Hi Jared,
Since you mentioned you had not worked with the suede paint,
Are you planning on do some samples first?Understand you point about working with RL- It is
NOT one of my favorites.
Sometimes when paint companies come out with specialty paints , along comes all the tools "THEY" recommend you use with their product to achieve best performance,
well , JMO the most of this is "hogwash"- and just sucks you in to buy their tools. Sometimes just using the ole' brain and being a little creative we can use just ordinary tools or things we have around the house or shop and come up with a fantastic one of a kind finish. I guess I am one that will always experiment and go outside the box. Some of the best tools I have used are in the cleaning supply areas/car supplies/outside supplies. Don't get me wrong, there are some tools that are needed to create the finish desired.
Have you already bought the rollers, brush that RL recommends? If not, you can use just a plain roller sleeve to get the first rolled coat on. Another thing you don't have to necessarily have to roll in an up/down fashion. Try rolling in different directions to erase the linear pattern. For the brushes- if you have some older brushes - this should be fine to work the layering process with. Even using a wide full bodied cheap chip brush will work as well. Just have to look for one that has a little more bristles in them . Even a colorwashing brush will work- just get one that is not super limp and soft, because of the little gritty granulars in the suede. I would never use one of my good brushes for this.
I would recommend you getting your base as you mention close to the finish of the suede. You can either go a little lighter or a little darker, just depends on the look you want when you start applying your suede.
Remember, the suede is a textural material that emcompasses light and the variations of tonal values is what gives suede - the suede look.
The first rolled coat will look streaky- so don't get to panically. And keep your texture paint stired often to keep all the little aggregate particles well mixed. Your next layer or
two will take care of the blotchiness. Just use your criss/cross--cross hatch x's and feather out the x's-
but don't keep playing around with it- it will start to get thick on you and clump up because of the little beaded pellet like grandulars. Do the completion of your first layer and
let completely dry. Stand back and if there are areas you see you want to go back and mottle out or reapply , then do so. I personally think it looks better with the one rolled coat and two layered coats for lots of texture variation and the way the light hits on the layers . This way you will see lots of highs and lows in the tones the light catches. Of course, I imagine it depends on the client's budget. It may look just fine after the first layered 100% coverage.
Now, the suede is
NOT the best suited finish for certain rooms that will get some abuse.
Areas in close contact with certain kitchen duties, water contact, down hallways or walls where a chair could rub against (without the use of a chairrail). I would probably need to rethink using this in a bathroom where water splashings , especially around a shower / bath surround without some other barrier there, around light switches being touched regularly, oils, sprays, lotions,. It does scratch easily and if the final finish is a darker hue , it can show up even more because of the little raised grandulars and the little scratched marred areas do seem to catch your eye. Lighter colors are not that noticeable. You can touch it up, but need to try and soften the touch-up back in to where it won't be noticeable.
IMO, RL suede has never been sold on the quality of it's washability. It is a purely decorative finish. Suede by nature is a soft delicate surface, and the RL suede gets it soft matte granular appearance by sacrificing the scrubbability part.
Jared, the best thing you could do , -is test, test, test and play and practice on samples first to get the swing of it.
Would the client settle for some other type of finish for the bath?
Best of luck .
I am sure it will look fantastic when you are finished.