Home ยป DIY ยป Painting ยป Glazing Furniture 101

Glazing Furniture 101

ByGail Wilson Published on Updated on
41 Comments

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

A few people have asked me about glazing furniture. I totally understand how it can be confusing. This time last year I had NO idea how to do this. When I first started seeing things pop up on blogs, I fell in love with the look. When I asked how to do it, bloggers were very nice to “try” to explain it. But, I didn’t get it. Most of them talked about Ralph Lauren something (smokey, maybe). I was unable to figure it all out. I have always watched a LOT of HGTV (Decorating Cents) and they were always using umber (burnt and or raw). I had some in my stash, but I didn’t use it when I first started glazing. At first I used wood stain (dark walnut). Because stain cleans up with mineral spirits and not water, I tired of trying to get it off my hands. My next phase was applying the diluted burnt umber with a paper towel, sort of putting it on and wiping it off all at the same time. That was pretty messy too. Although I think that technique works well for large pieces of furniture.
Fast forward to this summer. I have glazed several items lately and I really like the following technique best. If you ask 10 bloggers, you’ll probably get 10 different recommendations. I think that is why I was so confused when I first started doing this glazing thing! No one way is right or wrong. It’s totally a personal preference.
If you’ve wondered how to glaze, I hope this little demo helps. If you are a whiz at glazing and you have something to add, please leave your suggestion in a comment and I will include it in my Saturday feature “Recent comments & questions”. If something is unclear, please ask below in a comment and I will try to help clarify it in Saturday’s feature.
Now, on with the show!
summer 20105
Supplies to gather:

  1. Project piece
  2. Primer
  3. Spray Paint
  4. Glaze (I used Burnt Umber)
  5. Brush (I used small foam brush)
  6. Water and something to mix glaze and water in (I used small plastic tray)
  7. Rag (I used paper towel)
100_9663

100_9665

100_9679
I sprayed my candlestick with primer. I use the cheapo primer from Meijer, it’s a little over a dollar a can. Let dry.
100_9670
I typically use Rustoleum Heirloom White, however I use it so often that I didn’t have any for this project. I do recommend satin finish over semi-gloss or gloss. In my opinion, the glaze does not adhere to the slicker finishes.
100_9684
I spray painted the candlestick with the satin spray paint. Let dry.
100_9687
When I spray paint, I like to spray paint both right-side up and upside down. It helps to get in the crevices. If you paint something, turn it upside down and you will see small places that were missed.
100_9672
I bought this at Walmart for  less than $1.00. It has lasted forever because I only use a dollop.
100_9690
It’s hard to see, but I already had some water in this little tray when I added the dollop of Burnt Umber.
100_9691
Can you see how little water there is? It is very shallow.
100_9692
I mix the paint with the water so that it is thinned.
100_9694
I start brushing on the diluted paint. I let it set for 30-45 seconds.
100_9696 Then I wipe it off with the paper towel. You can see how it naturally falls into the crevices.
100_9697
I work in small areas so the paint doesn’t dry too much. I don’t think enough of the glaze “took” on the bottom section . . .
100_9698
. . . so I added some more.
100_9700
I wiped it a little, let it set . . .
100_9703
Then wiped a little more off. At this point you can stop (as I did) or you can go over it again if you want more detail.
100_9709
Here it is in the place of honor on my mantel. With one of the 5 candles I own!
100_9711
Here it is close up next to my finial. You can see how different they look. I used the same technique on both. However the finial did have Heirloom White, and the glaze was a little thicker.
100_9717
Another picture strictly for a comparison of the different shades you can get with the same products. Oh, and ps I like that black cherry candle a lot better than the vanilla candle. I only have a short black cherry candle, and it is much too short for the newer/taller candlestick.
gail

Gail Wilson is the author and mastermind behind My Repurposed Life. She is obsessed with finding potential in unexpected places and believes that with a little hard work and imagination, any old thing can be made useful again, including herself!
Gail reinvented herself during a midlife crisis and has found purpose again. She hopes you will find new ideas for old things and pick up a few tools along the way.

41 Comments

  1. Very Nice, and you explained it perfectly in layman terms for the rest of us, lol.
    Try using Coffee Filters, they are very cheap, and they don’t leave LINT like paper towels do. They are actually VERy heavy duty, especially for this type of project. Works great for Large pieces of furniture too. If you can find the really Large filters like for commercial coffee makers, they work awesome! Hope this helps.

    Reply

  2. Very nice! I like the results! I’ve glazed a few things around my house and now I feel like glazing more! lol Thank you for sharing!
    Sandra

    Reply

  3. Thanks for this tutorial! I have often wondered how to do glazing the “right” way because I always hear how simple it is, but then everyone has a different method! The pictures along the way were super helpful too!

    Reply

  4. Good tutorial Gail! The candlestick looks so much better after you worked your magic.

    I have tried both acrylic paint with a little water, and an actual latex glaze with some burnt umber acrylic paint in it.

    I think my favorite method is still mixing some Burnt Umber Acrylic paint with Benjamin Moore’s Studio Finishes Latex Glaze 405.

    I have also used the stain method… not my favorite either.

    Reply

  5. Thanks so so much for posting this! I am relatively new to the world of blogging and have seen a lot with glazing, but I needed a tutorial!! Thanks!! Now I think I’ll have to go back and glaze some projects… ๐Ÿ™‚

    Reply

  6. Hey Hey…me again. Looked back and saw the painted bricks in your photos…did you paint them? I am thinking of painting a huge wall of bricks that are the fireplace part of the mantel I painting now. Yeah, probably should have painted the bricks first, I know, but do you have any advice for painting them?

    Reply

  7. Thanks! Looks easy cheesy! I just today bought that big jug of Mocha glaze…I’m painting my mantel so I thought I would need lots. Bet your way would have worked perfectly. I will try it on a small table I am changing up. Thanks for the post!

    Reply

  8. Great job with the tutorial and I sure wish I’d seen this years ago. I think I’ve done just about everything the hard way to start! Nice candlestick too – that is a very pretty grouping.
    Jen

    Reply

  10. Gail,

    Thanks for the glazing tutorial!! I was able to pick up a bunch of acrylic paints on clearance of JoAnns so now I have a number of hues to chose from.

    By the way I love your artichoke finial!! It is great! I remember seeing some in Williams Sonoma Home and Pottery Barn a few years and fell in love with them. Now I am scouring the thrift stores trying to find them… (I may try to make some myself by using a plastic artichoke…)

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.