Looking for a way to mimic lacquer on glass.

[putrid]

Wanting something that looks like the old hand painted figural ornaments. I know I can break down and buy the already tinted lacquer but that stuff is expensive. I only know of one source. Don't even know if they're still in business.
I've recently found stuff to tint lacquer. Did a web search for a supplier. Found page after page of hazard material and cancer warnings. That's a bust.

Tried using stuff I already have to tint lacquer with. Oil paint didn't work. Water based tempera and acrylic clogulated. I do have one source of tempera I haven't tried yet. Plain old water colors. The hard flat squares you add water to.
I've also tried tempera and polycrylic. It mixes good but doesn't give me that high shine look of old glass.
I have polyurithane but that stuff yellows over time.

I know there's glass paints out there for doing 'stained glass' on clear balls. I've not had any luck with that stuff drying thoroughly. Ends up sticking to what I wrap the ornaments up with for storage.

I'll keep trying and let ya'll know what I come up with. Has anyone else tried tinting lacquer?

[Frosty]

I use clear coat and i got it at lowes in the spray paint department. Its a tan can with a clear top i dont remember the brand but it has a tint to it not too dark but not too light . It goes on clear and drys with a tint.

[Frosty]

Oh! i see what ya mean now.

Try just painting it then clear coat.....it be shiny :)

[Frosty]

Maybe a auto body "type" of clear coat i have not seen a white car turn yellow before.

[Sickie Ickie]

Have you tried clear onaments from Michaels or elsewhere? You could put the paint inside the ornament. It would have teh color you like, plus the hard plastic shell.

[putrid]

Oh! i see what ya mean now.

Try just painting it then clear coat.....it be shiny :)

In order for it to look like the old glass figures the paint itself would have to be opaque so the silver underneath would shine through.


Have you tried clear onaments from Michaels or elsewhere? You could put the paint inside the ornament. It would have teh color you like, plus the hard plastic shell.

I've done reversed painting on the 'back side' of a clear ball before. Even through the glass it still just looks like paint.

I have three projects I would like to do with this.
Make bread clay replicas of figural ornaments and finish them to look like glass.
Re-finish those cheap silver plastic shapes to look like expensive glass.
Paint simple shapes on silver balls. Holly leaves, grapes, Santas and the like.

Without that old world look all these projects look a bit flat. ( I've tried ) I checked my old source for colored lacquer. They no longer offer it to the public.

Testing with two different polycrylics ( Mod Podge and Minwax ) the Mod takes the tempera without curdling the best. However when colored neither is completely opaque and both loose most of there shine. I have a few more things I want to try. Not giving up.

[Sickie Ickie]

Car paint offers great gloss and opaqueness. It's offered in small "nail polish" sized bottles, too. Have you tried that?

[putrid]

No I haven't Sickie Ickie. Thanks for the idea. Should be able to get that in about every color of the rainbow as well. Will have to see how much you get for the money.

[Xmaslilly]

do you mean real car paint or the model car paint?
I would think the model car paint would work i never see those yellowing

[putrid]

Would have to be real car paint. Model paint is shiny but not opaque.

Went ahead and painted two plastic shapes with a mix of Mod Podge and water based Tempera. Used both dimensional paint and Mod Podge to add glitter. Nicer than just plane silver but not as nice as the real thing. Bought some water colors, the kind kids use to paint with and some colored ink pens. Going to try both of those as color tinting for the lacquer and polycrylic.

[Xmaslilly]

ok i am just wondering what you are painting you got a pic?
did you ever think of checking out ceramic places for small figures and going that route..you know painting and firing ?

[Xmaslilly]

I used to do ceramics and it has the glass look you are looking for I think

[putrid]

Thanks for the ideas Xmaslilly. Ceramics get a bit heavy on the tree. And I already have a problem with them trying to fall over ( see the thread 'Leaning Tower of Christmas ) LOL The look I'm going for would be just a bit silkier than a colored glass ball. Still has a shine but not as mirror like. Everything I've tried now isn't dissolving all the way and leaving brush marks.

I'll post some pics later on today or tonight, Not much to see but still an improvement over just plain silver colored plastic shapes.

[Sickie Ickie]

if brush strokes is your problem, have you tried thinning the paint and using an airbrush or paint sprayer?

[putrid]

Not using paint. Using lacquer and polycrylic. The particles that are tinting the chemicals are staying solid and not liquefying. Thinning would only spread the particles out. But it was a good idea Sickie Ickie. Don't have an air brush or sprayer but agian a good idea.

Here's a link to the two I've painted so far. This is the polycrylic 'Mod Podge' with water base tempera.

http://home.earthlink.net/~jazzfusion/id21.html

Guess I should of taken the shot with a multi colored shaped ornament for comparison.

[Sickie Ickie]

I get what you mean now. Your paint is for a hand blown ornament type of effect. You may be going in the wrong direction adding paint. Maybe you should try taking away.

What I mean is find a gloss paint, and thin it out. Maybe auto paint, and dilute it so it is translucent. Then paint it like a thick watercolor. I wonder if auto gloss would work to dilute the auto paint? hmmmmm

[putrid]

You might be on to something there. I've tried to find what they had to use in the late 1800's and before to paint on glass. Most of it is toxic enough to drop a stampede in it's tracks. May have to do a more modern approach. At least it would be safer. LOL Still have the ink and solid tempera to try. The tempera I've been using is from tubes and has water already in the mix. I'm hoping that the lacquer will evenly dissolve the solid tempera and it was just the added water that clogulated the mix. The only downfall about diluting is the loss of color intensity. You would have to start out with an extremely deep color without any black added. But it's worth a try.

Sitting here typing and had a thought, haven't tried food coloring. Don't think it would work with the lacquer because it's water base but will try it in the polycrylic. I'm beginning to think mixing chemicals I know nothing about is becoming a habit. LOL Nothings exploded yet so I'm doing good.

[Sickie Ickie]

Doing good is always...er...good. LOL At least with the translucency you can repaint until you get the desired color depth you'd like.