Humidity and glass paint

Glass paint is a specialty product, and it has qualities that ordinary paint doesn’t have. You might be tempted to think that ordinary paint will perform well when backpainted onto glass, especially if the painted glass is then bonded to a wall – as you might see with a kitchen backsplash. After all, the glass will protect the paint from splatters and humidity, and glass paint isn’t really necessary, right? A permanent bond discourages humidity

When paint cures, it hardens and becomes resistant to dirt, grease and contact damage. Ordinary paint doesn’t ever bond to glass, so it never really cures. Without curing, the paint will be subjected to contact damage, chemical damage from glues and damage from the humidity in the air. Ordinary paint will continue to absorb humidity, so not only will it not be cured, it won’t even stay dry. In a relatively wet place like a kitchen or bath, this will cause immediate problems.

If the paint is wet, it will peel away from the glass surface. The paint will bubble and flake – something you certainly don’t want in a kitchen! The relative humidity in the kitchen changes every time you cook something, so ordinary paint on glass will be subjected to these wide swings in humidity every day.

Humidity is a double-edged sword. Just as a room can be moister than average, it can also be drier than average. Ordinary paint in a place like a kitchen may be subjected to higher than average humidity, followed by lower-than-average humidity. Just as the paint absorbed moisture from the air, it will release moisture back into the air when the humidity drops. This will cause the paint to shrink and crack – something else you don’t want in the kitchen.

In short, applying ordinary paint to glass and then attaching the glass to the wall will not create the same effect as glass paint will, and it will create a mess in your food preparation area. The solution is to use true glass paint. Glassprimer™ glass paint forms a permanent bond to glass, and resists the effects of changes in humidity. When properly applied, glass paint will withstand the rigors of kitchen duty for years.

Removing glass paint

Glassprimer™ glass paint is an interesting and versatile medium. You can use multiple coats and application techniques to achieve your desired result. Since glass resists creating a permanent bond with paint, most ordinary paints won’t stick to glass for very long. Factors like humidity, the impermeability of glass and even the paint itself affect how paint sticks to glass. While most paints will dry to the touch in a relatively short amount of time, paints applied to glass won’t “cure.” That is, they never harden enough to make themselves resistant to damage.A few options for removing glass paint Glassprimer™ glass paint is specially engineered to cure on glass. Without our special catalyst, the curing process can take as much as a full year. With the catalyst, Glassprimer™ glass paint cures in as little as 24-48 hours.

But that opens up the question – is removing glass paint possible, and how would you do that?

Mistakes happen – and sometimes, you just change your mind about what you want! You can still remove Glassprimer™ glass paint from glass after you’ve applied it to the glass. The trick is to act quickly!

If the paint is still wet, removing glass paint is easy when you use acetone or a standard paint stripping fluid. Once you’ve removed the paint completely, re-prepare the glass surface using isopropyl alcohol. You can then reapply the glass paint to the surface.

If the paint has already cured, you’re on the clock! Glass paint cures in about 1-2 days if you’ve used the Glassprimer™ catalyst. In this case, you’ve got about two weeks to act. Lay the glass on a flat surface or on the ground, paint side up. Pour or spray a commercially available paint stripping formula onto the paint and let the paint stripper stand. The stripping compound will soften the paint and in just a few minutes, you’ll be removing glass paint easily. You can use a hose or pressure washer to fully dislodge the remaining paint from the glass. You can also use a good degreaser to remove the rest of the paint.

Depending upon how long the paint has been on the glass, you may find that removing glass paint can be difficult in spots. You can repeat the stripping process to target these stubborn areas, or you can tackle them with a single-edged razor. Be careful to avoid scratching the glass. Once the paint has been released, you can re-prepare the glass and start fresh!

If the paint has been on the glass for a long time, rather than removing glass paint, you may be better off starting with a fresh piece of glass, since the Glassprimer™ glass paint bond is generally permanent after about two weeks.

Blend paint colors like a pro

In the last post, we looked at a few ways to blend paint colors by choosing hues that complement each other. In this post, we’ll look at some additional strategies to help you figure out how to blend paint colors when planning your decorating scheme. Other ways to blend paint colors

Color triad. You can create a color triad when you choose three shades that are 120 degrees apart on the color wheel. This color scheme is an attention-getting combination. If you want to try this approach, consider choosing one color in your palette to be the primary color, and use the remaining two as accent colors. You can get a wider range of color options by varying the saturation of the colors in the palette.

Color square. Similarly to complements and triads, you can create a color square by using four evenly spaced colors on the color wheel. Each color will be 90 degrees apart. You’ll essentially be using two sets of complementary colors. This approach gives you a lot of way to blend paint colors, but it introduces a little wrinkle: you can end up with a palette that contains both warm and cool colors. As with other multi-color paint schemes, you’ll be happiest by choosing one primary color and using the rest of the palette as accents.

Color rectangle. A color rectangle also uses two sets of complementary colors, but they’re not evenly spaced on the color wheel. To create this palette, choose a primary color and its complement. Then choose a color that is 60 degrees away from your primary color and that color’s complement. You’ll be able to extend your options to blend paint colors by varying the saturation of the colors in your basic palette. Balance isn’t the key here – use one primary color and use the rest to create accents.

You won’t get much more by adding more colors to your palette, although you can. If you want to blend paint colors, the key is to remember to balance the colors in your palette with their complements and keep the colors predictably spaced on the color wheel.

Glass paint and exterior projects

Glassprimer™ glass paint is engineered to perform in tough conditions, and it’s suitable for use in exterior projects. Glassprimer™ glass paint is self-priming, and forms a permanent-bond with both interior and exterior architectural glass. It is also classified as a low-VOC coating, which means it won’t generate a lot of noxious paint fumes. Glass paint works on many surfaces!

You may not have thought of Glassprimer™ glass paint as good choice for exterior projects, but it offers a number of advantages. Although the Glassprimer™ glass paint warranty applies only to interior applications, it offers excellent coverage, fast curing (when used with the specially formulated Glassprimer catalyst), excellent resistance to UV light and temperature resistance to 350 F. You can also count on Glassprimer™ glass paint to provide excellent resistance to harsh chemicals you’re likely to encounter outside, like gasoline, oil, salt, sulfuric acid, ammonia, Xylene and hydrochloric acid. Glassprimer™ glass paint is resistant to humidity and direct contact with water, although we do not recommend immersion in water.

Because Glassprimer™ glass paint offers a thermal resistance to 350 F, you can safely apply it to outdoor surfaces that receive direct sun exposure and are likely to retain heat. Once the paint has cured, it will not peel, fade, crack or bubble. We can also match virtually any paint palette from any major paint manufacturer. That gives you maximum flexibility when decorating the exterior of your home.

One important key to remember when applying glass paint is that thin coats work best. Thin coats allow glass paint to dry and cure properly. Thick coats of paint substantially increase the drying and curing time for glass paint. When applied in thin coats, glass paint typically dries to the touch in about 2-3 hours, and can be handled safely in about 4 hours. Full curing usually requires 24-48 hours, provided that you have used the specially formulated Glassprimer catalyst. Thicker coats of paint will require longer curing time.

To test for a complete cure, press your fingernail into an inconspicuous area of the painted object. If you cannot leave a mark, and the surface of the paint feels like glass, the paint is completely cured. At this point, you can install a glass-painted surface.

Color schemes for paint projects

Paint is a wonderful decorating medium. Most people don’t take advantage of all that paint has to offer, largely because they tend to think monochromatically when they work with paint. Using multiple paint colors can change the entire complexion of a room. Unfortunately, most people don’t know how to put together a color scheme for paint projects, so they settle for working with just one color. In addition to working with multiple colors, you can work with multiple kinds of paint. When decorating the kitchen, for example, you can use glass paint to color backsplashes, countertops or cabinet fronts, and use other kinds of paint to cover the walls and ceilings. Putting together a paint palette

Glassprimer™ glass paint can be tinted to match any color from any major paint manufacturer. This means you can select your paints using the color chips you find in the store, and then order Glassprimer™ glass paint for paint projects. You can be sure that the glass paint will match the chip exactly!

Monochromatic colors You can put together a monochromatic palette that includes multiple variations of a single color. Try blending a palette using varying saturations of the same color. Multiple monochromatic shades will produce a calming, soothing effect and work well in bathrooms and bedrooms.

Complementary colors The color spectrum is often displayed as a continuum known as a “color wheel.” Using the 360-degree notation, complementary colors are those that are 180 degrees away from each other on the color wheel. In this scenario, yellow is opposite of purple, so yellow and purple are complementary colors. Blue is complementary to orange, red is complementary to green, and so on. Complementary colors can work well together within limits in paint projects, but they are instant attention-grabbers that need to be balanced out by other more neutral colors.

Analogous colors Analogous colors are those that sit next to each other on the color wheel. Analogous colors often make comfortable companions in paint projects. Examples of analogous colors would be blue and blue-green, or green and yellow-green. Analogous colors are similar, but not quite the same, so they create interesting and harmonious combinations. When working with analogous colors, pay attention to the saturation of your analogous color choices to maintain the friendliness of your palette.

Split complementary colors The split complementary approach to color is a complementary compromise. To create a split complementary paint palette, choose a primary color, then choose the colors immediately adjacent to the complement of your primary. Confused? If your primary is yellow, its complement is purple. Instead of choosing purple for your paint projects, choose blue and fuchsia – the two colors adjacent to the complement. You may need to play with the saturation of your colors if you plan a split complementary palette.