Sunday, September 4, 2016

Transform Old Dishes Into Mercury Glass

Transform old dishes into mercury glass.

After giving a pair of glass lamps a mercury glass makeover some years back, I now have a hard time looking at any clear glass decorative item without fantasizing about tackling it with some Krylon Looking Glass paint.   It's such a quick, easy, and fun project!



 Plain Glass Pumkin 

I gave into this impulse when I purchased a glass pumpkin candy dish from a local garage sale. The pumpkin was cute enough in its natural state, but I just couldn't resist attempting the simple transformation. 

 Plain glass pumpkin, Krylon Looking Glass paint, water spray bottle 

If you wish to try this project, you will need the following:
  • a clean, glass item
  • a spray bottle of water
  • Krylon Looking Glass spray paint
  • an appropriate location for spray painting (like a cardboard box in your backyard)
This Kylon paint is the only product that I know of that will make this particular magic happen.  It's not just metallic--as it dries, the glass becomes truly mirror-like.  I tend to find it at craft stores.

 Top of glass pumpkin in progress 

To get the bubbly, worn out appearance of old mercury glass, give the back or underside of the glass a light spray with the water bottle.  The paint is also applied to the back or underside of the glass item, so wherever the water droplets are, the glass will remain transparent after painting. 

The paint directions say to spray your glass with five smooth coats, waiting one minute between each.  I'm not sure if I applied five full coats of paint to the pumpkin, but I did give it at least three or four before I felt there was an adequate balance of coverage and transparency.  The photo above of the underside of the lid was taken between coats two and three.  The photo below is how it all looked when the painting process was complete.

 Top and bottom of mercury glass pumpkin in progress 

The paint dries fairly quickly, but the water takes longer. Eventually you can dump the remaining droplets out when you feel confident that the paint is dry enough to not be disturbed.

Mercury Glass Pumpkin Candy Dish

The mercury glass look is one of my favorites for adding just a bit of sparkle to a space.  It has that vintage, lived in appearance, so it fits into an otherwise rustic, industrial setting without looking too glam.  

Finished mercury glass pumpkin on coffee table with books and bowl of corks


I still have most of a can of the Looking Glass paint to use up, and I look forward to finding more old glass items to transform into mercury glass decor.

To see more fun projects, check out the Merry Monday Link Party at Twelve on Main. 

Rustic & Refined

1 comment:

  1. What a great project. I have seen it before, but I have never tried it. Thanks for the tutorial and also sharing at DI&DI.

    ReplyDelete