How to Stain Glass Windows

Choose a simple stained glass template for your first project.

Creating stained glass windows is an art that seems daunting and has considerable start-up costs. It is important for a beginner to buy a good quality glass cutter, soldering iron and glass to make the learning process easier. Cutting glass takes substantial practice. It is a good idea to buy a sheet of ordinary window glass from your local hardware store to practice the cutting and soldering process. For the first stained glass project, try easy to work with beginner's glasses such as Spectrum and Wissmach.

Things You'll Need

• Measuring tape
• Black marker
• 100-watt soldering iron
• Oil carbide pencil grip glass cutter
• Stained glass grinder with 3/4 inch grinding bit
• Stained glass pattern
• Colored transparent glass
• Roll of black backed foil, 3/16 inch
• 1 lb. 60/40 solid core solder
• Stained glass flux
• Paint brush
• Black patina
• Stained glass neutralizing cleaner
• Window frame
• Caulk
• Window glazing points
• Putty knife
• Window glazing compound

Instructions

1. Decide which window will be replaced with stained glass and buy a new frame to fit the window. Measure the window frame. When you print out a stained glass template, it should measure just a fraction of an inch smaller than the window frame you will be using.

2. Choose a template you wish to use and print it out to be the actual size of the stained glass piece. Label each part of the template with the color of glass you wish to use. Cut the pieces out of the template and trace them with a black marker onto the glass colors you have chosen for each piece.

3. Score your first piece of glass with your pencil grip glass cutter, starting with one straight or curved line. Hold up the glass with the score facing you and tap the score line from the back of the glass with the steel ball end of your glass cutter. Tap the score line firmly, starting from the top of the score and working your way down.

4. Continue cutting the glass in this fashion until all the pieces of glass for the template are completely cut out. Use your glass grinder to polish every cut edge of the glass. This will make the lines even in your final project.

5. Foil all the edges of the glass pieces with the 3/16-inch black backed foil. The foil is self-adhesive, so you just place the foil on the edges of the glass and press them firmly to be wrapped 1 mm at the front and 1 mm at the back. Other sizes of foil are available for thicker or thinner glass to ensure the 1-mm wrap dimensions.

6. Ensure you are working in a well-ventilated area and wear protective gloves to avoid skin contact with the flux. Apply the flux to all the foiled edges with a paint brush, taking care not to apply excess. You can always apply more flux if the solder is not sticking firmly enough.

7. Heat up your soldering iron. Organize your glass together into the template and firmly press all the edges to be soldered together. You can nail boards to a flat piece of lumber to make a frame, but this is not required for this small beginner's piece.

8. 

   Soldering is easy to do if you take your time.

   Apply a drop of solder to all the intersections of the template. Place the soldering gun just below the intersection, then touch the tip of the solder to the soldering gun at the intersection of glass. A drop of solder will form and flow between the foil.

9. Solder all the lines of the glass. Hold the soldering gun below the area to be soldered and touch the solder to it above the soldering gun. When all the lines are soldered, "burnish" the piece by covering all the visible foil with a small amount of solder.

10. Retouch the solder to ensure all lines are smooth and even, by touching the soldering iron to uneven places. This will re-melt the solder to give it an even look. Flip the project over and "burnish" the unfinished underside with a thin coat of solder.

11. Finish the outer edges of the finished piece by first foiling the edges, paint on the flux and "tin" the edges with a thin coating of solder. Be sure to "burnish" the edges with a thin coat of solder wherever the foil is exposed.

12. Use a stained glass neutralizing cleaner to remove excess flux. Dry the piece with a cloth or paper towels.

13. Finish the silver solder with black patina. Wearing gloves and holding the piece over a sink or a glass dish, pour patina directly on the glass piece and rub in onto the entire piece until all the solder is stained black. Rinse with stained glass neutralizing cleaner.

14. Weatherize the window by applying a thin line of caulk around the window frame and setting the stained glass into the window frame. Secure the glass using window glazing points every 8 inches along the frame, by resting them on the glass and pushing them into the wood with a putty knife. Roll out window glazing compound into a 3/8-inch rope and place it along the entire perimeter of the window.

15. Press the glazing compound firmly into the groove between the glass and the frame with a putty knife. Run the putty knife smoothly over each side of the perimeter to even the glazing compound. Remove any excess with the putty knife.

References

• Art of Stained Glass: How to Make Stained Glass
• Art of Stained Glass: How To Cut Glass
• Art of Stained Glass: How To Grind Glass
• Art of Stained Glass: Foiling Glass
• Inland Craft: Soldering Basics for Copper Foil -- Continued
• The Home Improvement Web: Replace A Broken Window Pane

Resources

• Free Patterns For Stained Glass: You will need these stained glass tools and supplies to get started