What is Glaze?

Posted by Kristin Abraham Jun 7, 2006

If you've read my last articles then you know I've got some painting ahead of me this week. Well, as I'm about to mix the glaze I remembered that a lot of people have asked me about glaze and maybe its a topic I should briefly explain. It is sort of confusing.

Glaze is two things. First of all its a product you buy at the paint store that reminds me of elmer's glue. You pour it into your paint and make...what else, glaze. So its the product on its own and its what you call the paint/glaze mix. Why, I don't know. Why does tee mean two different things in golf?

Anyway, glaze is mixed with a paint and it basically stretches the paint and spreads the pigments. This means your paint is less dense so it becomes somewhat transparent. A lot of faux finishing techniques require a certain degree of transparency so you can get the appropriate blend and depth in the finished product.

Making a glaze is sort of like making paint soup. It's like a recipe and you can spend all day making sure you have the exact ratio of paint to glaze to water. Or you can estimate and save yourself the headache. I have found that 1 third glaze to 1 third paint to 1 third water is about the right consistancy for most faux finishing techniques. Not too runny, not too thick. But feel free to experiment...after all it is an art.