Painting glass jars will help you showcase your creativity and add a bit of color to your daily life. But if you don’t know what kind of paint to use on glass jars, things might be messed up.
Several paints are effective on glass jars. But spray paints and acrylic paints will work the best when you are decorating glass. Let’s go through a complete breakdown of different paints you can use to make your glass jars look more attractive.
Different Kind of Paints for Glass Jars
You will see hundreds of painting ideas on glass jars or bottles online. But unless you know what is the best spray paint for glass jars, you might not pull out the project perfectly. Before you jump into painting glass jars, take a look at them here.
Acrylic Enamel Paint
This is one of the most commonly used types of paint on glass bottles. Acrylic enamel paint will give full coverage to your glass jars. With an opaque look, you can also use the painted jar as a canvas for other projects.
Applying enamel paint is easy. Place the glass jar you want to paint on waxed paper. This is because enamel paint drippings can be sticky and make the project a mess.
After you are done painting, the glass bottle or jar should be heat cured to settle the paint. Air drying will also work but it takes longer.
Acrylic Glass Paint
These paints will give more of a transparent look to your glass jars. Application of these paints is a bit difficult for beginners as the paint dries quickly. But if you are experienced enough to handle the paint, you can create amazing designs with glass paints.
Spray Paint
Spray paint is very popular nowadays. This is because spray painting needs a lot less time than other paints. If you are doing bigger projects, spray paint can help in covering a large surface.
The application of spray paints is also easier. You just need to use masking tape to cover the areas you don’t wanna paint. Shake the spray can and start spraying the oil-based paint on glass jars.
This paint is also effective in painting the inside of glass jars. While reaching the inside with other paints and paintbrushes is difficult, spraying the inside of a glass bottle is a lot easier.
Make sure you are applying double coats of the paint to have your desired finish.
Chalk Paint
Though chalk paint isn’t specialized for glasses, still you can use this paint to decorate glass jars. Chalk paint can be applied with brushes, rollers, or sprayers. Painting glass jars with chalk paint might be a bit difficult for beginners.
Paint Pens
These are basically special markers to paint on glass. You will find them in different colors and styles. Some have opaque colors while some others will give a metallic finish.
Paint pens can be used after a few coats of other paints as well. Once your glass jar is painted with enamel or acrylic paint, you can apply some more creativity to draw something stunning with paint pens.
How To Paint Glass Jars?
Painting glass jars is easy. The catch is, you need to know exactly how to execute the idea to make the finished bottle look stunning. Let’s guide you through how you can paint glass jars or bottles perfectly.
Clean The Glass Surface
It is crucial to clean the glass jars or bottles you are going to paint on. Cleaning includes removing the labels and washing the jar with a soapy solution. Rinse well and let it dry.
After the jar is dried, dip a clean cotton cloth in rubbing alcohol and wipe the surface of the jar. Your glass jar is now ready to be painted.
Apply Primer
Priming the glass jar before painting will help the paint to stick to the surface well. Get a good primer that dries quickly. You can apply just one coat of the primer and let it dry for some time.
Start With The Base Paint
Most probably you aren’t going to apply just one color to your glass jar. In that case, you should always start with the base color. Apply one coat of base paint and let the jar dry for some time.
Once it is dried, you can start adding other colors one after another. But remember, there should be enough drying time between colors so that they don’t mix together and ruin your artwork.
Be Creative In Making Designs
You can use several different methods to get different finishes on your painted glass jars. For example, if you like an opaque look, you need to apply more coats of paint.
But if you like a more transparent or stained glass look, be light while painting. You can also use sandpaper to add a bit of character to the paint.
Curing The Glass
After the painting is done, you now need to cure the glass to make the paint sustain. Curing time can differ depending on what kind of paint you have used. Enamel paints take 20-21 days to cure completely.
Acrylic glass paints cure much faster. In some cases, you might need to heat cure the glass jar. Be very careful about the temperature setting of the oven and the time duration while heat curing the glass. Always follow the instructions of the paint manufacturer.
Sealing The Paint
This is the final step in painting glass jars. Once the glass jar is cured, you can use acrylic sealers to make the paint shinier. Sealers are usually sprayed on the glass surface. Once the sealer is dry, it will lock the shine of the paint and prevent the paint from fading over time.
Tips for Painting Glass Jars
Follow these tips from expert professionals to make your painting project look better.
- Don’t mix different types of paints. This will ruin the proprietary quality of paints.
- Give every coat of paints enough time for drying. Don’t hurry if you want to get a good result.
- Follow the drying and curing instructions properly.
- Use clamps to hold glass jars while painting so that paint doesn’t stick to your skin.
- After the painting is done, clean all accessories properly with a soapy solution.
Conclusion
Adding a new layer and seeing the old glass jar coming to life with those sparkling colors is soothing. But it can also turn into a mess if you don’t know what kind of paint to use on glass jars.
Now that you know acrylic glass or enamel paints are the best for such projects, we hope your next projects will shine brighter than ever.
