Decra-lead is used as a quick and easy way to decorate windows, glass and mirror. Follow these steps to make beautiful windows and mirrors around your house.
This step-by-step turns a plain old money box into something unique and something special.
Learn how to make beautiful Christmas trees for the festive season.
When researching glass painting, it is likely that you will come up with enough information to write a book of your own. It is a broad craft with literally dozens of ways to paint on glass - we will cover just a few of these techniques in this introduction.
Stained Glass Painting: Stained glass work, which is as much drawing as it is painting, was predominantly created to add diagrams, such as people and their clothing to glass where traditional lead lines could not be used. Mainly using browns, grays and blacks, it was also often used to cover up portions of stained glass works where light was filtering through. The paints tend to be water-based and are able to be applied with a brush or squirt bottle in a similar method to watercolouring. The paint can then be fired onto the glass with the use of a kiln, where the heat allows for permanent bonding of paint and glass.
Oil & Acrylic Painting: These paints were created for surfaces other than glass, but will work on glass, as will model paint or even automobile paint. It is possible to paint these onto the glass by hand, but airbrushing would probably yield more favourable results. Another benefit is that a kiln is not required; paints are reasonably priced and are readily available. One disadvantage is that these paints do have a tendency to peel or chip when used on glass. To counteract this, rough up the surface of the glass using wet and dry sandpaper or, if at all possible, sandblasting.
Air Dried Glass Painting: As the name suggests, this form of glass painting are simply applied and left to dry, with the drying process taking about eight hours. This form of painting is most suitable for decorative work that is not likely to be handled much. It can generally withstand light washing in cold water but is definitely not suitable for food-bearing surfaces.
Oven Cured Painting: This type of painting requires the use of a conventional kitchen oven to heat the glass to between 100 and 190 degrees Celcius. This will make the glass hot enough to bond the paint to the glass.
Glass Enamel Painting: Painting with glass enamel has become more popular over the past decade, with the colour range extensive and the ability to mix colours meaning that a virtually unlimited colour range is available. Glass Enamel paints are actually minute particles of glass with relatively low melting points, which are available in both opaque and transparent colours. Glass enamel is applied in numerous layers, by means of brush, dry sifting or screen printing.
These are just a few examples of glass painting techniques with many more alternatives available. Glass painting can become very complex or can be extremely simple, depending on the type you choose.
Glass painting products can often be used in more than one aplications, as in the Money Box by Dala. Create a crafty Money Box with your children. Place it in a popular corner of your home and motivate them to start saving for their first million!