller. It’s best to start by getting the roller evenly and fully saturated with paint for an even application.

3. Remove excess paint from the roller by rolling it a few times over a folded stack of absorbent paper towels or butcher’s paper. This step is KEY! This will help to ensure that your roller doesn’t have an excessive amount of paint on it, which may seep under your stencil edges.

4. Roll through the stencil with a light to medium pressure. Don’t press TOO hard with the roller, or you will risk pushing excess paint under the stencil edges. Be patient! Start lightly and build up paint and pressure as you go. Loosen the tape at one corner and carefully pull back the stencil to check and see how well your paint is transferring the pattern.

BRUSH TIP: You can also use a combination of roller AND brush stenciling. Use the paint roller to apply paint through the stencil quickly and finish off with brush stenciling at the edges for a clean, crisp look.

TIP! Roller stenciling with a foam roller works best on flat wall surfaces. For roller stenciling on lightly textured walls, we recommend using a short-nap nylon roller. Both are available in our Stencil Supplies area of our website. Using stencil spray adhesive isn’t always necessary, but you may find it useful for larger stencils, especially when stenciling at the corners and ceiling line. Spray just a light misting on the back of the stencil and allow it to “set up” for a few minutes before stenciling to avoid leaving excess adhesive on your surface.

5. When you have transferred the paint to the desired level, remove and reposition your stencil to continue with your pattern. If you are offloading your roller you will be applying a VERY thin layer of paint, which will dry quickly. Each time you reload the roller, be sure to go through the same steps to offload the roller so that you are always applying a thin, even layer of paint.

Stenciling with a dense foam or short nap roller is a fairly simple and efficient way to stencil a wall. It can be a good choice especially if you are just using one color of paint and want to achieve a solid color and “graphic” look and the stencil pattern areas are quite large.

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CLEAN UP & CARE FOR YOUR TOOLS

Brush Cleaning

Stencil Cleaning

Cleaning products suitable for cleaning or removing latex-based paints such as Simple Green, Murphy’s Oil Soap or Mostenbacher’s Lift-Off #5 Latex Paint Remover can be used for both brush and stencil cleaning.

Clean Stencil Brushes immediately after use. Do not allow paint to dry out in your brush. Use dish detergent or Murphy’s Oil Soap for best results. Apply it to the brush and rub the brush out in a circular motion on a Stencil Brush Scrubber until all the paint is removed.

Brush Cleaning TIP: Avoid soaking

your brushes as this can damage the

ferrule over time, causing the metal

to split or the glue to loosen. Allow

stencil brushes to dry completely before reusing.

Stencil Cleaning TIP: For the best project results, clean your stencil often while working as paint or product starts to build up on the surface. Pat dry and continue.

Your stencil features an easy-to-clean, mylar surface. To clean, remove all tape and allow the stencil to lie flat, if possible. Spray with a cleaning agent, allow to soak for a few minutes, and use a nylon scrub brush to gently scrub the paint off the surface. Clean both sides. Stubborn areas can be further cleaned with a Scoth-Brite® sponge or pad. Take care not to bend any pointy areas of the stencil back as you are cleaning.

ALLOVER WALL STENCIL PATTERNS

Allover and damask stencil patterns allow you to create inexpensive, custom wallpaper effects. When stenciling a symmetrical pattern on a feature or main wall, be sure to start with the design centered on the wall so that it ends the same at each corner.

Whether you are simply stenciling an allover stencil pattern on a single “feature wall” or wrapping your stencil design around the room, you will want your design to finish off nicely in the corners.

Managing Corners

When you reach a corner, run a piece of blue painter’s tape along the edge of the opposite wall surface. This will allow you to push the stencil into the corner tightly and use a smaller stencil brush to stencil the pattern right into the corner. Allow the stencil to hang loose on the side of the all you are NOT stenciling.

Remove the tape and affix the stencil to the unpainted wall, lining up the stencil where it meets the pattern on the previously stenciled wall. Allow the stencil to hang loose now on the previously stenciled wall.

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All of our allover wall stencils utilize a built-in registration that ensures perfect pattern alignment across a wall or surface. Each allover stencil package includes detailed, illustration instructions for repeating the stencil perfectly.