What's Your Experience With Faux Stained Glass?

My experience with it is, it was something I was interested in doing many years ago. I bought the paint (I think it was Pebeo Vitrail) and I vaguely remember trying it a few times but I actually ended up using it mainly as a way to give an enamel look to fine silver jewelry I made with something called precious metal clay (which is formed by hand and fired in a kiln to become pure silver). I really did like the look of the things I did but other creative things took over back then.

Anyway, I would think you'll enjoy it!

Hmm...I'd never heard of it. Looking at photos it really appears like what it is, paint on glass. Yes, the paint is transparent but to me it's readily apparent that it's paint. Maybe if it was airbrushed on the results would look more like real stained glass.

I played around with something years ago. It was a pourable liquid that would adhere to glass or clear plastic. First you would put down the "lead" which came in a tube that squeezed out and when that dried you poured the color. It actually worked very well but was highly toxic so don't know if it still exists.

I have windows that are street level so have done a number of things to replicate some sort of glass. Home depot sells window cling glass covering that works well and looks pretty. It will last a long time.

I have also used wax paper as a sort of rice paper look that can be paired with colored tissue paper and makes a nice window cover. That I iron right onto the window when it is not too cold out and an iron that is not too hot.

Peggy, that's exactly the same paint I'm using, the Pebco Vitail, the leading I mixed my own with white glue and black paint.

DK, it actually has some texture and the imitation lead is raised given it a very realistic look. The paint itself depending on how thick or thin it's applied also has texture to it which resembles old window glass with it's waveyness.

Val, I used that peel and stick product and it looks very nice, it's not cheap though, but this process of painting looks way better in my opinion. I know I will be doing more of these.

Over all it far exceeded my expectations and I see much room for improvement in the realism department which choosing the right colors and design will go a long way.

I have pretty much completed this piece except I need it to dry further to touch up all the borders to cover and light spots. I made the mistake of working over a colored background so I could not see the line definitions well. It should be an easy fix. The size of it is aprox 22" x 22", I will say this It looks much better and much more realistic in person than on photo.

I also have one step which I wish I would have done first and that's drilling two holes in the glass on the upper corners so I can hang it over one of our windows.

I just completed my 2nd faux stained glass piece and this one came out much better. I realized this is more like a resin than paint and this time I used a different technique to apply the solvent based paint which I also thinned out and the results were totally different. This piece does not look painted at all and looks very much like real stained glass.

This one was much easier to work with because it's just an 8" x 10" and I used the most translucent of the colors which adds to the realism. I'm starting to see how this paint works. I am ready to order some more colors to expand the selection.

Now it's time to good back to work, this was a very enjoyable undertaking and I will probably be doing more of these.

Mario - They turned out great! Very believable looking stained glass.

Does the paint have toxic fumes and can you paint vertically or do you have to lay the glass flat until dry?

Thank you Val. It has no fumes but it does have to lay flat because the paint will otherwise run.

Val, maybe multiple light coats for vertical painting, I will have to try that, also thinning it will make it dry faster for verticle. The pigments are strong so it will still hold it colors maybe even more translucent?

Thank you Mario - It looks like fun.

It was a long time ago I tried something like this. The paint worked well but the fumes got you so high you couldn't work with it. Not a good thing at all without proper ventilation.

Wow Mario, those look fantastic! I remember enjoying the look of the texture too. You can play around with that to your advantage. Fun!

This makes me want to try that! so cool! I used to want to do real stained glass but I didn't have the resources or space.

I played around with it years ago, trying to replicate an album cover. I think it is in the basement. Will have to go check.
Fun medium to experiment with. I found you can use gravity to your advantage to "pool" areas to form darker tones, by having the ability to adjust the leveling of the glass as you work on different sections at a time, then allow them to dry and move to the next section.
Looks great. Have fun!

Val, these paints have little or no smell, at least I don't recall. They come in very small glass jars and a little paint goes a long way. I worked in our kitchen and if there was any smell we would have all noticed as we do a lot of cooking in the kitchen. :-)

Thanks Peggy!

Go for it Shelli! the set of paints which is like a sampler of the colors cost me about $42 for 12 paints.

Robert, good point, I discovered to soon that if the leveling is off it can cause the colors to bleed over or spill over into a different cell.

Also I discovered that you have to work all the way to the lead edges or when the paint starts to dry it pulls or shrinks back from the edge leaving a void, this happened to the first piece and I will have to retouch up all those spots. The cool thing is you really don't need a brush, although I did use a fan brush, an eye dropper works well or tooth picks.

I just found the most perfect piece of glass upstairs for the next one. It's from the leftover original windows from the house, has to be over 100 years. I managed to get it out of the original wood frame with out damaging either. So this next piece already has a frame in it's original state.

This next one will measure 28" by 30" high

Mario it’s stuff like this that makes me wish we lived closer. I love messing around with different stuff like that!

That would be awesome Ronald, I could envision you creating a stained glass piece like your paintings. I think the colors and shapes and objects in your work would really be something in a stained glass piece.

Looks like today is another stay away from work and stay home day to do faux stained glass art! :-)

Mario, you are so creative. All your project here are awe inspiring.

Thank you Lisa! I am so much enjoying working in this medium, I have always been in awe of stained glass.

I have just completed drawing my design and piping on the lead to the glass, soon as it dries I'll be adding the colors. Piping the lead requires the skill of a cake decorator, I'm not much of a cake decorator. :-)

I am almost done with it, here is just a snap shot as it's drying and I have to let dry flat, it's on a glass table and as you can see it's quite transparent. I was running out of paints and had some issue with the love bugs wanting to park on the piece while I was working on it.

It's going to get mounted in the original old wood window frame it came from and then I will be able to hang it over a window to catch the light.

Looks amazing!

Thanks Lisa! I was upstairs checking out the other window panes and window frames and counted 6 more up there about the same size as this one.

I have to stop now, I ignored 15 calls on my business phone today, I got to get back to work. :-)

Ha ha, Mario, you're just like me....I won't tell you what I forgot to do because of getting caught up in artistic endeavors but it was MAJOR!

The window looks fantastic. (Not that I want to encourage you to ignore more business calls heh heh.) Perhaps an Etsy store is in the offing?

Thanks Peggy!, the fact that I ran out of paint made me have to go to work today but after work I stocked up after clearing the shelf at the local art store of the vitrail paints. Good thing the weekend is just around the corner. :-)

Our new home is on a scenic road and there is a three way intersection with stop signs so my store is going to be the barn, I already have a gallery of outdoor art and it can be seen from afar as it's dead center at the end of the road as one approaches the intersection.

I could save my patterns of the works I've already done but I hate to make the same thing twice, so no, each piece will be a one of a kind with my own designs.

Here is the pane mounted in it's original 104 year old window frame. I took this pic with artificial indoor light , it looks totally different when the sun shines through it.

Today I pulled another of the old window panes out and I started to clean it. This one was full of paint drippings all over the glass. After spending some time with it I got it looking really good after scraping all the paint off both sides of the glass . It's now ready to become another faux stained glass piece.

This one is staying in it's frame as I tried removing it but it was much to tight at the joints and I feared breaking the glass. I will work on it with the frame on, it might be a little more cumbersome but I think it can be done.

Still have no idea what design I will draw for it, it's likely going to be another with geometric shapes. This time I have a few more colors available to me with the new paints I purchased which I can't wait to use. I'm still using the Pebeo Vitrail transparent solvent based paints I made the others with, I feel comfortable with this paint. There are two other brands that I will try once these run out but they have to be ordered online.

This project has really elevated my interest in stained glass and it's history, there is an allure to this medium that seems to fascinate people. Even though this is not "real" stained glass I am working with. The painting of glass has a long history, modern technology has made these paints now that allows one to come very close to achieve the look of real stained glass and at a fraction of the cost.

It's going to be really interesting when I display these piece outdoors and see what kind of responses I get from people that see them. At some point I will probably want to try making a piece or two of "real stained glass". However to do large pieces like the ones I am doing would cost a lot of money and would require a lot more time.

Aren't you afraid of breaking the glass?


All your projects are beautiful!

Thank you Lisa! :-) I was scared, that's why after a few taps with my hammer to try and spread the frame I called it quits when I heard the glass pinging, they have little finish nails pressing against one side of the glass.

The previous one I did, the frame was loose on one side and I was able to remove the glass without having to hit t he wood. This one I'm leaving the glass in the frame while I work.

It's been a marathon of painting today, hoping to have #4 completed before midnight.

This has been a really fascinating week exploring this "new to me medium" which has it's roots way back to the ancient Romans according to some accounts.

I could see myself doing more of this work, maybe doing some bargain hunting, antique shopping or going to builders closeout and architectural salvage yards looking for old and unusual glass and windows to turn into more of these faux stained glass pieces.

I think just displaying them along the fence line in front of our house would generate some interest, who knows maybe even some sales if I were trying to sell them?

In the photo below leaning against the window is the piece I completed late last night.

Nice work Mario!

I guess you’re probably familiar with this product, Pebeo Cerne Relief Dimensional Paint?

https://smile.amazon.com/Pebeo-Vitrail-Relief-Dimensional-Nozzle/dp/B001ANVFGY/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=pebeo+cerne+relief&qid=1601225751&sr=8-1

It comes in a bunch of different colors and might be perfect for creating your stained glass leading effect :-)

Thank you Becky!

I have seen it but I haven't tried it. I mixed my own and it seems to be working good for now anyway and way less expensive. These windows and it's glass are old and I am leaving them as close to how I found them minus the dirt, grime and paint. :-)

I have pretty much improvised with what I had on hand minus the paint.

I have done a total of 5 stained glass pieces, 3 large ones at 30" x 28" in the original window frames and then I did 1 a little smaller than that which was actually an end table glass top which was the first one and finally a small 8 " x 12 " picture frame one.

With this came a good amount of learning experience, how the paint behaves, how important it is to work on a glass table so that light shines through the working piece. I also worked with thinning the paints for different texture and effects. Mixing colors to some degree.

Working outside is not recommended if you live in Florida during the love bug season, they will be attracted to the piece and mess it up!

It's also much better to take the glass out of the window frame if possible. Thinning the different colors is crucial for the darker colors which otherwise will not appear transparent like the deep blue and turquoise. It must be done carefully and on a very level surface. That's easier said than done on a 104 year old house floor. The black and white paints are not really transparent, nor is the gold.

Do not thin with odorless mineral spirits especially the milky white type, I used one called speedball Mona Lisa it's very clear and thin, it works good and really extents the paint.

Finally a little sun is shinning.

Dont do it, the plastic film and the cheep imports form chian have all but killed the art, I am about to the point of doing pices for the cost of meterial just to keep things going

It's to late I already did it. :-) Mainly I'm doing it because I had this material on hand and they needed to be reclaimed and incorporated in the restoration of this 104 year old house we recently moved into.

I think I have enough to do at least most of the windows on one of the floor levels in the house.

I mostly explore new mediums for my own discovery and with little regard for the art markets.

The bird is beautiful!

WOW Mario - Just checking in to see what you have been up too. You have been busy! Wonderful pieces you have created!

Thank you Becky! These sandhill cranes as they are called have a natural habitat in these parts and they spend there days around the yard. The are so nice to have around.

Thank you Val! I have been fascinated with this whole stained glass thing. I see a lot of possibilities. I did one other one yesterday and I started out with one idea and then I don't know what happened I just started throwing down colors and I was very happy with the piece, until

I was working outside but it was getting close to dark and the bugs come out at dark so I needed to bring the piece inside and when I did, my colors ran, oooops!!! I had no choice but to try and fix the mess and just did the first thing to come to mind.

I ended up using just about all my paints except for some black, white and gold which I have left over.

Now I am looking at the piece after a final touch up I had to do today and it's growing on me, if I had to do it over I would just omit a few of the colors I used. I was experimenting with paints and thinning them and I put them on really thick.

I then tried to mix my own transparent paints, I tried it with the oil, the acrylics and with the watercolors I had. Nothing doing, nothing even comes close to the solvent paints I have been using. I guess it's time to reorder some more paints.

Btw, this is the one I was speaking of that I had a big mishap with and it's one I really like now, seems that flaws and screw ups make it better. :-)

I tried one last thing to get that stained glass look mixing my own paint and the last thing I tried seems like it might be possible. Clear glue and acrylic paints! I have some samples drying but it looks good!

I think it is great Mario! I would never have thought it had a mishap! Isn't that what is called a happy mistake? I think it is really pretty!

Thank you Val! :-) A happy mistake it really turned out to be.

I tried the acrylic paint and clear glue on a small glass from a picture frame and It looks ok as a decorated piece but nothing close to the transparent solvent paint Vitrail .

Everything has come to a hault, I ran out of paints. My last little project I though I would just pour the paints instead of brushing, I like the results but now I'm out of paint.

This time I ordered the colors I wanted in the size I wanted without buying the sets. I get twice as much paint for the same cost. I have to wait now until the paints arrive in about 1 week so they said.

I guess I'll go clean my window pane canvases for the time being and maybe work on the designs for the remaining windows.

Today I went ahead and mounted my completed pieces, the four 28" x 30" pieces. I attached them on the upper half of the windows directly to the frame. The opening for the windows were exact as these stained glass pieces were once the original windows in this house before they were updated with new windows. The old ones were the weight and balance type windows.

The pullies from the old windows are still on the window frame openings.

The other 3 pieces I made I am just going to gift to someone.

I still have several more windows stashed upstairs which I plan on doing the same to once my paints arrive.

A slightly different direction today. Since I am waiting on paint I continue sampling different paint mixtures trying to get some vitreous effects.

I worked on an antique mirror I found upstairs today. I am going to try my colors I mixed on the piece. Let's see what happens when I mix water color pigments with clear glue and water.

So before and after,

I wouldn't have done this to this old mirror but the glass was in rough shape and I needed to do something with it.

It's still drying, the paints are taking longer to dry, plus it's been raining here for the past few days.

Nothing else left for me to say, I am waiting for more product and hoping to do a few more windows as it will save me from buying blinds.

This process of creating faux stained glass has a lot of potential and was well worth trying.