Glass painting on store windows can be a great way to make a lot of money over the holidays, but figuring out how to do it right is not as easy as you think.
I’ve done holiday-themed window paintings before, but I’ve always used acrylic paints. However, though acrylic looks good, it’s a pain to take off the window because you have to scrape the whole thing off with a razor blade.
I could never figure out how to use tempera paints like the pros do, but this year I was determined to learn. After researching and trying different techniques, here is what I learned about window painting with tempera paints.
How Not to do Window Painting
DO NOT PAINT ON THE INSIDE of the window unless you live in a very rainy climate. Painting on the inside means the reflection on the outer side of the glass will hide your painting for the most part.
DO NOT USE the tempera paints that are PRE-MIXED for school use unless you also have powdered tempera to thicken it with.
DO NOT USE OLD PAINT. Let me tell you what happened when I used old paint. Soon after painting a fall scene complete with cornucopia and falling leaves, all the colored paints that had a bit of yellow in it (the yellow was old) began to flake off. Within hours, the inside of the store I was painting it for looked like a real fall scene. There were flakes of yellows, oranges, and green all over the floor. The only color that stayed was black and pure red. Anything that had yellow mixed in, flaked off. I’m glad the black outline stayed because I used it as my template when I re-painted the window from the outside today.
How to do Window Painting like a Pro
Watch this video, but the main tips for correct window painting with tempera paints are:
USE POWDERED TEMPERA mixed with very little water, ADD DISH SOAP to your paints to make them stick, and ADD A LITTLE BIT OF WHITE to all your colors (except the black outline) to make them visible. I would change the color of the acorns in my painting above to make them lighter (but since it’s almost time to change the theme of the window painting, I’m letting it stand). All dark paints disappear into the dark background of the store.
Now, get thee to the streets and make thee some money this holiday doing window painting!
I was wondering how much to charge? Also thanks for the tip of adding white paint; and lighting the black for some of the outline. ~April
Charge a lot. OK, I’m half kidding. I don’t know how to charge either, but I do know people charge, like, $200 for a 5’x 5′ window painting. To me that’s a lot, but if you’re good, it’s definitely worth the business’ investment. Good luck!
Olá, eu estou querendo pintar a vtrine da minha loja, mas sem fazer desenhos, quero um chapado, apenas para tirar a visibilidade de quem está do lado de fora. Será que você poderia me indicar qual tinta utilizar e a técnica mais adequada? Desde já agardeço a atenção.
Aroldo, porquê não usar um filme de proteção solar que também é usado para privacidade? Ficaria muito chique. Aqui tem mais informação http://www.filmes4estacoes.com.br/predial.html
Since you don’t recommend painting on the inside, could you use an acrylic paint on the outside and have it stand up to weather for quite a while? Our business is VERY close to the road and in the winter we get a lot of spray up from the snow plows and traffic. This won’t be a holiday design but rather something that would be up year round.
Oh, acrylic is perfect for your situation! The colors will be brighter and it will certainly stand up to weather of all kinds. When it comes time to take it off, you will probably have to put a warm, wet towel over it to soften the paint before scraping it off with a blade (which is why I wanted to switch to tempera). Good luck!
what kind of acrylic do you recommend? I am helping decorate studio windows and was looking into vinyl but it would just end up so expensive.
When I think of acrylic I think of the 49 cent little bottles from the craft store. lol
Those little bottles should work fine, but you may want bigger tubes in the fine arts section of your craft store since you have a whole window. 🙂
Thanks for the quick response.
Should dish soap be mixed with the acrylic too?
In your experience is more than one coat needed or do you add white to the acrylic just like the tempera?
No dish soap is needed with acrylic. And now that you mention it, it may be a good idea to add a BIT of white to the colors so it stands out against the dark store interior better. Try a small sample design with and without white to see how you like it. Good luck!
I paint windows in Washington State… Lots of rain here. I use acrylic… but I do a first layer in white! Then, when I add the color, it really pops! PLUS… I leave a bit of the background white showing around the edge to make it pop MORE!
I find that the metalic and pearl acrylics are harder to get off. Mostly everything else comes off with a good soaking and a very sharp blade. New scraping blade for each project.
I have also done residential works for the holidays! Lots of fun!
Corrine, this is great info! Thanks. I’m curious–do you get paid to do window paintings? How much do you charge? I think a lot of people could use a little extra holiday money, so if you have experience in charging, we could use your advice. Thanks!
How does the tempera paint come off? Does the rain wash it right off?
Melanie, I heard that you shouldn’t do this type of window painting if you live in a rainy climate. But the window I painted two months ago is still intact, and we’ve had lots of rain. To clean it, just take a wet rag and rub it off. I also used a squeegie (sp?) from top to bottom to get the glass clean.
OlEU NÃO GOSTEI DA SUA DICA….EU COLOQUEI UM POUCO DE SABEO LIQUIDO NA TINTA GUACHE E FUI FAZER UMA VITRINE DE NATL …ME DESCULPE MAS FICOU UMA PORCARIA….E OUTRA COISA FICA MUITO FEIO…. FICA RALA A TINTA…SEM COMENTARIOS…
Anne, que pena que não deu certo a primeira vez. Mas não desista tão logo. Use tinta guache em pó e misture bem com um pouquinho de agua (a mistura tem que ficar meio grossa), adicione um pouco de pó branco e misture outra vez. Só depois de verificar que a tinta está bem cremosa, adicione um pouco de sabão líquido. Este método funcionou muito bem pra mim.
Marty,
I wish you lived close to me I’d have you paint my house windows. What a fun holiday theme! I’ve never used tempera paints but I am sure your tips will make someone who does very happy. Any idea why it flakes in the fist place? I can’t wait to see more of the windows you’ve done any chance we’ll see pics soon?