| Tricks of the Trade© |
First edition Tuesday May 16, 2000 |
A severe lack of time and way too much volunteering (we knew this was gonna happen...)has put me in the position of writing a very short Tricks article for my fine fellow painters. Still, I thought this would be interesting and I invite you to try it out next time you're sitting around with beer, powdered pigments, and nothing better to do. I remember some of the old "Meisters" in Switzerland talking about this glaze. It was one of their favorites, for obvious reasons...
Ancient recipe for beer glaze:
One liter of beer mixed with a minimum of 20g up to 100g of powdered pigments. Mix together well, no clumps. This is best done with a small amount of beer and pigments, mixed into a smooth paste and then added to the rest of the beer. Works especially nice on bare wood surfaces, like on furniture. Alone it will dry to the touch but is not waterproof on it's own. On furniture, it can be topped with a coat of beeswax for added durability, on walls it can be sprayed with a water based varnish for added protection. The glaze will be very thin, and multiple coats can achieve a blended, very unique look, unmatched by any other type of glaze. I recommend Guinness, Heineken, or some other type of strong beer, don't use Bud Light, Corona, or any weak beer like that. Let the beer go flat, mix the pigments in, and you're ready to go. Isn't that cool? (Do try this at home first!!)
Just a reminder during these hectic Spring days.. Let's not lose focus on our priorities!! Family, friends, taking care of ourselves, etc. should all come before running around like crazy people, finishing jobs, estimating others, answering calls... It is hard not to get sucked in, especially now, our very busiest season. I have been telling myself this every day now, "take a deep breath, relax, do the best you can, don't cram too much stuff into one day.." It helps. (a little anyway..)
Diana Schraner
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