" Ragging is a full painting technique. It provides both warmth and texture to any room. It's a quick process to create. In fact, it's a fun active process where you need to move quickly as you apply the effect. We'll show you a ragging technique that you can try. Here's how to do it. We've already painted 2 coats of primer on this demonstration section of drywall. Your wall should be clean, sanded, and smooth. Even if the existing paint is in good condition, it's a good idea to prime the room again. In this example, we'll be applying a darker color over a light base. You can experiment to determine what combination of colors work well for your room. The base coat should be either satin or semi-gloss finish. We're using latex here for both easy application and clean up. Apply the base coat over the primary coat with a roller over 2- to 3-foot section of the wall. Starting with the W pattern and filling in the space in between with even strokes of the roller. When the base layer dries, you will often find holidays or areas of missing paint. You'll get better overall results, if you give the walls another even coat of base paint. The glaze we applied with the rag is made up of a latex semi-gloss, gloss, or eggshell color that you want to the stripe, mixed with a latex glaze. The glaze is a clear carrier that you use to make the striae color more transparent and to allow you enough time to lay down the pattern. The mixing ratio is 5 parts of latex glaze to 1 part of latex paint. The glaze looks milky-white, but dries clear. Measure and pour the glaze into the mixing bucket first and then the paint. Stir the glaze thoroughly to blend the glaze and the paint together. Using a quality 4-inch latex brush, apply the single-process color to the wall in an even, straight, vertical pattern. As you finish up applying the glaze to your working area, leave a little extra glaze at the edge of the area you're working. This is a called a wet edge, and it will make it easier for you to blend the edge of the section you're working on with the next area you'll work on. With the glaze in place, wad a clean, lint-free, cotton rag loosely in your hand. Starting at the top, lightly pat the surface of the glaze; laying down a pattern by lifting the glaze off the wall. This is called a subtractive process. When you complete each working area, immediately start laying down glaze in the adjoining area, again leaving a wet edge to make it easier to join the next segment together. Start working the lap line first blending the wet edge into the new working area. As your rag fills with excess glaze, rearrange the cloth to expose new, clean areas of cloth. Continue to turn your rag and daub an even pattern over the glazed area. When the rag becomes saturated, replace it with a new one. You can often soften the pattern by using a lot of cheese cloth. Wad up the cheese cloth as you did with the cotton rag and lightly pat the surface. You can lighten any dark spots by patting them, creating a softer, even surface. As each area is completed, move to the next area; starting with the application of the tinted glaze, followed by lifting the glaze to create the rag pattern. Note how you twist your wrist to vary the pattern and rotate the rag when it gets saturated with glaze. When you're satisfied with the results, wad up the pad of cheese cloth and lightly pat the surface, lifting the darker areas until the pattern is even. In addition to softening the pattern, the cheese cloth introduces a fine detail. Sometimes, the area between the work areas called lap lines, looked too light, and you can see where the areas join. After the wall is thoroughly dry, we'll fix this using an additive process. Apply some glaze directly to the rag. And then lightly pat the area along the lap line. Another approach to deal with random areas that needs fixing is to load a stipple or a chip brush with tinted glaze and then tap the ends of the bristles on the areas to be repaired. You can reapply the pattern with a cotton cloth and soften the results with cheese cloth. The result of ragging is a rich textured hand-finished full pattern that adds sophistication to your living space."