One trend we see everywhere and especially on Pinterest boards is lacquered walls. So shiny. So snazzy. So sensational. But how in the world do you get walls that glimmer at night and bedazzle during the day? We called Bill Stack Jr., president of Koch Bros. Decorating (314-8383, kochbrosdecorating.com) to get his professional viewpoint. His response:
"The image most people have of a 'lacquered' surface is one of a very smooth, high gloss surface. This can be achieved in many ways.
"One way is to use real lacquer, which must be spray applied. Lacquer has a very 'hot' solvent and cannot be applied over most other coatings without sandwiching a barrier coat between the previous coatings and the lacquer. The setup for spray, multiple coats required and extremely high solvent odor mean that it is usually not the choice in an existing home.
"So most often we use an enamel coating, finished off with a high-gloss (clear) varnish coat. This not only gives the high gloss associated with lacquer, but also helps provide a translucent depth. In our proposals we label this a 'lacquered appearance.'
"The prep work needed to achieve the very smooth surface needed for this finish can often require a great deal of man hours and cost. This is all dependent on the existing surface conditions and the expectations of the client. Prep can range from minor patching and sanding to a full floating/resurfacing and sanding of the surfaces to make extremely smooth.
"A lacquered appearance can be used in any room. Due to the higher cost, and the look, the room we have most often executed it is in dining rooms. It looks great in candlelight. Any color can be used depending on the taste of the client and designer. It often provides more drama in a deep color. It will last for many years in an interior space that does not suffer from pet, child or other ware. All painted surfaces are subject to being dependent on the integrity of the substrate. In other words, if the walls or woodwork does not move or crack…the paint coatings will hold up fine. Woodwork does expand and contract in most homes, due to the change in humidity from winter to summer, and sometimes cracks appear here and there at the joints."
