How to glaze painted furniture

If you follow this blog regularly you know how much I love glaze. I’ve used it on many recent projects and have briefly discussed it. I thought I’d share a little more information on glaze, since I’ve just lightly touched on the subject in past articles.

Glaze can be used over any painted piece of furniture to give it an aged look. It works best on pieces that have lots of detail because it draws attention to those areas. I use clear glaze, which I purchase at Lowe’s in the paint department. Like many of the products I use it is made by Valspar. Because it is clear I can add any color to it and create many different effects. I typically use black or burnt umber. I think both of those colors add a nice antiqued look.

Below is a close up picture of a door on a large buffet. It is a perfet example of something that will take glaze beautifuly. It has tons of ornate detail.

For this piece I have chosen to tint my glaze with black paint. I’ll start by using a paint brush to rub pure black paint into the four corners where the detail is the most prominent. I want to get it really dark in all of the recessed areas. Then I will take the glaze that I have lightly tinted with the black paint and brush it all over the entire piece.

Finally, I’ll take a damp rag and continue to wipe the glaze off until I get the desired look I am going for. It is best to work in small sections, so the glaze does not dry before you are able to work with it. On a large surface, like the top, I’ll take my damp cloth and dip it directly into the glaze. Then I’ll use the rag to lightly apply a thin layer of glaze. I only use a brush to apply the paint and glaze when I want to drive it down into cracks and crevices.