How to Make Your Own Furniture Glaze

Use glaze to add shine and depth to wood furniture.

Glaze can enhance the natural beauty and tone of wood furniture, protect the wood’s surface from moisture and scratches and add an attractive shine to the furniture’s surface. If you’re unsatisfied with commercially available glazes, you can customize your own glaze with common household and hardware store supplies.

Things You'll Need

• 1 quart beer
• 1 cup boiled linseed oil
• 2/3 cup turpentine
• 2 tbsp. whiting chalk
• Oil-based pigment (optional)
• Paintbrush

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Instructions

1. Mix linseed oil, turpentine, whiting chalk and 1 tsp. pigment together to make a glaze. Alternately, mix 1 cup pigment with 1 qt. of flat beer to make a glaze. Use a pigment that complements the natural tone of the wood or the furniture’s existing paint, as the glaze is translucent and will not give full coverage like a paint.

2. Test the glaze on a hidden area of the furniture, using a paintbrush. If you are satisfied with the glaze’s color, you can glaze the entire piece. If unsatisfied, add more pigment or more liquid to make the glaze darker or lighter.

3. Glaze the furniture along the grain, using a paintbrush. Only apply one thin layer of glaze.

Tips & Warnings

• Work in a well-ventilated area when working with solvents.

• Wood glaze is intended for use on interior furniture.

References

• Earth Pigments: Oil Glaze for Walls and Woodwork
• Kremer; Beer Glaze; Dr. Georg Kremer