The only paint that will not fade or wash off glass is paint made especially for glass. It is vitreous paint made from glass frit and is kiln-fired directly onto the glass, becoming one with it.
Glass painting with kiln-fired vitreous paints and stains is almost a lost art. Very few stained glass craftsmen do it any more. In the old days (17th Century), most of the stained glass sundials were painted on clear glass. In fact, when you look at the photos of these old windows, you'll see that often the entire sundial was painted on a single piece of glass. I think this is because in the old days, there were very few types and colors of glass available, so the makers had to paint the colors and designs they wanted. Nowadays, stained glass makers have hundreds of glass types and colors to choose from and instead of painting colors, they take the easy road and use different colored factory glass instead of colored paints. These modern design patterns require more pieces of glass and more lead came. If you want to have a good long lasting paint job, then you must find somebody who will paint and kiln-fire your glass pieces for you. I have employed a glass painter (Wil Biggers) to paint the glass pieces of my huge Gecko Dial that is under construction. Then I will do the assembly myself. You are lucky if you live in England, because there are many more glass painters there. John John L. Carmichael Jr. 925 E. Foothills Dr. Tucson Arizona, 85718 USA Tel: 520-696-1709 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sundial Sculptures Website: http://www.sundialsculptures.com Stained Glass Sundials Website: http://advanceassociates.com/Sundials/Stained_Glass ----- Original Message ----- From: "Edley McKnight" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Sunday, February 22, 2004 11:39 AM Subject: Re: Mock SGS > Hi Tony and all, > > Back in my youth, a church I attended was very proud of an ancient > stained glass window that they had obtained from an old church in > Europe. They were continually soliciting funds to replace various bits > and pieces of the glass because they had faded! Some in only 3 > year periods of time. The specific colors and makers of the glass > were of course very expensive. They finally had to give up the > window due the cost of upkeep. The paint, I've been told, can be > stripped and repainted where it has faded or changed color. In > looking around for paints that would withstand light exposure, and > this was long ago, I found that there were various grades and > standards for light exposure tolerance. Very, very few were rated for > full outdoor exposure in full sun for long periods, a very restricted > pallete indeed. A wider pallete of colors always involved some colors > with only an estimated 5 year life. Further study discovered that > atmospheric effects other than light were also a major factor. > Various smog, smoke, vapours, etc. reduced the period of color > retention to very short periods. I guess this explains the great > number of really ugly signs that one sees while motoring about. > Paints are often easier to strip and replace than other methods. I > guess it just pays to be forewarned and plan for it. > > Subject: Re: Mock SGS > Date sent: Tue, 17 Feb 04 20:40:52 +0000 > From: tony moss <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: "Sundial Mail List" <[email protected]> > Send reply to: [email protected] > > > Fellow Shadow Watchers, > > About 12 years ago I built an extension to my > > workshop which, from the outside, looks like a garden conservatory. To > > avoid overlooking my neighbour's garden and to reinforce the > > 'conservatory' image I used double glazed units which are frosted in the > > lower half and 'mock stained glass' above. First of all a paper > > 'cartoon' was made and self-adhesive lead strips was laid on the glass in > > between the sealed units to match the cartoon. > > > > The point of my story is that the special 'glass paints' which were used > > to add colour to my design were said to be UV proof and permanent by the > > specialist shop which supplied them. Not so! All of the yellows and > > green have almost faded away completely leaving only the strongest reds > > remaining. A lot of time and effort went into those windows which is now > > largely seen as wasted. > > > > If you are seeking something which will endure then Beware! > > > > Tony Moss > > - > > > - > -
