If you like how the tissue paper looks before painting or glazing, and you just want a 'burnished metallic' look...don't use a regular paint base coat. Regular paint will just cover it. What I would do is buy a quart of Ralph Lauren Aging and Technique glaze. For aging or burnishing purposes, you can buy it in Teastain, Smoke or Tobacco, depending on how dark you want it. To do an average-sized room or bathroom, you will only need a quart as it goes a long way.

For a metallic look, a really inexpensive way to achieve this is to buy a small plastic bottle of acrylic paint in the metallic color that you prefer, and mix it in a large bowl with the tinted glaze. This will give it enough metallic color, without being too much. You can buy metallic paint, but it's pretty expensive, and you don't need very much. You can get the acrylic paint at any craft-type store for around a dollar.

To apply the mixture...cut a 18' square out of an old, but clean, t-shirt. Wear gloves (if you wish) and completely saturate the square of t-shirt material in the metallic paint/glaze mixture. Squeeze out the excess, and rub your fabric onto the wall. A good way to describe the application is like you are rubbing a sunscreen or lotion onto the surface. You don't want to glob it on, but you want the surface to be covered. The glaze will automatically stick to the various surfaces of your wall and produce a mottled effect. Start with a light coating, because you can always add another layer, for more depth. You can also adjust the metallic color at this point if you find that it is too light.

I know this is a long post, so if you want me to help step-by-step, I would be happy to help. I've done this type of thing with paint and glaze for 16 years now and I worked for Home Depot for almost 11 years of that. Just let me know and we can exchange email addresses. Hope I can help!

shelly, thank you. Let's go step by step. You said, "If you like how the tissue paper looks before painting or glazing, and you just want a 'burnished metallic' look...don't use a regular paint base coat. Regular paint will just cover it."

I've started applying it. First I thought I would get a slapdown look but that didn't work. (That's before I used the tissue technique.) I did apply primer to much of the wall. Then, because I was experimenting, I applied primer again and pasted on some tissue sheets. I got kind of the look I wanted. Since I'm not an expert I settled for what is so far the best look I achieved. Then I rolled some SW paint I got at Habitat for Humanity, the color is nice, but I'm afraid it might not last through the entire room. I hope so, otherwise I'll be creating more of a mess. Maybe I can take the can to SW and have them duplicate the color? (Let's start there with my questions...then I'll go more into your post. Regarding email, it's OK if we talk on the board, maybe someone can learn, but you can contact me at clean_boost@yahoo.com.)

Hi again. That is so sweet of you to help me like that! OK ... your comments were not in vain, first off. You asked me what kind of effect am I looking to achieve. Anything that looks good. without too much trouble because I'm old-er in presently comparative terms and do most of this by myself. However, when I pulled off the wallpaper I made a lot of mistakes, plus it was very hard to pull off. I gouged the wall because it was my first time and I didn't even know what drywall looks like under the paper. So I pulled off some of the drywall as well as gouging much of it anyway. Therefore I was left with a seriously damaged drywall. I did plug up most of the holes with paste but there is enough roughness to make sure I won't get a smooth coat of paint, so I would need to use some coverup texture. I am glad you can help me through this. So what I finally decided is to tissue paper it and paint over that. I am in the process of tissuepapering it. I like the texture well enough. I have a problem with this, though. I expect to put two coats of paint over the tissue paper. But my real problem is, because it's paper, what type of final coating should I use to protect it so that I can damp sponge it if it gets dirty later on? Now, as far as your questions go, here's what I have been doing. (maybe it's slightly useless because maybe there is no need to basecoat it before I apply the tissue paper but that's what I have been doing.) I am first priming the bare wall with Kilz. I am doing this with Kilz because I bought it a while ago and don't want to waste my money plus I think it will help, maybe it doesn't and maybe this step is futile. I have been applying the tissue paper to the wet basecoat. That's first off. It is by no means completed. To see what I have been doing, I applied the color I want over that over a portion of the wall. I'm having a slight anxiety problem because I purchased a can of BM nice paint at an oops price and now I'm afraid I may not have enough to cover the bathroom walls. So that's a problem. I'm going to call BM paints and see if they can duplicate the color if need be. Maybe I should think about a different color for the ceiling, even though I hate to do that but I may have to. Or maybe I'll have to indulge and simply purchase enough paint to do the room, LOL, and go over the part I've already done with the complete batch of color! It's not that I can't afford it, although I need to save my pennies so if I can get a bargain i'll go for it. What I was hoping (and of course this is a novice speaking) was that I could glaze over the top coat with a nice (but slight) mottled burnished look. Since there is already texture in the tissue paper application I am not looking for more texture. I am pleased with the look. It is coming out better than the sponging I attempted. Now you hopefully know where I'm at. I will post this also on the gardenweb site so you can answer there also if possible maybe later on so others can learn. I have learned so much from gardenweb, I really appreciate the replies (even if they don't always apply...lol). It's always nice to speak to someone who has been through the process and knows what they're doing. So thanks again, looking forward to your answer. But now that you got me going, you mentioned a couple of ways of doing things, like applying the color first and then letting the tissue paper stay on top of that? I'm interested in this approach. What is the difference, though, between applying basecoat, then appying the tissue paper, and then rolling color over that? But let's be practical and talk about my actual situation first. LOL ... :-)
To sum up: I have started applying a white base coat, smashing on the tissue paper and painting over that. Glazing over that may not be the proper term, since the effect I want is a slight metallic or burnished edge to the paint job. I don't want the glaze all over the paint, just perhaps in drips and drabs, like marbling.
-- I hope you're having a good day at work so far!! Cindi