JULIE PETERSON - Simple Redesign

Creating a Faux Antique Mirror and Mercury Glass Look...


I love mercury glass and the vintage look of an antique mirror, how the backing naturally etches off in places over the years.  I know there is a way to take a perfectly fine mirror look antiqued as well, this involved a particular acid, something I would like to try in the future.  Meanwhile, here is a very simple tutorial on how to create this look with a product call Looking Glass by Krylon.

I have always wanted to do this project and thought it would be perfect when I was refishing a hutch and needed somehthing a little different.

I am fortunate that I have this nice built in hutch in my dining room, but instead of an area to display all my fine china (right:)), what I really needed was a place to store extra items...girls crafts, my sewing machine and misc. items.  Yes, I know I have the whole base for that "stuff", but I need MORE room!!!! And these were basically items I did NOT want to be able to see. 

 Down to my spray booth.  Making sure the glass is very clean, you want to do 4-6 light coats, this spray comes out VERY thin and you will need many coats.  After letting it dry for a bit, I prepared a squirt bottle with 1/2 vinegar and 1/2 water.  The vinegar is the acidic agent that "eats" away at the paint.

 Working in small sections, lightly spray a bit on the dry glass.  Let sit for a few seconds.  With a soft cloth, GENTLY tap and LIGHTLY rub.   Take a minute to figure out how hard you have to press with the rag to lift some of the spray paint.  You may have to go back and add more paint if you take off more than you want, but no biggie... unless you have to make another trip to Hobby Lobby, which is the only place I could find this paint.  Also, Maybe look a picture or two of some antiqued mirrors for inspiration, but I just pretty much randomly squirted and rubbed.

 I really like how it turned out!!  The reflection of the "mirror" keeps it feeling open and actually a little brighter.  And you can't see my mess behind the doors.

Here is a quick tip on how I best acheived the "mercury glass" finish. Using the same supplies, spray a VERY, VERY, VERY light mist of the vinegar/water mixture.  If you squirt too heavy, it will just make all the paint run and not adhere to the glass.  After a light mist, start spraying the Looking Glass Paint.  It will run, you will have to do many coats too.  I kind of moved the jar around to help the mercury glass droplets go what I wanted it to as it rolled down.  layer on the paint until you have the look you would like.