Stained-glass windows still amaze the imagination of our contemporaries along with fireplaces and rocking chairs. For us, all these are signs of romance, prosperity, comfort and beauty. But if earlier stained-glass windows decorated temples and houses of nobility, now almost anyone can order them. Moreover, the patterns on the glass now adorn not only window openings. They decorate interior doors and glass sashes on cabinets, vases, glasses and lampshades, decorate them in the form of paintings, put them on the windows of a car - and indeed, there can be any other use for this decoration by an inventive person striving for beauty.
Patterns on glass become even more attractive because when using modern materials and technologies, a person can decorate their beloved home on their own. Even if he has a little ability to draw - enough desire, perseverance and accuracy.
How can I draw on glass? The simplest "paint"
When choosing materials, you must first consider what and where you are going to draw. If you just need a decorative inscription with some small pattern on the front door, and there is a chance that it will have to be changed over time, then you can draw on glass with stationery glue with mascara. Silicate is added one tenth. The outline of the drawing or inscription is marked on the glass - and they are filled with the resulting composition. However, a colorful picture will not work - mascara does not have an abundance of shades. But it holds on tightly, does not wash off with water, and if you need to remove it, it can be easily removed with a solvent and a clerical knife (or better, with a razor blade).
Christmas window decorations
Frosty patterns on glass are more short-lived - but they are needed only before Christmas. There are several ways to apply them: toothpaste dissolved in water and sprayed on the glass from a spray bottle; beer with magnesia in the ratio of half a glass to 50 g; a fixer for photographs ... However, such patterns on the glass, made with your own hands, live only until the next window wash, and if you painted a picture for a long admire, you will have to fix it additionally. When “long-term” frosty stained-glass windows are required, craftsmen advise using carpentry glue. To make such paintings look even more reliable, the surface of the glass must be made opaque - sand, beer or matting paint.
Full painting
Previously, ordinary oil paints were used to draw on glass. The result was not inspiring: it turned out rudely, with streaks and uneven shades. Naturally, due to the improper surface, the picture could be smeared at any time and required varnish coating.
If you are interested in what paints full-fledged paintings are painted on glass today, pay attention to stained glass. They do not spread over the surface, and after drying do not require fixing with additional reagents. There are two types of paints: those that require firing, and those that do not need it. The latter, of course, require less labor and are more saturated in brightness. True, they dry for a long time - up to three weeks - but folk tricks and craftsmen figured out how to reduce this period. In principle, the idea lay on the surface: it is enough to use an ordinary hairdryer, and the drying time is reduced to a day.
Rules of Success
Before you start drawing on glass, it must be degreased. This is easy to achieve simply with soap and water or your usual wiper. Then the glass must be dried. If it is wiped, the process will go faster and there will be no traces of drops, but the fabric must be chosen so that it does not leave fibers on the surface.
At the preparatory stage, the contours of the drawing you like are applied to the glass. Ideally, this should be done with a pencil, but it can be replaced with a thin marker. And if the drawing is applied to a flat surface, a carbon copy is also suitable.
The template is placed under the bottom of the base, and patterns for painting on glass are outlined with the selected tool. Of course, if a carbon paper is used, then a sheet with a picture is placed on top in a mirror image. Traditionally, thin paper is used for templates, but from their own experience those who were already engaged in painting made sure that a transparent film from a file for documents is much more convenient.
A very crucial moment
You cannot immediately paint patterns on glass, focusing on the contours - nevertheless, we are not working with paper. First, the contours are outlined with a special contour paste. Most often, it is taken in black, silver or golden color. The choice depends on both personal preferences and the style of the selected picture. In addition to giving the picture greater clarity, such contours will not allow the colors to spread and mix with each other.
If the arm faltered somewhere, the error is corrected with a cotton swab; until the paste has dried, it is easy to wash.
At the end of the stroke, the workpiece is left for some time so that the contour paste is dried and not smeared subsequently. Full drying is not required: in a day the glass will be ready for further manipulations.
Main job
If you do not really trust your artistic abilities, it is advisable to have a color picture that you will consult with when painting. For each approach, you need to paint on the glass with only one color: that is, all the details are drawn first, say, red, then the brush is washed and a different color is taken. Paints are spent so much less - and they are not cheap.
If your patterns on the glass somewhere lay a thinner layer, you will have to wait until the applied paint dries before saturating the desired fragment with color. Otherwise, greater brightness on this material cannot be achieved.
Subtleties and secrets
In order not to be disappointed in your first experience, it would be nice to listen to the advice of more experienced associates. So, everyone unanimously claims that at first it is better to limit yourself to a small size and a flat surface - bends will still be unavailable to you for some time.
Before you draw on glass, you need to take care of the emphasis for the working hand, and it is better to practice on paper so as not to spoil the paint and glass. Otherwise, the hand will quickly become tired and begin to tremble.
You need to choose brushes for work as thin as possible - they will allow you to draw even very small details. And do not forget to wash the tools after each use: the paint dries tight, and in the morning the brushes can only be thrown away, it will be impossible to wash them.
Unsuccessful strokes and strokes are not painted over at all - nothing will work, the glass has a too smooth surface. Such places are carefully cleaned with a cotton swab and painted again.
Paint inevitably forms small bubbles. So that this does not affect the final result, they must be carefully pierced with a pin or a toothpick.
Mandatory check
Before sending your patterns on the glass to dry, look at the gap in front of a window or lamp to see the drawbacks of the painting. Moreover, this must be done in the process of work in order to notice and eliminate defects in time.
Shine through very carefully. If the paint spreads, the number of flaws will increase dramatically, and not the fact that you will be able to fix them all.
It is possible that, carried away by painting on glass, you will discover some additional tricks. But what you know now is enough to create your own masterpiece. And let it be just a glass door in your buffet - you will definitely not find such an exclusive anywhere else.