Glazed Over Tutorial - plus glaze gallons for $1!!!

This is rerun from Kelli's blog Restore Interiors

**** I know a lot of you really like Ralph Lauren Glazing medium. Home Depot is no longer carrying it, I bought 4 gallons for $1 at my local Home Depot yesterday, run, don't walk to you local Home Depot!!

Just in case you missed it, here is my take on Glaze

love to Glaze furniture and cabinetry! Let me begin by telling you, I have never met a surface I couldn't glaze. The piece I am using in this tutorial is a White Laminate Cabinet Door I purchased from the "scratch and dent" section of Ikea.

With a good bonding primer, you can paint and glaze any surface you desire, don't believe me? Head over to my blog and check out cabinets. I have had a lot of requests for the glaze formulas I use. I mix all my own glazes, and use only Modern Masters products in my glazes.

There are many available Glaze Mediums for purchase in Paint Stores. Glaze can be tricky, and can dry too fast on you sometimes before you get the "look" you want. Modern Masters Glaze Cream has a very long "open" time, which allows you plenty of time to work with it until you get it right. You can even add more as you go, which most glaze mediums do not like to do.  There are many fantastic products on the market, I just prefer to mix my own because that allows me control over how dark or light, warm or dark brown, red toned, or gold toned, etc. I want my glaze to be. I typically use a one part colorant to four parts glaze recipe. : You could also try this by using a good acrylic paint brand such as this one,which is available at most craft stores:

I would recommend using a warm brown or a sepia tone (for a redder glaze) The list is endless, and the possibilities are endless. Glaze is a fun product to try out. Just be patient. It can take a bit of practice to get it right. There are as many ways to apply and wipe off Glaze as there are products. I do A LOT of glazing, and have found this method to be my favorite: Supply List:

Cheese Cloth (which is easily purchased from the "wood stain" section of any home improvement store)

Chip Brushes, large and small

Latex Gloves (Glaze can make a mess of your hands and looks like icky dirty fingernails if you get it under your nails, yuk!)

Begin by using a chip brush and apply the glaze liberally over one surface at a time. (i.e., if you are doing a dresser, I would start at the top and work my way to the sides, then do the drawers, other pieces separately, etc.) I recommend starting in the middle and working your way outward, this way, you don't get uneven application of glaze. Completely cover one surface with glaze before you start "subtracting" it. Take your Cheese Cloth, and scrunch it up to look like "pom pom". You will use the big fluffy part to wipe off your glaze. Begin by wiping in the middle. I like to go up and down in long, even strokes, and work my way to the outside. If your "pom pom" cheese cloth gets too much glaze on it, just keep rotating it until it is all full of glaze. (Note: you can reuse your Cheesecloth's many times, just throw them in the wash on a gentle cycle and hang them up to dry, good as new!) After you have achieved the level of Glaze you want to have remain, put the pom pom aside and switch to a "softening" brush to blend the glaze to perfection. You don't want to see streaks and such, and you have better control if you lightly "feather" brush over the areas you want to blend. You can also "add" more glaze at this point if you find you have taken too much off, then simply go back over it again with the softening brush. This is a great tip I picked up from Barb at "Knack Studios" When you are satisfied, step back and admire your work! Now you have a perfectly "aged" piece of furniture For Modern Masters Products, either go to their website: Or you can order from Annette Sheppard at