Painting - color washing

I am confused about the technique for color washing walls. Do you only make X's with the glaze or do you go back and take cheese cloth to blend? Do you do both or is this two separate techniques? Does it matter how long the base coat has dried as long as it has been a minimum of 24 hours?
HELP!

There are no hard and fast rules for colour wash...Of course the base coat must be dry and non pourus but apart from that...experiment and have fun. depending on wether you are using oil or water based glazes...they should always stay "alive" long enough for you to practice and achieve an effect that you like. Practice first on small area s untill you are happy with the results. Get to know how wet,and semi dry glazes behave before attempting a whole wall section and practice random brush strokes too.
Broken colour effects are always individual and rarely look the same. Unfortunatly I have`nt set up a page for colour wash yet but take a look t the link below and maybe learn something about applying tinted glazes .http://www.aceoftrades.homestead.com/sponging.html
NO cheesecloth is required although finished brush strokes can be soft`nd using a very soft bristled brush such as a badger softener....Have fun!!