Ralph Lauren River Rock Paint Notes
The Fix Chicks have received lots of mail about Ralph Lauren River Rock paint. In fact, that’s the ONLY Ralph Lauren paint we get email about, even though we feature a room done using their Suede textured paint. See the original article and additional comments here.
We’d like to thank Eric, who wrote in about a River Rock paint application solution that he and his wife, Erin, came up with.
Dear Fix Chicks:
My wife and I found your website after we destroyed our kitchen walls with Ralph Lauren River Rock, we had roller marks all over. Feeling confident with your hints I went over the walls again, still with no luck of having a finish we could both live with. So as a last resort we purchased a Wagner Power Painter and went over the walls yet again touching up the walls we were unhappy with. A third coat turned out great. The living room was next, we were kind of shy about doing the living room, but having invested in 3 gallons of Sandstone we hated not to use it. After the Power Painters’ second coat our living room looks great.
How we did it is we took workable sections and sprayed from left to right trying to coat the wall evenly without streaking and blending the next section. Try to maintain the same distance as you go. It still looked kind of streaky so the second coat we went from top to bottom, bottom to top to blend in the streaks. The first coat was dry by the time I was ready to start the second coat. Both coats took about 3 hours, but the prep time of masking off the room took about 2 hours. Take your time masking off the room and drop cloth the entire room; the paint and sand fleck will be everywhere. For safety wear a painting mask with plenty of ventilation. The living room was a breeze compared to the kitchen and worth the purchase of the paint.
Thanks for sharing Eric! Your shiny, happy Fix Chicks mug is on the way!
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I have been working on one wall in my bedroom since friday evening. I have spent over $ 100.00 on Ralph Lauren River Rock paint,and recommended rollers. I watched the video in the store twice and once on the internet and have followed it closely . I have large column size streaks in my wall. I have applied four coats of paint and am very upset about the streaking. I have been painting for at least 20 years professionally for three and have never had so many problems with a finish. Is there anything I can do without spending anymore money on this horrible paint? Please help!! Lynn, Texas
I have figured this damn paint out. Here is what you do:
1. Edge and tape as you go. THere is no need to rush with the first coat.
2. Jsut put on the first coat and REALLY try to avoid over lapping. If need be use the edger to paint right up to the section you painted on the left, or your right depending on which way you are painting. Doing this will avoid the dark lines which will help you later, but if you make some dark spots don’t sweat it too much. Don’t worry too much about getting every spot thoroughly. Just try and get some paint everywhere on the wall, don’t worry about making it even.
3. Okay, first coat done. Now here comes the hard part. You have to do a wall at a time and you CANNOT STOP. Do not take breaks do not go slow, but don’t be sloppy. Starting at the top, edge out about a 2 foot x 2 foot area around the top and sides, if you are next to a corner or framing, with the 4″ roller that Ralph Lauren sells. This is a good roller. Buy it. It is worth it. Now here is what they don’t tell you. Put a TON of paint on the rollers. I am talking about almost dripping. Every inch if the roller should be covered with no bare spots. Now put that paint on. And make sure it is thick and evenly coated. If need be go back for more paint. Don’t be shy with the paint. Using more paint now will save you time later. When you finish your box LIGHTLY roll up and down across the entire box to even it out.
4. Now move down, edge if need be, and load up that paint! Fill in that box with the paint. Make it thick and evenly distributed. When done with that box roll up, down and across over that box AND the box above you just finished. THis will join the two boxes and blend them together.
5. Repeat step 4 until you reach the bottom. Don’t forget to blend up and down and across after each box is done over ALL the boxes above that you finished. If you are moving qucikly enough the paint will still be wet all the way up the wall so blending should be easier.
6. Now move to the right, or left, and start at the top. Edge again accordingly. Make sure you fill up that roller! Put that paint on! Seriously this is the easiest way to make sure you get an even smooth coating. Now when you fill in these boxes over lap and blend them into the boxes you just finished to the left, or right. Doing this will join the section from your left into your new section of boxes. The trick is using, you geussed it, A LOT of paint. Load the roller up! If you do this right you should be blending in each section left to right and top to bottom as you move along. Move quickly but don’t be recklesss and don’t stop until you reach the end of the wall.
Voila!
It took me an entire wall to figure this out, but as I played around with techniques by my second wall mid-way I was doing really well and it turned out great.
A 10×12 room took about 2 gallons of paint.
Wish I’d have seen your post before I started my Living Room. After the two coats (that, according to the can, were required for an even finish) the walls looked terrible. Back to Home Depot for more paint. The third coat went on better (I finally figured out I had to really slop it on thick). Some walls look OK but others (the larger ones, naturally) are going to need touch up to get rid of the lines. If that doesn’t work I’ll have to totally repaint those walls and hope they match the ones that don’t have lines. After having invested seven gallons and four days I’m more or less stuck with this junk until the bitter end. I just hope eventually it evens out or I’ll be really P.O.’d. I used RL Metallic on the lower half of the walls and the first coat (now that I know how to slop it on) went on great and I’m considering skipping a second coat and just touching up any spot that needs it.
Update: I found a somewhat solution to my problem. I had some leftover paint saved in quart jars and once the “sand” settled if I just shook the jars (not stirred) I used the paint to “touch up” the dark lines and dark spots (caused by heavy spots of the sand pigment) using either a small roller or even a brush using the “X” type of application and feathering in the paint. I did have to come back every day and touh up the results again until I was satisfied, but it beat redoing an entire wall over and over again. Hope this helps.
I too had all the typical problems as noted using Desert Trail (a darker color). I did one large wall in my house the first wall was heartbraking, on the second coat had my husband help me using 2 RL Rollers. I loaded he rolled so we could keep it going. It turned out good enough with 2 coats that I was willing to try my luck again in my bathroom. This time with the color “Coastal Sand”. I figured that a lighter color would be easier. Ha! I did just a small wall edging by brush and using the RL roller for the rest. Horrible! Meanwhile, my husband in another room was happily painting away with amazing results. I had shunned his method because they have never been mentioned and I had a much larger surface area, surely it woudl take too long without a roller, but mine looked so horrible and his so good that I decided to give it a try. Here’s what I did…
Stop treating it like paint and treat it more like wall texture. Ditch the rollers and brushes. Use a good quality paint pad (mulitple sizes, get a small one to fit into corners). It’s amazingly fast. When you pour the paint into your tray, do it several times throughout your procedure rather than all at once, stir the can each time before pouring. This will give you a more even distribution of rocks. Don’t work in squares or columns. My wall is 10′ tall and about 7′ wide. I started in one corner and fanned out gradually from there trying to keep a manageable size to always keeping a wet edge. This totally eliminated any overlapping “lines”. Get a good amount of paint on the pad and “trowl” it on starting from the center of your current target area of coverage for that amount of paint, work it to the overlapping edges of the last section you applied (which should stiill be wet) and smooth it out to a reasonable layer so that it provides good smooth coverage but isn’t dripping and running. When your paint pad is no longer full of paint, go back over the prior area that you connected to and texture the paint by dabbing at it full on with the pad (we refer to it as “knacka…knacka…knacka” the sound it makes). Repeat until you have the entire wall done. No illusions, you need to work fast and keep the edge wet. I was able to manage my wall alone climbing up and down and repositioning my ladder and repouring paint…barely…but you have to be fairly agile. If you have anything big work with a partner.
The second coat goes on the same way only it tends to go on thicker and gummier than the first coat when you are applying it with the pad. It’s okay, forget that you are painting and imgaine yourself trowling. It makes it fun and gives you the artistic mindset you need to apply this paint successfully. Play with it and take an active roll in how it goes on, long sweeps, knacka, knacka, whatever you like to get the effect you want. Once the paint dries, it sucks in around the rocks and gives you a great textured surface. Depending on the initial texture of the surface you are applying, the distribution of the rocks will vary. A lightly textured surface will produce some sweeping waves, it’s part of the paint and looks great as long as you avoid the overlapping lines. My “Coastal Sand” application resulted in a really cool sort of lightly cloudy sky look with great varigation and interest.
I have found using this method that two coats is all it takes. It does use a lot of paint though because the second application especially tends to go on fairly thick.
Inspired to paint my bedroom, I picked a green shade of RL Suede for one wall and a beige shade of RL River Rock for the other three. Phew! What a project I got myself into. I did the green wall first and was quite satisfied with the results, until my husband “touched it up” for me. Back to Xing the whole wall. Still, it looks nice.
The River Rock, on the other hand, was a disaster to work with. Two coats following the RL procedure and I knew I was in for more paint and more painting. My husband found your website and I decided to try Patty Brown’s technique. It worked quite well and fit with my Zen technique of painting! Slop it on, fan out, and knacka knacka…
The only bummer is my largest wall kind of looks like the Suede wall, not the effect I was trying to achieve. But 5 gallons of paint for three walls (1+ for the Suede wall) and I can live with the look.
Thanks for the great website. I will look to you BEFORE I start my next project.
I wish I had seen this before. I tried painting my LR this weekend in the Suede. I did one large wall, 2 coats. It looks terrible. I tried the x’s second coat, and it was not working. It was barely getting coverage. I then resorted to rolling it on, but there are lines and streaks. I was going to see what it looked like dry, but I dont like it. I dont know if I should use the tricks mentioned and buy more paint or start over, primer and use a different paint. It was expensive, I only purchased 2 gallons for a large LR. I thought this was plenty, but I have only completed one large wall and have used more than 1/2 a gallon already.
[...] Michelle’s article, My Walls are Suede. There are some lengthy comments on her post, Ralph Lauren River Rock Paint Notes, as well. There are a few good tips around on how to touch up Ralph Lauren paint, [...]
WIth one coat on partially, we knew we were in trouble! We had never painted with textured paint before so this is all new. Fortunately, (for the internet) we googled Ralph Lauren and River Rock paint and came up with this site and all the wonderful hints (hope they work) for our paint job in the kitchen! It’s not four hours so we cannot do the second coat, but Im wondering how can such expensive paint look so bad! I’ll be back on to post with our results. Good luck to us and everyone else out there using Ralph Lauren.
What’s the big deal? Just painted with Aviator Green Ralph Lauren RR Paint and had no difficulties whatsoever. I followed directions to a T including use of recommended roller covers. What I did do which was not suggested was prime first with KILZ tinted to a dark grey as Aviator Green is a grey/green. This was suggested by the sales representative in the paint department at my local Home Depot. I worked as fast as possible and really loaded the brush and rollers. On the first coat rolled down and then across, on second coat across and down. When laying paint with roller I did not overlap using curvy V strokes and then without lifting roller after initial paint down rolled randomly over adjacent patch as well as patch just done. For those of us who are not particularly neat painters this was the stuff, as I found it be messy anyway because of how much paint put on roller as well as the thinkness of the stuff. Got great coverage in two coats. Perhaps it was the color I chose or the fact that I primed the walls first but it looks great. Best advice, load that roller up with tons of paint and don’t stop. The first coat was uneven but second seemed to even it all out.
I have extensive painting experience. Used Ralph Lauren recently and highly disliked this paint. Very, very thin paint causing it to drip everywhere. The colour choices are quite nice; however, I will only use Benjamin Moore in the future. Benjamin Moore paint is a dream to work with.
Wow, well, I’m glad I’ve never painted with the stuff. There are, however, have several rooms in my house painted in various shades of River Rock paint (somehow they got it to look excellent, I suspect it’s been sprayed). The trouble is, I am redecorating one of the rooms and want it to have smooth walls (I don’t think the scratchiness is appropriate for a nursery). Is there any way to do this? Possibly more importantly is there some not terribly toxic way for a pregnant DIYer to do this, or will I need professional help?
This is a laugh riot. I was just about to start painting my kitchen (first time I have ever painted in my life, mind you) with RL River Rock in Adirondack Berry. Then I thought I’d Google it just to make sure of what I am doing and here I am. Oh boy. I am trying not to chicken out. HOWEVER, Sharon Erle’s advice is the same advice I got from a friend who already used it. GET PRIMER TINTED IN THE SAME COLOR. My friend said it went on great in only one coat after primer. But maybe I shouldn’t speak until I do it. And my husband’s away and doesn’t know I’m doing this. Eh, what the heck. Here I go!…………………….
Another trick is to make sure you change rollers frequently. With a tan based paint with black sand in it, my walls were so streaked it was awful. After 4 coats I figured out that using a new roller more often got rid of the streaking because the sand was loading up on it.
Anna - I read that the easiest way to paint over it is to apply a coat of premium primer on first.
Glad to find these comments, though wish I’d come here sooner. So it’s not only me having major problems with Ralph Lauren! I’ve bought two gallons of river rock for two walls (two more walls to go!) Following the directions produced truly horrible results, even after 3 coats and I totally loaded up that RL roller! Using a large paint pad produced much better results, though still with lines. The problem is you can’t see a thing when it’s wet, so you can’t tell how you’re doing. In fact, it looks great wet, then the awful truth is revealed once it dries.
I am now going over the previously painted areas with a smaller paint pad, I guess using the ‘wacka wacka’ method. The end result is kind of cloudy but I can live with it. I will probably try the primer suggestion before tackling the other two walls.
It really bothers me that I’ll have spent - what - $200+ just to paint a small room.
I’m glad to see I’m not the only person having major problems with RL River Rock. I’ve had a fair bit of experience painting, and never had problems like this. Very thin paint, and the little texture grains are impossible to control. The directions they give you produce appalling results. The walls look great wet, but once they dry - disaster! even after three coats.
I also finally switched to using a paint pad, with much better results, although I still have vertical lines that I will try to camouflage by going over the whole thing with a smaller paint pad using the ‘wacka wacka’ technique. It produces a cloudy texture that I probably can live with.
I still have two walls to finish, so I may follow the advice to prime it first. Really nutty to have to spend over $200 to paint a small room.
sorry, my first post seemed to disappear, so I repeated myself..
I used RL river rock in canyon clay, a dark red years ago with great results. Not easy, but it came out good. After major house renovations the walls in that room took a beating. I thought I’d repaint with the same paint and color since i liked it so much. I figured I didn’t need to plaster, so I’d just go over the exixting color with another coat of the same color. Bad idea.
Ugh it didn’t dry the same color at all. It’s a darker color, much blacker than red.
Has anyone ever tried this bone headed move? I’m tempted to prime the whole room and never look at another ralph lauren paint ever, ever again.
I too have been seduced by the siren song of Ralph Lauren River Rock paint. Every RR project ends with a “never again” and a trip to the confessional seeking forgiveness for hurling castigations in every direction looking for someone to blame for those damn lines that mystically appear upon drying. Even the cats know to avoid me when they see me coming with those gallon tin cans. But a year later I’m standing at the paint counter at Home Depot, impetuously purchasing an optimistic (and ultimately unrealistic) too few gallons of the $37/gallon elixer. They can charge that much since they (Glidden makes it) know you’ll not give up once you’ve got that first coat or two on the wall - what you gonna do then - sand it down to put on normal paint? Like a strung out junkie you’ll be back for more. I should’ve learned from my first RR project (I’m on my fourth at this moment) and given up on the stuff after having to paint some walls with 6 coats to eliminate those overlap lines. One gallon (projected) per wall turned into 8. It goes on thick, and you need many coats. It does start to look better after the third coat, but I’ve found you need at least 4 to get an even job. That is before I hit these forums and took the advice of others about the a tinted primer. That reduces the number of coats of RR to three, but still that’s four coats of paint including the primer. At least you don’t have to work like a madman with the primer - edges can begin to dry like normal paint and you don’t see the columns of shading at overlaps. I am intrigued by the poster who used Kilz as the tinted primer - I think Kilz makes an almost hermetically-sealed surface. I’ve always had the suspicion it is the porosity of the wall which sucks the moisture out of the paint, causing it to dry quicker, unevenly. Also, I’ve found it is easier to paint on cooler, and foggy, days, though such weather almost never happens 8 months out of the year in SoCal. Next I’d like to try an ultrasonic humidifier pointed in the direction of the wall being painted. But first I’ll try tinting some Kilz. My only advice is to work fast. Also I only cut in and do brushwork on the first 2 coats. The following coats are roller only to as near the edges as I can go to save time.
I’ve used suede as well, rolled it on for an even, textured appearance which looks really nice along the lines of the River Rock. Though I realize that is defeating some of the purpose of the true Suede look - but it covers nicely in only 2 coats. Perhaps River Rock should be applied like Suede since it is so prone to that effect anyway. A couple of previous posters have done just that, which sounds like something worth trying.
I loved the look of River Rock. I sent my husband out of town, went to Home depot and forked over cash to get my brand new look for one accent wall near my front entry. Andirondack Bark. Lovely color. This is a small wall, but with very tall ceilings. After two coats, I ran out of paint. This was the biggest mess I’ve created in a while. I had my girlfriend come over last night with another gallon of paint, and we tried a little teamwork to keep that wet edge. When that didn’t work, I found your web site. Well, to make my long story shorter, I went back to home depot tempted to get one more gallon of paint. I’m pretty tenacious about these things. Instead, after talking to the folks in the paint department, with the knowledge that they haven’t had positive results and consider this a really hard product to apply, I had them computer match the color swatch from River Rock and mixed it up in an eggshell flat RL paint. I came home, covered the wall with my new paint. I have almost the same color with a deep rich tone. I miss the black flecks of sand and texture, but the sand wasn’t where I wanted it to begin with. By not priming first, it almost feels the same. It took longer than normal to dry, but I’m sure that it’s because there are so many coats of paint underneath.
I’m unhappy that I wasted the money and mostly my time with this product, sad that I did not master it, as I am not a novice at this. I am however, happy with the team at Home Depot for helping me match my color and happy with the look of the wall.
I’m back with a report on my final results with this paint. The results are far from perfect, but something I can live with. BTW, the color I used was Shortgrass Prairie, a beige-y tone.
For ease, I’ll write in point form:
1-Used a tinted primer - highly recommended, as it puts you way ahead of the game and is worth the extra effort and expense on a costly project.
2-Used a paint pad for cutting in at the corners and ceiling - it puts on a decently even finish. Recommended.
2- Following RL’s ‘paint technician’s’ advice, I worked in 18×18 boxes going down and then across. You saturate the roller with the paint and slop it on, using V’s or whatever. One saturated roller should fill this box.They told me not necessary to cover every spot, but I found it better to do so.
After completing one column, you take the roller (don’t add more paint) and roll lightly down the column, trying not to overlap this finishing stroke. This is where the rubber hits the road, as it is nearly impossible not to have overlaps, particularly as you move on to the next column. I still have dark vertical lines, but not as bad as before. The more precise you can be with the above directions, the better the results, ie a more even texture. I did some light side-to-side blending as well, very light.
3-They said not to overwork the paint - I used as light a touch as I could, and minimal strokes, which seemed to help. I think pressing in on the roller or pad makes those black specks become prominent.
4-Applying the paint thickly also seems to minimize the black sand, since you’re applying more base paint than texture.
5-For ease, I initially tried outlining paint boxes with chalk, but it’s tricky not to end up with a look of boxes, so in the end I just free-handed it - in GOOD LIGHT! Using a paint edger, or having a helper hold a makeshift edger as you go along might work, but you still have to be careful with blending. That’s the big challenge with this stuff, you need to blend and yet not overlap. Right. I personally did not have good results with tape, as the thickness of the paint left a definable edge.
If I were to do this again, I’d probably hire a professional, based on the cost and time this project expended. I think RR works better in small areas, like small feature walls, or walls with windows or doors to break up the expanse. Long expanses of wall are almost impossible to do well. The tech people really take no responsibility for any results, they are just there to defend the status quo. So you’re on your own with this, as RL is convinced they have an awesome product and the problem is with you.
Bon chance everyone.
Wow - wish I’d read these posts first! I purchased RR in Hawthorne to update my dining room (small room, windows, chair rail). This is an old house with unevenly finished walls. I didn’t want to go for strictly textured paint but thought RR might work to cover the imperfections. Ha.
Some tips:
a) Work in bright light - daylight is best
b) Stir paint frequently
c) V technique works okay for smaller spaces
d) Using a large brush I “dabbed” paint on for a mottled effect. Works in my room where as stated walls are imperfect.
e) Saturate roller
Bottom line - I am not happy w/results at all even after trying tips in other posts. Do not buy this paint!
Ha sanybody ever tried covering Ralph Lauren River Rock. We have decided to move tothe new candlelight effect. I’m concerned over how to effectively cover the river rock to have a smooth surface to start the new color. Any experience? I don’t want to sand down for days. Is there a primer that will effectively eliminate the river rock texture?
Loved the the look of the paint. Waisted two weekends painting and trying to repair the horrid results of the paint. Called Ralph Lauren customer service to get advice as to what to what to do to repair the mess after buying seven gallons of the paint to hear we are all just stupid and can’t fallow directions. The Behr eggshell covered it nicely!
P.S. Ralph Lauren shirts make wonderful rags.
When going to do this I highly recommend using a product called Flotrol- use it very generously, I mean like half bottle to one gallon of that RR paint crap. It will keep the paint wet longer and you wont end up with the lines. I love the look of this product but it took two gallons to do my husbands office and bein from a family of professional painters I couldnt believe how fast this stuff dries and produces the line result. Good luck
I’ve also had a horrible expirence with the River Rock paint! What a waste of money (a lot of money)! I’m on my 4th coat and STILL have lines. I’ve read the comments posted and tried some of the suggestions with still little help getting rid of the lines. I wouldn’t reccommend this paint to anyone. Too hard to apply, too much time, too many lines, and all to show for it is a mess up office. Good luck to anyone brave enough to try it!
I live in Phoenix, AZ and have a client that wants me to go to Tuscon and paint the RR. After seeing the trouble that y’all are having I am going to step back and look from my past experience with different products as a professional painter.
1. I can only think that the base is more of the transparent (that used for dark shade paint tinting) in order to allow the agragate to be exposed. So, with a any transparent base a primer of at least 50% of the same tint formulation added is normal. This puts you in the right hue for overcoating.
2. The use of Flood’s Flotrol® seems logical to extend the open or work time. Another trick is to use faux glaze mixed in the paint.
3. Rolling on any sanded product usually yields roller marks and piling of sand.
4. I can only think that they don’t want you to overwork the surface due to loss of the desired translucence of the base to give an exposed aggregate effect. Rolling or working the paint will milk it or make it more opaque.
I am going to use a mud hopper with 3/16″ orifice and about 80psi of compressed air. I ran into this kind of noise trying to roll DryLock® on bare and rough cement surfaces. Applying with the hopper and back rolling or brushing with an old broom works the best for thick products. I am going to add a glaze to increase work time and prime with an inexpensive tinted primer for color’s sake and if this stuff gives me any trouble drying out to fast I’l go over the primer with a clear epoxy primer or Flood’s Penetrol® (to eliminate absorption). I am going to spurge and take a piece of wallboard (dry wall) to test results on instead of a piece of cardboard so I can deal with a larger area. Then I’m on the road and I’ll let you know the outcome.
As for the one asking about flatening the surface; try using drywall mud thinned way down and applied with an airless followed by light sanding after dry and a second coat if necessary.
My 13-year old son is really into camouflage and picked out the RL River Rock paint in Fatigue for his bedroom. My hustand and I watched the in-store instructional video, purchased two gallons of this expensive paint and the recommended rollers and brushes, and promised to redo his room for him as his Christmas gift. We started the process this past weekend and are now out here on the website trying to figure out how to fix the blotchy mess we have created. Although we love the rich color and texture produced, after two coats the walls are all streaked with roller prints and blotchiness. We are terribly disappointed and still don’t know what to do to correct this effect. I want to try the Patty Brown technique with the paint pads and Eric wants to try the Celeste idea of just getting a computer match of a different kind of paint and painting over the entire room with that. He is really disgusted with the River Rock and swears he will never do that again. We really need to get this done. Can anyone offer more advise or help us make a decision between the two solution techniques.
I just applied this paint two days ago and had no problems. It was about a 3/4 gallon application in a bathroom. I was on this site and was freaked out that I was gonna screw it all up. I did get floetrol and mixed it with the paint and someone above recomended. I don’t know if it helped. What I did was apply it all by brush in random strokes, x’s or whatever. I trimmed an area and then tried to roll it, but it was too inconsistent. I would lots of texture in one area and none in others. I decided to drop the roller and just use a brush. I was able to get a much more even application and no problems. Two coats did it and when I did notice a few areas the next day I went back and touched them up and had no problem with it matching. The brush is key, the floetrol can’t hurt and isn’t expensive. It was a dark greyish black color, I don’t remember the name. Do what I did and you should have no problems. I found this easier to apply than the suede paint. I am not aprofessional painter, this is the first house I’ve owned, but the last room to be painted. I did three rooms in suede, but I almost like the river rock more.
Use a brush not a roller and floetrol as mentioned above and it’s easy.
I was tremendously relieved to find this website!! And found comfort in knowing there are others out there just like me who had a less than desirable experience with the Ralph Lauren River Rock paint — I thought I just didn’t know how to paint and/or couldn’t follow instructions.
We are in the process of remodeling our home and used RL Suede paint in our office — I absolutely loved it. Admittedly, after the first coat dried, I was shocked and thought I had created a monster. However, after the second coat with the “X” procedure, it turned out gorgeous and people that see it think I paid someone big bucks to do my faux walls (I used Verde Plaza)!
With that said, I was confident I would not have any problems with River Rock and boy, was I wrong, wrong, wrong. First, I didn’t even think about tinting the primer (I used Cavern Clay) nor did the paint expert at HD “remind” me; I knew better, but just didn’t think about it (duh). I was painting a half-wall in my formal dining area and after two coats of RR knew it wasn’t going to be a good day! Next…I called Home Depot and instantly the expert asked if I had used tinted primer? He said that I would probably be able to fix the problems (streaking, uneven color, etc) by painting a third coat of RR. Nope…it looked worse, but now was only darker. So…I painted a fourth coat (one gallon of the stuff). It looked awful so I went to HD, bought tinted primer, and another gallon of RR. To make a long story short, the end result is if you stand back and study the wall, you can still see streaks — after primer, a gallon of RR, tinted primer, and another gallon of RR!! Still…everyone that sees the wall loves it and cannot believe I did it myself?
So…I am scared to do my kitchen — I purchased two gallons of metallic at the same time I bought the RR. Does anyone have suggestions or advice? I’m hoping it goes as well as the Suede — it is beautiful and our office is my favorite room in the house.
I’ve used Ralph Lauren’s river rock in the past and love the look. Now I would like to use it in my bath room. Does the paint hold up to the moisture that forms in bathroom or will it form streaks and make the walls appear as if they are sweating?
Wow! I might not have ever started my project if I had seen this first.
I’ve just finished my third coat on a column (a column with tight edges around the back since it is near a corner with windows), and am debating whether it is going to be “good enough” (which I hate).
The third coat is still drying so I’m not sure, but it does look better than it did at this stage on either of the first two.
Working with the column has some advantages because it doesn’t have to appear perfect . . . it has sort of an architectural / structural quality to it anyway. However, it is also somewhat more challenging because I have to use the smaller roller the entire time - the larger one was just a waste leaving lines everywhere, so I ditched it halfway through the second coat. Also, I couldn’t even attempt to use a pad brush unless someone designed one with just the right curvature ; ). I don’t really want a sponge effect but the thought occurred to me during this last coat.
Like I said, I am painting a column so a little roughness isn’t the end of the world. But this paint still seems like more of a challenge than it should be.
My tips are as follows:
1) Work fast - faster than you think you should. With this last attempt, I finally gave up on getting the whole column perfect (particularly the back corner which no one sees any way). It is fully coated back there now so if it has a line of shading out of sight, so be it. I may not even try to squeeze around to check when it dries.
2) LIGHT touches with the roller, with shorter passes / strokes. Even when doing a “square” I would get the paint on the brush, take a couple of long strokes to get the paint distributed a bit and then furiously work to complete the coverage in little areas of the larger square until I had worked in all the paint I had just applied.
3) Dwell on nothing except getting it covered evenly and quickly. Unlike other paints, the moment you start to roll back over a place because of something you see (a slightly lighter covering spot, etc), you inevitably make it worse, all while slowing down the overall application which again negatively impacts the final result. With this last coat, I realized the things I noticed while painting ended up not being an issue when it was all done. The difference in shades along a vertical or horizontal line are what you need to avoid, NOT gradual shading variations throughout. Those shadings are what you typically notice while you’re painting, before the paint dries, so just ignore the instinct to “fix” them.
Overall, I do think it is an interesting look. I was worried about the column being boring, but didn’t want to over-emphasize it by putting mosaic on it (or something like that) so the river rock texture is a way of making it interesting but not overly demanding ; ).
Still, with this experience, I can’t ever imagine applying it on more than an accent wall or column or feature. It’s just too frustrating for the end result.
Of final note, I did not use the floetrol but I think that sounds like a good idea because the paint dries so quickly, with the consistency changing as it does. Also, the primer definitely sounds like a good idea. For a column, I figured the paint on it would be enough of a base, but the first coat was almost cartoonish in how it ended up, with the “full heavy coating” I applied just getting sucked up in some cases, making it look like I had purposely painted darker square lines around splotchy centers.
Quick Update.
I did go for a fourth coat. The third was better, but I still had a few noticeable areas where the shading was too varied and still had some “lines” between different shades - including areas where the paint really had looked identically coated when I finished the coat.
So, based on what I read here, I tried one more thing prior to going out for some floetrol (since I’m still in paint mode and dress ; ).
I ditched the Ralph Lauren roller and used a cheap sponge material roller of about the same 4″ size. It doesn’t soak up as much of the paint itself so it made it much easier to get the paint on the column and spread it fast.
The one downside is it splattered much much more, especially since I was trying to get it completed fast.
But the end result is much much better. I think I’m done.
In the unlikely event I try another coat (very unlikely at this point), I’ll use the same kind of roller and add a bit of the floetrol to the mix.
Final note - I really don’t notice any difference in texture so the cheap sponge roller didn’t seem to degrade the look at all, though I suppose that could be because I used the RL roller on the first 3 coats.
Good luck to everyone.
I’m so dissappointed in the River Rock. My new log home bathroom looks horrible and I did research the technique, and got all the rollers. Its seems dry when applying and drys blotchy. I wish I had read all these reviews before I started -I’ve wasted my day off of work on this.
I’ve use riverock several times and love the results. Four the best results, take a four inch brush and put on paint extra thick over a 3 foot wide area, about half way down the wall. Next (only use the 4 inch ralph L roller) start smoothing it out in small V strokes. That is all there is to it. Keep going without stopping until the entire wall you are working on is done. Do the same thing with the second coat and you will have the best results ever!
I’ve been using the River Rock paint off and on for customers over the last five years with little problems. Then last year they change the roller covers. They used to be gray with a wool like texture. Now there white and feel like a standard woven roller. Has anyone else noticed this. Oh, by the way, the new rollers are terible and eveything you hade done in the past doesn’t work.
I originally suffered the same trials with RL River Rock as other posters,Fatique- a very dark green/black sand and a tan/balck sand. however after 2 coats, I blended/covered the areas that were uneven or too dark by pouring a small amount of paint and slightly diluting with water and used a large SPONGE to blot over the areas. I was able to lighten up the areas with overlap and even out streaks.
This technique worked for large living room and dining room and everyone comments on how beautiful the walls are!
Да, реально в этом что-то такое есть. А раньше я был довольно наивен
Ну что ж - времена изменились 
Большое спасибо за то что просветили, выводы соответствующие обязательно сделаем.
After watching some videos on the Ralph Lauren website, my boyfriend and I purchased River Rock to cover up some imperfections that occured while stripping wall paper. We ran into the same problems as most here, very streaky walls after two coats of paint. After a week of stripping wallpaper and painting I would have expected to be more satisfied with the end product. Not wanting to waste more time and money a search of the web turned up this website. We purchased a wagner power painter optimus plus ($99 at home depot) and “easy on” thinning agent based on the suggested solution. After taping off the ceiling, windows and closet doors, we tried the sprayer out on a test piece of cardboard. It sucked the paint up the tube fine, then sprayed for a total of 2 seconds and quit. We cleaned the unit and filter twice, added more thinning agent, but the power sprayer refused to work. Not wanting to go back to rolling and left with a gallon of paint, we tried sponge painting and brush strokes in an x pattern on two test blocks on the walls. We haved decided to go with the x pattern which has an intersting look, although not what we had initially intended. I’d also like to mention that the back of the can states that it covers in two coats, but it takes 4 gallons of paint to cover a 12×12 room with 8 foot celing, which is basically what we are working with. We won’t be trying this product again, but my guess is that if you are interested you should buy a lot of paint and really slather it on the walls making sure to work in small pathes so the edges of the paint stay wet for blending. Also, if you go with a dark color, consider using a tinted primer. I suspect that would have made things much easier. I wish I would have looked up more reviews about this paint instead of just relying on the Ralph Lauren website which made it look very easy.
Yes looking for help! Din’t think it looked good? lines like everyone else. Second coat done. Well not doning the rest with this paint. Do not buy it.
какой-то оффтопик начался
Вообще, когда читаешь такое, посещает мысль, а ведь это ж так просто, ну почему я это не смог придумать Респект
Можно и подискутировать по этому поводу …
Хорошая статья. Много чего нового узнал для себя. Автору респект и уважуха
What’s with all the Rissian (?) language postings? Anyway I posted two comments on 2/15-17/2007 about River Rock. Believe it or not in June of this year I tried doing a faux limestone block wall following instructions in a Lowe’s book. Halfway through I decided it looked like crap and would never work. Since I had the wall base coated in white and taped (grout lines) for the blocks and I had a gallon of River Rock “Frosted Hawthorne” leftover from last time, I used it to cover the mess. Of course, as I expected, it did a half assed job, but I went back to Home Depot, got another gallon and recoated. It didn’t look too bad but I thought I’d try to do it right. Went back, got a lighter shade (”Coastal Sand”) went over the wall with simple top to bottom roller strokes (with a few touch ups when done) and Voila! It looks great. Tomorrow I remove the tape and accent the grout lines. I have the room done with faux copper tiles on the ceiling and I’ll finish with laminated flooring (DuPont Tile design). Anyone interested in seeing the results can email at jtannercc33914@gmail.com and I’ll take some digital pictures as it stands and/or the final result.
Провокационный пост. Поэтому такие и комментарии
First thing first, riverock done well, looks outstanding. I know of no other paint that gives the rustic, aged look. that riverock can give. Second thing, painting with riverock takes an artistic like skill. If you think your going to just roll on the paint like your painting a wall with latex paint, forget it. You might get lucky, but it is generally a tough paint to use, always has taken me 2-4 coats to get it just right.
The most important concept to realize is that the paint cannot dry too quick, otherwise you WILL have brush marks, uneven strokes and unprofessional results. The thickness you put the paint on matters, the room temperature matters, even the humidity. The cooler the room, the slower the paint dries. The thicker the paint, the slower it dries. I have heard of adding water and even chemicals to the paint to slow down the dry time, so you can finish the wall before it all dries. Do not even consider stopping the paint process, once you have begun.
A full size roller works ok with some riverock colors but a four inch brush (the Raph L. brush works fine) is probably best. Put on paint extra thick over a 3 foot wide area, about half way down the wall. Next start smoothing it out in small V strokes. Be consistent. Keep going without stopping until the entire wall you are working on is done. I have even had very good result by putting the paint on very thick on the entire wall, then doing the v strokes before it has dried. Do the same thing with the second coat and as many coats as it takes. Pay attention to what works, I have used it three times and each time, it was a little different, probably because each color is different and the painting conditions were different. If you are going to mindlessly paint the room, don’t use riverock. If your going to pay attention to details and use all the skill you have, you will love the results.