I wanted a gorgeous milky turquoise cake stand for my counter, but I couldn't find one that came with the glass dome portion, or was large enough to fit a standard sized dome.
In walks Martha Stewart's new line of multi-purpose paints! Hey girl! I love you Martha!
You can get the paint at Michael's (and randomly, Home Shopping Network) but they are expanding as I have seen the line at Joann's now, and even kits of 10 bottles at Hobby Lobby. It comes in high gloss, glitter, pearl, metallic, and satin.
I was a little dumbfounded by this paint, because it claims to work on every surface from fabric to glass, ceramic, metal, wood, etc. I know the basic rule of thumb for glass paint curing, but I was unsure about the other paints. Even the Plaid website didn't offer too much assistance. So I did a little research and here's the breakdown of info I gathered!
Note: The following applies to Plaid Permenamel Paints as well! I have had terrific success with those!
Glass Curing
Air Drying Method:
Essentially, do not use or wash your painted glass/ceramic item for 21 days. This is perfectly fine for painting mirrors, frames, ornaments, or items that don't need to be incredibly durable.
Oven Curing Method:
Recommended method. Paint your item and allow it to dry overnight. Place it in a COLD oven on a tinfoil lined or unwanted cookie sheet. Set oven to 350 degrees and set timer for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, turn the oven off and allow the item to cool down in the oven. You can crack it open (beware with children and pets) to speed the process slightly. Because you start and end with a cold oven, the glass/ceramic is gradually heating and gradually cooling back down, so it will not crack or explode.
Washing:
Top shelf dishwasher safe, or hand wash. Never let it soak in water or scour it.
Is this food safe?:
Uh, kinda? It isn't recommended that you put the paint anywhere your lips or food will touch, but simply touching it will not harm you. Say you paint the edge of a platter and a cookie placed on it touches the cured paint? You'll be absolutely fine. Paint the entire inside of a glass and then put a liquid in it and drink it? The beverage might corrode the paint and cause you to ingest it, and here I could see problems arising. So just use common sense.
The glitter paint can be cured?:
Yep! The glitter is suspended in a tinted translucent base which cures just like the rest of the paints, trapping the glitter in there permanently. Works like a charm!
Makin' "The Dome"
To make my cake dome, I bought a $10 cake dome from Walmart and painted the underside of the glass portion with Martha Stewart's Sea Glass in Glossy. It took three good coats to get it nice and solid. I find that for painting large areas opaquely, using a very soft brush (the dark brown ones in those cheap paint brush kits) spreads the paint around instead of scraping it like a denser brush might, so you use less coats.
I baked the entire thing upside down on a cookie sheet, following the steps for glass curing listed above. I did find that the adhesive used to piece the base and top together had loosened from the baking, so I mixed together two-part epoxy (found at craft stores near the adhesives or in hardware stores) in equal parts, mixing for 30 seconds, then adhered the base back on with that. It dried overnight and was ready to go by the next morning!
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