Lesson 6: Painting on Glass -Supplies

Stencil Options for Glass

If you are stenciling on flat glass, then any stencil that was usable for walls and other hard surfaces will work fine. You can use single overlay or multiple overlay, in mylar of cut from oiled paper, or even from clear contact paper. The only real difference between glass and other hard surfaces is its extreme hardness. Since there is no porosity the paint sits on top of the surface until it dries of its own accord. So multiple overlays may go more slowly than usual, since removing an overlay or putting down a new one can smear your work if done too quickly.

So any stencil at all will work of you want to put your design on a mirror, a window or glass door, or a flat sides bottle or plate.

But not many glass-painting projects are done on flat surfaces. Often the surface that you want to decorate is curved in some way - as with the rim of a plate - or rounded, as with bowls, jars and bottles.

Heavy mylar does not work well with curved surfaces, Your stencil must be thin enough to be flexible in adjusting to the contours of the surface. In fact, a certain flimsiness is almost desirable on rounded objects, as they will bend easily and stay put without you having to resort to heavy-duty adhesives.

You can use stencil adhesive if you are using glass paints that cure with air, but if the design needs to be heat cured, removing adhesive residue from the glass may affect the design. Heat cured paints can be removed with water or solvents until they are baked or fired. So if you do use it, use it carefully, letting the adhesive dry to mere tackiness before applying stencil to glass.

There are stencils made especially for glass etching and these work equally well for paint projects. Any type of "peel and stick" stencil is suitable for the curved surfaces of so many glass objects. Both Delta and FolkArt make flexible stencils that are ideal for use with glass.

Another option is to cut your own stencil using contact paper. The advantage of this is that the paper will adhere firmly to the glass, so that there is little or no danger of paint seeping under the edges of the design, which guarantees you a nice, crisp edge.

As mentioned in the discussion on paints, you can create an outline of a design using peel and stick leading paint. All you need to do is draw your outline and let it harden firmly. Peel it up and apply it to the glass, then paint inside the lines. When the paint is dry, you can remove the peelable leading and either let the bridges remain or use outlining paint to trace the design more finely.

As with so many paint crafts, masking tape can also be used as a sort of stencil, dividing your object into geometric shapes which can then be painted in colors or with frosted paint, which has the look of etched glass, if not quite the durability.

Finally - if you have a stencil that would be perfect except that the mylar is too thick to be flexible enough for your surface, use it to make a paper print of the design, by simply putting the stencil on ordinary typing paper and drawing the outlines of the design with a dark pencil or marking pen. Then place the outline drawing of the stencil beneath your clear glass, and carefully paint the design in, using your outline as a guide.

If you are not working on clear glass, as for instance when you are painting on a mirror, you can use a transfer pencil to transfer the design to the glass, or trace the design onto the glass by placing your outine drawing onto graphite or carbon paper and then pressing firmly so that the carbon marks will appear on the glass surface. Then paint carefully, trying to stay between the lines but also to cover them so they don't give your "drawing" technique away.

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