Here is a question I was asked recently. “I have oak cabinets to paint. I have read directions on using steel wool and tsp. I am going to paint them cream and then want to apply a glaze or stain? just to define grooves and molding. we saw some cabinets like this. How do I get that look?”
Answer: I’m not sure what you mean when describing the effect you want. I’ve included some general guidelines for working with glaze that I hope will get you started. First a quick comment. I would replace the steel wool with a Scotch/Norton/Other nylon pad. If a piece of steel wool breaks off and becomes embedded in your surface it will rust.
There are two ways to work with glaze. Either buy a colored glaze or mix paint with clear glaze. The easiest way is the colored glaze, if you can find one close to the color you want. My paint store, and many others, carry McClosky’s in about a dozen different colors. It’s easy to use but experimenting is recommeded.
You will need the following: several clean rags, a small bucket of water, a small container for the glaze (4″-12″ wide, 1″-2″ deep), latex gloves, drop cloth or equivalent.
Pour a little glaze out in the container. Dab the corner of a clean rag in the glaze and apply it where desired. It dries very slow so you can work it around, add and subtract, until you get the desired effect. You will want a damp rag and dry rag. The damp rag to wipe off excess from where you don’t want it, the dry rag to subtract stain if you get too much on. You can swirl it on or use strait lines, work it in and wipe off the rest on the top. It will have a tendency to collect in the lowest areas like water. That gives a dark line effect.
If the ready made colors are not to your liking, buy a quart of the color you want, a quart of clear glaze in the appropriate sheen, and combine paint to glaze in 1:3, 1:1, 3:1 ratios depending on how dark you want the glaze. The more paint the quicker it dries, too.
Filed under: How To Paint | Tagged: glaze, glazing, glazing cabinates, Interior Painting
