Why glaze should be part of your repertoire

One of the favorite supplies in decorator Debbie Travis's paint box is glaze. Basically glaze is an additive that serves two functions when mixed with paint, Ms. Travis says:

*It slows the drying process, allowing more time to play with the "wet edge" - to manipulate the still-liquid paint or to remove it from the surface.

*It makes the paint translucent so that the base coat is at least partly visible underneath, creating a sense of depth and texture when tooled with a rag.

"The other thing that's really great about glaze," Travis says, "is it makes the paint very durable." This is advantageous, for example, in hallways and stairwells used by rambunctious children. And because the finished paint job is not simply opaque, the wear and tear is hard to detect.

Glaze comes in both water-based form, for use with latex paints, and oil-based, for use with oil-based paints.

Although some painting professionals like to apply a coat of glaze, then paint over it, Travis prefers to mix the two before starting the finish coat.

(c) Copyright 1999. The Christian Science Publishing Society