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Glazes

Glazes are intermediate colors that are meant to be sandwiched between layers of finish. They are not meant to be applied directly to bare wood! The effect is not transparent like varnish or lacquer, nor is it opaque like paint. Instead, glazes cast a translucent veil of coloring that hovers above the wood.

After applying a few layers of clear finish to your wood, you apply a colored glaze and then quickly brush or rag off as much or as little as you prefer before it dries. The effect of glazes is determined by the person applying it. Every person has their own deftness in wiping the glaze. The amount of color left on the wood can be very dramatic and vibrant, or it can be subtle. After the glaze dries, a final clear coat finish is applied.

Advantages of Glazes in Coloring Wood

• • Glazes enable you to successfully color woods, like maple and cherry, that are typically problematic in accepting color because they have soft spots that often lead to blotching when other coloring methods are used.
• • You can develop a personal style in applying glazes. Some finishers, for example, prefer to leave a heavier amount of glaze in crevices and corners for a darkened effect there.
• • If your project has a somewhat commonplace design—such as a basic box bookshelf—or if the wood you have chosen for the project seems lifeless, you can apply a glaze to give it some personality.
• • Once you have developed your brushing technique, glazes are rather easy to apply, and not as intimidating as other coloring processes may seem to you.
• • When you apply a glaze to open-grained wood that has not been previously filled, you have two options. You can either leave the glaze over the entire surface, wiping it off to the degree you prefer, and highlighting the open grain with the glaze deposits. Or you can wipe it completely off the surface and just leave it in the open grain as a grain highlighter.
• • If you don’t like the effect of the glaze, you can easily remove it with a rag that has been soaked with the appropriate solvent and just wipe it off. If you want to remove the glaze from the open grain, you can dip a toothbrush into the solvent and gently brush it out.

Back in the 1970s—and some of you may remember that decade more clearly than others—glazes became part of a do-it-yourself trend called “antiquing.” Crafty homeowners updated their furniture with the latest stylish colors by applying glazes. You could buy “antiquing kits” which involved painting the wood first and then applying the glaze.

That effect of applying a glaze over a painted surface will always be somewhat in style, and the only thing that dates it will be the colors you choose. To do this, you first sand the wood and then prime it. Sand lightly after the primer coat and remove the sanding dust. Apply two coats of satin finish enamel paint in the base color of your choice. Don’t use flat enamel because it’s too porous and the glaze will penetrate into it. Then apply the glaze and remove it to the degree and in the manner that pleases you.

Oil-based glazes tend to be heavier than water-based glazes so you may want to thin them out beforehand with paint thinner or pure gum turpentine.

Dark and gray glazes have long been popular with movie set decorators as a way of creating the look of grime and dirt around the handles on cabinets and doors.

Traditionally, glazes were oil-based. Today, due to environmental concerns, there is a shift toward water-based glazes. While oil-based glazes offer a notably longer open time, there have been necessary improvements in the open time of water-based glazes by certain manufacturers. Whether oil or water-based, though, most glazes come in neutral colors and need to have colorants added to them. Both look like variations of thinned-down white glue.

You must make sure to choose colorants that are compatible with the type of glaze you are using. Water-based glazes need water soluble colorants, and oil-based glazes require colorants that are expressly designed for tinting solvents. Always use liquid colorants because they mix into the glazes more easily and effectively than powdered colorants.

How to Apply a Glaze

1. 1. Your wood should have several coats of clear finish, and the final coat should be cured before proceeding.
2. 2. Prepare your supplies in advance. Additional supplies include:

1. – A brush for applying the glaze.
2. – A very high-quality brush for removing the glaze because it makes the job easier and minimizes brush marks. For oil-based glazes, an ox hair or Chinese bristle brush is preferred. For water-based glazes, a top-of-the-line synthetic brush is favored because it will hold more material and release it more evenly.
3. – Rags

1. 3. Mix your glaze recipe. Put the glaze into the mixing container first and then add the colorants.
2. 4. Apply the glaze with a brush as quickly as possible to a small (24 inches by 24 inches) area in a dust-free environment and out of the sun.
3. 5. Switch to a clean high-quality brush and begin quickly dry brushing the glaze off the wood, wiping the brush on a clean lint free rag to remove the material from the brush.
4. 6. Evaluate the effect as you go along—deciding whether to remove more material with this dry-brush technique—until you achieve a look that pleases you.
5. 7. You can also gently wipe even more glaze off the surface with a clean rag.
6. 8. Before the glaze in this small section dries completely, use your original brush to apply glaze to the next section of the wood. You have to keep a wet edge going to maintain a smooth coloration. You want to get the glaze on and off the wood as quickly as possible. The warmer the weather, the quicker the glaze is going to dry.

Softer woods, such as alder for example, require a few extra coats of sealer and clear finish before applying the glaze because otherwise the glaze might penetrate too easily through the finish and stain the wood.

1. 9. If you don’t like the color at all, just wipe it all off while it’s still wet and reformulate your recipe!

1. 10. When the glaze is completely dry, apply a clear coat finish.

The colorants used here were all water soluble.

Recipe for Blue Glaze on Maple

Before the glaze was applied, this maple sample was finished with one coat of lacquer sanding sealer and two coats of gloss lacquer with no sanding between coats. The glaze is what imparts the color to the plain wood.

2 oz. Saman Water-Based Glaze

½ oz. Paint Solutions Thalo Blue PL-11

½ oz. Paint Solutions Green Oxide PL-15

¾ oz. Paint Solutions Titanium White PL-50

Follow mixing and application instructions for glazes on pages 101–102.

Maple

Recipe for Gray Glaze on Oak

Before the glaze was applied, this oak sample was finished with one coat of lacquer sanding sealer and one coat of gloss lacquer spray. Compare this to the grain filled oak sample on page 95 and note how the glaze changes the overall color of the surface as well as making it look as if the oak had one application of gray grain filler.

2 oz. Saman Water-Based Glaze

1½ oz. Paint Solutions Lamp Black PL-16

½ oz. Paint Solutions Raw Umber PL-3

½ oz. Paint Solutions Titanium White #PL-50

Follow mixing and application instructions for glazes on pages 101–102.

Oak with gray glaze

Recipe for Dyed and Glazed Oak

This oak sample was first dyed and then sprayed with lacquer sanding sealer and a coat of gloss lacquer. A glaze was applied, followed by two coats of satin lacquer.

Dye

3 oz. hot distilled water

⅛ tsp Transfast Lemon Yellow Dye

1 smidgen ( tsp) Arti Dye #118 Gray

Slowly add ⅛th of a teaspoon of Transfast Lemon Yellow Dye into three ounces of hot distilled water. Slowly mix nd of a teaspoon of Arti Dye #118 Gray into the solution and mix until thoroughly dissolved. Strain into a new container and apply when the solution has come to room temperature.

When the dye has dried, seal the wood with a few coats of clear finish. (You can de-whisker the wood after the first coat of finish.)

Glaze

2 oz. Saman Water-Based Glaze

1 tsp. Paint Solutions Medium Yellow PL-33A

¼ tsp. Paint Solutions Bulletin Red PL-14

¼ tsp. Paint Solutions Raw Umber PL-3

½ tsp. Paint Solutions Lamp Black PL-16

Follow mixing and application instructions for glazes on pages 101–102.

Oak with dye and glaze

Recipe for Dyed and Glazed Mahogany

This mahogany sample was first dyed and then sprayed with lacquer sanding sealer and a coat of gloss lacquer. A glaze was applied, followed by two coats of satin lacquer.

Dye

2 oz. hot distilled water

½ tsp. Transfast Lemon Yellow

Slowly stir a half teaspoon of Transfast Lemon Yellow dye into two ounces of hot distilled water. Mix thoroughly, strain into a new container, and apply to wood when the solution has come to room temperature.

When the dye has dried, seal the wood with a few coats of clear finish, depending on how soft the wood is. You can de-whisker the wood after the first coat of finish.

Glaze

2 oz. Saman water-based glaze

¾ oz. Paint Solutions Burnt Umber PL-4

Follow mixing and application instructions for glazes on pages 101–102.

Mahogany