making opaque colored glass for use in mosaics

by sande
(san diego)

In a mosaic book I read that you can paint plain clear glass and use it in your mosaic project being sure to put the painted side into the mortar. Has anyone done this? This is an economical way to make "stained glass" if it works. Then you can cut the pieces for your pattern on the unpainted side. Does the paint affect how the glass scores and breaks?

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Oct 21, 2014
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Making opaque colored glass
by: Cheryl

Hi Sande,
Cheryl here from Your Decorative Painting Resource...

This mosaic project idea sounds like fun. You'll need to use opaque glass paints or try some of the new Multi Surface paints that have recently come out by DecoArt or Martha Stewart. There's even milk paint for glass now that also has great adhesion.

My advice to you would be to do a test piece and see how it stands up to the scoring and breaking. I'm thinking any of these should hold up very well.

Would love to see the end result! Happy painting!

Oct 22, 2014
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Making mosaic
by: Elena Misnik-Latushko

Hi,I just can't help leaving a comment here.
I also tried to "make cheaper mosaic", you see.
First, about the "behaviour" of painted glass. You've been advised to try it on a small piece of glass - that's right, because some paints create rather flexible, elastic coat which is inconvenient when you try to cut such painted glass.
If the coat is hard - like the glass itself - you'll cut it easily.Another problem - you may damage the paint coat on the edges while cutting.It also depends mostly on the type of the paint.
Then - the effect that this technique produces is a bit different from the look created by mass-coloured glass. If you put the painted side into the mortar, it looks interesting, but not the same as when you use stained glass.
Anyway, often you get the most interesting things when you try something new and unknown. Good luck!

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