Painting and Glazing

Cabinets are one of those things that are generally bought for one purpose only, storage. Design is a purely secondary concern when considering them. Unless your home has built in storage or you love putting together flat pack furniture cabinets are the primary medium of storage for homes and businesses.

Cabinets are made from various materials, natural or synthetic, steel or wood, or a combination of materials. They come in different shapes and sizes and can be built into a wall or be free standing. The challenge has always been to combine functionality with beauty, making furniture fit for use while being pleasing to the eye.

Throughout history cabinets and cabinet design has evolved with society. Dictated by trends that have been brought about by several and diverse factors that range from function, fashion, culture, weather, and even the prevalent economic and political mood of a certain era. Today, the trend for cabinets is faux finishes.

Faux is a French word which literally means ‘fake’. A faux finish refers to the effect created by employing a certain painting technique, wherein the finished product may resemble not only the color but the texture as well of a material different from what has been used to build it.

Faux finishes are not new, but the current popularity is unprecedented. Modern technology plays a big part in the success of faux finishes. Designs previously impossible or too cumbersome to achieve are now within reach by both professionals and creative laymen alike. Tools and paint formulas have been improved, are easier to use, last longer, and are more environmentally friendly than before.

A new and popular technique employed to achieve the desired faux finish of cabinets is glazing. Glazing breathes new life to old cabinets and can also provide that custom or antique feel, without the custom or antique price. Glaze is transparent and is thinner than paint. It can be tinted as it is essentially part water or solvent and part paint. The transparency of the glaze allows the colors and/or textures of the cabinet’s material to be seen. This type of finish can enhance these colors and textures, it can also change them.

Glazing involves a base color and a glaze color, which can be just a single color or more. The glaze colors are applied on top of the base color. If more than one glaze color is used, its transparency is diminished or the layers of colors become semi-transparent. Glazing not only breaks the solidity of the base color, it also alters the depth and dimension of the base color. The base and the glaze need not necessarily be of the same color, they can be of the same color but of different intensity. They can also be different yet excellent contrasts to each other.

There are two kinds of glaze, water or latex based glaze, and oil-based glaze. One of the benefits of Latex glaze is that it dries faster than oil-based glaze. Oil-based glaze is used for more intricate and highly textured designs since it takes longer to dry and allows longer periods for manipulation. The kind of glaze to be used depends on the paint or base color. Oil-based glaze is used with oil-based paints and latex glaze complement latex paints.

Glazing is used on cabinets to create a particular effect. The most popular techniques used to achieve these desired effects right now are outline below:

Dry brushing – A dry brush is dragged across the surface of a still wet glaze. The brush may be dragged vertically, horizontally or any direction, depending on the desired pattern, although typically the brush is dragged down vertically. A variation of this technique is to let the glaze dry after it has been dry-brushed, then apply a new coat of glaze over the area and dry-brush in the opposite direction to create a weave or checkered effect.

Combing - Combing is similar to dry-brushing in that a comb is dragged on the glaze while it is still wet. Texture will vary depending on the space between the teeth of the comb used and the viscosity of the glaze, the thicker the glaze the more textured the end result will be.

Sponging – The sponging technique makes use of a sponge and it is used to either add or subtract color. To add color, the damp sponge is used as the main applicator of the glaze or as an applicator of a second or third colored glaze. To subtract color, the damp sponge is pressed against the still wet glaze.

Rag rolling – Rag rolling is similar to the sponging technique, it either adds or subtracts color. A wet rag is dipped into the glaze, then wrung out and rolled over the surface in no particular or consistent direction. To subtract color, the rag is not dipped in the glaze, instead it is rolled over wet glaze.

Frottage – Frottage involves pressing sheets of plastic against the wet glaze. The uneven effect creates a distinguished and weathered look commonly associated with old leather or tapestries.

Glazing cabinets is popular for three significant reasons. It is practical, beautiful, and its design possibilities are infinite. The beauty of certain expensive and heavy materials such as marble and granite can be achieved without actually using them in making cabinets. The various layers of paint and glaze strengthen the original material of the cabinet without increasing its mass. An ordinary plywood construct can be made to look like the more luxurious mahogany or oak without the price or the extra burden on our already diminished forests. Glazed cabinets are less costly to make, less dependent on exhaustible resources, less expensive but not necessarily less durable. This makes glazing accessible to everyone.

Glazing inspires new textures and designs, it resurrects the feel and look of old world charm and it harmonizes luxury, form and function. Glazing is not just a practical alternative, it is a legitimate choice for people who want cabinets that are both responsive to their storage needs and aesthetic sensibilities.