How to Paint a White Base Coat on a Window Painting

Muralists ofted paint commercial windows during the holiday season.

Window painting creates an eye-catching decoration or advertisement, guaranteed to capture the attention of onlookers. Many business owners have their windows painted, especially during the holidays, to draw customers to their doors. This seasonal work can be quite lucrative to the commercial window painter. In the daytime, windows appear dark, almost black. Painting your design with a white base coat provides a smooth but toothy painting surface, blocks back-lighting and makes your painted design more vibrant.

Things You'll Need

• Crayon
• White acrylic paint
• 4-inch paint roller
• Paper plates

Instructions

1. Sketch your design onto the window, using a crayon. Don't worry about intricate design details. You won't be able to see them, once the white base coat has been painted.

2. Pour about 2 ounces of paint onto the center of a paper plate. Paper plates, used as pallettes, are sufficiently rigid, inexpensive and do not require washing. Apply paint to the paint roller by rolling it into the edge of the paint. Be sure to cover the entire roller.

3. Apply the white base coat onto the window with light, smooth strokes. Paint the inside of the design first and use the edge of the roller like a paintbrush to paint around the outside of the design. Only one coat is typically needed unless you are painting an area that is to remain white.

Tips & Warnings

• Water-soluble tempera paints are not recommended for outdoor use. Oil-based enamel paints are used for long-term or permanent application.