When creating a mural art, acrylic paints are the best choice due to their quick-drying and flexibility properties. They can be used on almost all surfaces like floors and walls, and there is no staining or discoloration of the wall with acrylic. There are several different types of paints available for indoor murals, with acrylic being the most suitable for smaller areas and detail work. Latex paint is perfect for covering large surfaces.
To paint a wall mural, you will need brushes, paints, rags/paper towels, a bucket of water for cleaning brushes, string for measuring, and a stepladder. Outdoor walls are popular for mural painting due to their large canvas and the opportunity to share artwork with the community. However, indoor walls can also be used, especially if you want to create a unique and visually appealing piece.
For indoor projects, use good indoor house paint, such as latex-based paint, which offers the best resistance to smudges and other imperfections. Self-priming latex paint is also a good choice for wall murals due to its slow drying time and easy blendability. Acrylic paints are cheaper than oils, readily available in large quantities, and have a long-lasting shelf life.
Whether you’re painting on a large canvas and attaching it to a wall or directly onto the wall itself, acrylic paints are highly versatile and durable. To transform a ho-hum wall into a conversation piece, follow these steps:
- Create an underpainting to block in main areas of color.
- Choose acrylic paint for smaller areas and detail work.
- Use latex paint for larger surfaces, as it has a slow drying time and is easier to blend.
- Follow the tips provided by interior designers to create a custom wall mural.
📹 What’s the best Paint to use for Murals and Street Art
The video is all about the best paint to use for murals (indoor/outdoor) and street art. Below have a list of links that will direct you to …
What primer to use for indoor murals?
It is this author’s recommendation that LOXON Concrete and Masonry Primer and ZINSSER Bulls Eye 1-2-3 Water-Based Primer be used for the purpose of ensuring quality construction.
Can I use acrylic paint on an indoor wall mural?
Mural painting, derived from the French word “mur”, encompasses techniques like fresco, encaustic, mosaic, stained glass, and photography. Acrylic paints are versatile and durable for both exterior and interior settings. Mural surfaces can be masonry, plaster, brick, concrete, sheetrock, wood and board, or metal. Before painting, consider permission, the wall’s intended permanence, and potential relocation.
Consider using a canvas that can be stretched or installed, and ensure the subject matter is suitable for the eyes. If the wall is new, ensure the plaster/masonry is structurally sound and not too loose. Additionally, ensure the surface is damp to prevent paint from peeling.
Which type of primer is best for interior walls?
Shellac-Based Primer is a stain-blocking primer suitable for surfaces like metals, glossy, plastics, ceramic tiles, and varnished surfaces. It provides excellent adhesion and can work on damaged wall surfaces. Bonding Primer is ideal for surfaces like bare wood, drywall, tiles, and glass that require extra adhesiveness for longer paint retention. Its water-based formula quickly dries off and has a non-reflective finish.
Stain-Blocking Primer is a popular primer type for interior and exterior painting, blocking resin or tannin bleeding from walls and wood, and concealing watermarks and kitchen stains. It provides appropriate adhesiveness and durability.
What type of paint is best for interior walls?
Eggshell paint is a popular choice for interior walls, particularly in living rooms and dining rooms, as it offers a balance between glossy paint’s easy maintenance and matte paint’s ability to cover imperfections. However, it is more difficult to touch up later than matte paint, causing visible splotches when not painted the entire wall. Semi-gloss finish is more suitable for millwork, such as trim for windows and doors or kitchen cabinets, as it is easier to clean and attracts more fingerprints. Some manufacturers have introduced matte or flat paints that are as easy to wash as eggshell paints.
Do you need to seal indoor murals?
Sealing a wall mural is crucial to protect it from damage like sunlight, stains, and scuffs, especially in high-traffic areas. Even the best custom murals can tear or fade if left unprotected. The sealant you choose depends on the type of mural, such as wall-size photo murals or custom-painted murals. Polyurethane is recommended for indoor projects, while varnish, a UV-resistant option, is better for outdoor murals.
What materials are used to paint indoor murals?
Mural painting is a popular wall décor option that uses pattern, print, and color to create a striking focal point in any room. It can be created using paper towels, graphite pencil, drop cloth, wall stencils, and painter’s tape. Geometric patterns, repeating lines, shapes, and angles, are popular in teen bedrooms and play areas for their organization and fun. These patterns can be created using painters tape and can range from chevrons to lines and zigzags. Primary colors can be used to brighten up dark rooms, making it a great project for beginners and those concerned about their ability to paint large surfaces by hand.
How to seal a painted wall mural?
Polyurethane is recommended for indoor projects, while varnish, a UV-resistant option, is better for outdoor murals. Avoid using oil-based sealants that yellow as they age, as they take several hours to dry and yellow. Instead, use water-based archival matte varnish, which protects the mural without yellowing. Sealants come in matte, satin sheen, or glossy finishes, with matte being ideal as it doesn’t cause glare. Glossy varnish is too reflective for wall murals.
How to paint a mural on an interior wall?
The process of painting a wall mural involves choosing a wall, finding art inspiration, tracing the design onto the wall, choosing paint colors, purchasing paint, painting the first set of stripes, edging the next set of stripes, and filling in the stripes with paint. This DIY project was both fun and budget-friendly, as it involved careful planning and last-minute improvising. The process was done by hand, using regular paintbrushes and rollers, without fancy tools like sprayers or projectors. The process is a step-by-step, ensuring that the final result is a cohesive and visually appealing piece of art. The key is to remember that mistakes can be easily rectified.
What is the best paint for indoor wall murals?
Acrylics are the optimal paint for murals, while latex paint, also known as interior household paint, is a cost-effective alternative with superior coverage and is less expensive than artist-grade acrylics.
How do you seal an indoor mural painting?
In order to seal a painted wall mural, it is recommended that an isolation coat and a clear, non-yellowing archival varnish, in either a matte or satin sheen, be applied. It is advisable to avoid the use of a glossy varnish, as it may be perceived as too reflective and may appear anomalous under interior lighting conditions.
📹 5 Tips for Painting a Wall Mural
A DIY mural is a great way to get the exact look that you want, in the right color palette and for a fraction of the price (and …
Great info. I would add: 1. Be aware that regular latex-housepaint is meant for projects inside. If you’re going for coverage outside, as well as colors that stay good for a long time: invest in a longterm-outside latex. Get like 10 liters of each color (I mostly go for: a blue, yellow, red, two types of brown and white/black), and store them for your next projects. The benefit of that type of paint is: stays better, longer, has extremely great coverage, but you can also mix it up until total transparency. It’s like working with acrylic paint, but with the option of oil-thickness.. 2. Also: bring a rough brush to clean off dust/debree. The better quality latex paints stay very good for a long time (like 8 to 12 years before the red or yellow starts going a little bit, if you’re not applying a UV coat at the end). But if you add water and it becomes this milky-consistency, throw it away. That’s the cheap stuff: it’ll be gone within a year or so… Also: remember to take a number of empty buckets/cans, so you can store mixes made on the spot. (tip: when in a larger lift, those S-shaped metallic hooks that window-cleaners use are ideal to arrange your palette in the lift). Also beneficial: with good latex paint, brushes, buckets, and all other utensils stay very good, and you can easily clean them afterwards to reuse. 3. Now, the only drawback is: the really proper outside heavy latex brands, often have ranges that are not 100% pure color, they’re more likely to feature pastel-colors/broken-colors.
Thank you so much for this article! Do you have one explaining if you use varnish and if yes which one doesn’t mess up with Behr’s outdoor paint? I was part of a project once where the varnish ended up bubbling and flaking off the mural (I wasn’t the lead in the project so I don’t know what they used). Thanks again!
Thank you for such an informative article. I was wondering if you would recommend a primer before doing an outdoor mural? I am doing a mural for my preschool and was planning to use house paints but just wanted to ensure there’s no peeling etc long term. Any recommendations would be much appreciated 🤗🌻 Thank you 💐
Just came across your articles. Your tips and insights are so helpful, thanks so much for the tips! I’d love some advice for a couple murals I’m doing on some playground walls at a school that kids throw against and use to play. I saw your article on staining the basketball court and was wondering if you know whether a stain or a latex wall paint would be better for those playground walls that might get a lot of wear and tear? I think the wall substrate is wood, so I’m not sure if there are pigmented wood stains? Any help would be appreciated, thanks man!
All these articles have been super helpful, so thank you. One tip I could add that has helped me, is you can spray test cards with whatever spray paint colors you plan on using, and most box stores/paint stores can color match your Latex you are purchasing to that spray paint for no extra charge. Most have been pretty accurate, taking the sheens into consideration.
oh man, couldnt agree more on using spray paints indoors. totaly a bad idea unless they are must. even when the fumes are gone and room is cleaned it takes over a week to get the paint to lose its smell and montana gold smells BAD. If you ever have to use spray paints indoors than mtn 94 is the way to go. Its smell is a lot better than that toxic montana gold.
Interesting! I looked it up because I‘m about to start my second mural. Good to hear that my random choice to use wall paint was actually one of the best decisions. However, I still don‘t get how some artists take such long strokes with their brushes without the paint running out. When I worked on my first mural each time I dipped my brush into the paint I was able to get a 5cm long stroke max before having to dip it in again and I’m not really sure how to get longer ones 🤔 But at least now I know that it‘s not necessarily because of my choice of paint.
Great vid! If people only knew what’s possible… I did some stuff down on St. John in the islands, and I often had to make do with paint that I’d never choose otherwise. But… they turned out sick! And one was a gel-coated wall inside of a huge yacht, which based on the style they wanted, there was NO room mistakes, and it was to be sealed with awlgrip sealer which I was only like 90% sure would be safe on the acrylics I used. But that’s how it was… customer’s interest/excitement was slipping fast, and supplies were limited, so it was just go time lol.
Your work is amazing, and your articles have been sooo helpful, thank you for sharing your knowledge! I just got my first commercial mural job, and the wall is concrete, so I am curious if exterior house paint will work for that since I’ve read that house paint can crack and peel on concrete? (I am not experienced with spay paint, and have used house paint for the murals I’ve done so far) Do you use a special masonry paint for concrete walls, or does normal exterior paint hold up on top of the Zinsser Prime Coat primer you recommended for concrete in your primer article? Thanks so much 🙂
Very useful article. Thank you for sharing! I was wondering to ask you few things as I was asked to paint a wall in a pub. 1. Which paint would be best to use for an indoor mural in a pub? I believe that the wall was painted with like a washable paint, as it looks very shiny. Do you have any recommendation for which type of paint to use (acrylic or latex paint? As the place is a pub, a latex painting would be better for the fumes). 2. Would you do prep the wall giving a base/coat of paint? I was considering to keep the original colour of the current paint as a background, however I questioned myself if it would gives problems to the painted illustration in the future (like it will chip or crack). 3. If you use latex paint, would you applying any finishing on top of the artwork in order to preserve it? Thank you in advance.
I am going to be doing a small memorial mural on an outdoor basketball court. I was thinking graffiti style and using spray paint. I have also watched your article addressing protective coatings. Do you think these spray paints that you mention here and doing multiple coats of the vandiguard protective coat would work well?
Thanks. Wonderful and helpful tips, I’ll keep perusal your articles! Did a first mural and struggled with creating blends. Because of the pigments used for interior/exterior wall paint, I could not get, as example, a primary blue and yellow to get green, it turned muddy. Do you have any tips when covering large surfaces and creating blends without having to purchase the lot of colours? Thank you!
Katrina thanks for a great article. Your final tip to set a timer for 10 minutes has inspired me. I started a wall panel project in my living room but got stuck trying to seal the lines between panels. I tried calk and it didn’t work so I’ve been paralyzed for months unable to risk moving forward -not sure if a wood putty or joint compound or spackle or what would work. I’m finally ready to move forward with the joint compound idea. I’ll just seal a couple of them and see how I like it. I’m painting over it anyway plus I have spare panels if it fails. I just need to move forward.
I have ZERO drawing skills, so downloaded an ipad app, that allows you to trace an image from the screen, onto paper, using the devices camera. It gave me the idea of using the same technique, for an outside, large wall mural. I’m going to use my projector to shine an image on the wall, when its dark, and trace the image. Has anyone else tried this?
No light bulb moments for me as I am a working artist but great tips. The most important when working on a large scale is stepping back every few minutes to look at the bigger picture. It’s also important to just step away for some time in order to refresh your perspective; to make sure the proportions are correct as well as the colors and composition. I absolutely adore your mural. I never would have thought of doing something like this.