How to Add Glaze to Flat Paint for Faux Painting

You can apply glaze with several different brushes and supplies.

Glazing is a painting technique often used for furniture and other large objects, such as cabinets and shelves. The glaze adds a layer of tint over the base color to increase the appearance of dimension in the object. Typically, glaze works best with gloss or semi-gloss paints. However, you can also glaze over flat paints if you seal the paint before applying the glaze. This project will take about two or three days to complete.

Things You'll Need

• Flat paint
• Paintbrushes
• Sandpaper
• Damp rag
• Spray sealer
• Glaze

Instructions

1. Paint one coat of flat paint over the surface. Allow it to dry for two hours. Sand the paint gently with a fine grit sandpaper. Wipe the surface with a damp rag to remove sawdust. Paint the object with one more layer of flat paint. Allow it to dry for two hours.

2. Spray the surface or object with a spray sealer. This is necessary to create a smooth surface to which the tinting can adhere. Glazing does not go well over flat surfaces, so the sealer is an important step to help the glaze work better and prevent it from soaking into the flat paint and ruining the base color. Allow the sealer to dry for 24 hours.

3. Mix some glaze and paint together to create a tinted glaze. Use a ratio of one part color to four parts glaze. You can experiment with the ratios until you have the color glaze that you want.

4. Paint the glaze over the object. Work quickly, because most glazes will dry completely in about 20 minutes.

5. Spray another clear coat over the glaze coat. Allow it to dry for 24 hours. Gently sand the top of the surface with a fine grit sandpaper. Wipe off any dust with a damp rag. Spray one last spray coat over the object. Allow the object to dry for 24 hours before using or moving the object.

References

• How to Faux Finish: Selecting Paints and Glazes
• Wood Web: Glazing Over Paint