How to Leather Roll Drywall

Remove all furniture, wall hangings and window treatments. Unscrew all electrical outlet covers. Spread drop cloths out on the floors for protection. Apply painter's tape to the baseboards, door trim and all areas where you do not want paint.

Make a mixture of mild liquid detergent and water in a bucket. Dampen a sponge with the mixture and wash the walls down to remove dust, cobwebs and scuff marks. Use clean water and a sponge to rinse the walls clean. Allow the walls to dry thoroughly before proceeding.

Pour the base coat color of paint into a paint tray. Use a tapered paint brush to paint into the corners, close to the ceilings, baseboards and trim. Use a regular paint roller to roll the paint onto the remaining wall sections. If another coat is needed, allow the wall to dry for 6 hours before applying the second coat. Allow the wall to dry for 24 hours.

Roll up six to eight 1-foot square pieces of clean cotton rags. Set the tube-like rolls off to the side.

Put on disposable gloves to protect your hands. Mix the darker shade of paint with clear glaze in a small bucket. Use one part paint to four parts of clear glaze when mixing. Apply a medium coat of this glaze mixture onto the wall with a brush. Work in 2-foot sections to achieve the best results. To help blend in the edges of one section to the next, put a thicker, 2-inch coating around the edges of the section.

Take one of the tube-like rolls of material. Before the mixture dries, start rolling the rag vertically to the edge of the section without stopping. Avoid rolling over the thicker glazed edges. Overlap the end of the rag with the previous rolled section and continue in the same fashion until the entire 2-foot section has been rolled.

Brush out the thicker, 2-inch edges of each section and apply more glaze mixture to another 2-foot section of the wall, leaving thicker glaze around the edges. Repeat the rolling process with the rolled up rag. Be sure to roll over and overlap the sections to blend them together.

Switch to a new rolled-up rag when one becomes saturated. Repeat the process of applying the glaze mixture in small sections and rolling until the entire wall has been covered and rolled.

Remove the painter's tape while the wall is still wet. Allow the wall to dry for 24 hours before hanging pictures or replacing electrical outlet covers.