Mod Podge method, test #3

My disappointment in this method continues.  On this third test, I got almost no color on my glass at all.  I'm beginning to think that adding water to the glue is causing it to be too thin to work.  Maybe there is a typo in the recipe, and it should actually be 1 tablespoon of glue to 1½ teaspoons of water.  I guess I will never know without playing with the formula myself.  So, moving on to playing with the formula.

As always, I welcome your comments.  Click on the Comment link below; it may say "No" or have a number in front of it.

Mod Podge method, test #2

Now that I have the proper Mod Podge (the gloss) for this project, I decided to try again.  I also decided to make a slight change to the original recipe.  Since I did not need that much for this little bottle, I cut the recipe again, using only ¼ teaspoon of glue and ¼ teaspoon of water.  I stirred this with the paint brush and then dripped in 2 drops of blue and 2 drops of red, hoping to enhance the color.  I covered the jar and began to shake vigorously.  Big mistake.

Apparently I did not screw the cover on completely, for purple glue when splashing all over my kitchen.  I wiped up the mess, resealed the jar, and continued the experiment.

The next morning, I checked the dried jar.  There was barely any color on the glass.  It still appeared clear.  However, there was a strip of color at the mouth of the jar.  It seems all the color ran down the jar while it dried.  I guess one has to really mix the color into the glue before coating the jar.  I also wonder if the ratio of glue to water had to remain at 2:3.  For the next test, I will go back to the original recipe and follow it to the letter.

I am getting a bit disappointed.  The instructions made this process seem so easy.  I will give it another try before giving up.

As always, I welcome your comments.  Click on the Comment link below; it may say "No" or have a number in front of it.

So, why is it fuzzy?

One of the things I asked in my previous post involved the possibility that the Mod Podge itself was the cause of the frosted look.&nbps; This, as it turns out, could be the case.

Here is a picture I took of a glass jar.  The right side is painted with undiluted Mod Podge.  As you can see, the painted side definitely has a frosted look to it.  This might be okay for the frosted jar project I will be working on.  However, this is not acceptable for eyeglass lenses.  Off to Hobby Lobby I went, and I came back with Mod Podge Gloss with the orange label (product number CS11201).  Originally, I bought Mod Podge Matte with the yellow label (product number CS11301).  I will paint it on the same jar and see how clear it dries.

After about 20 minutes of drying time, the painted side is fairly clear.  The streaks are brush marks.  As I plan on simply shaking the container, there will be no brush marks.  This solves the problem of the Mod Podge opacity.  When using Mod Podge to color glass, use the gloss formulation.  So, I guess it is time for glass coloring test #2.

As always, I welcome your comments.  Click on the Comment link below; it may say "No" or have a number in front of it.

Mod Podge method, recipe test

While sitting around doing nothing, I finally got off my butt and attempted the Mod Podge method recipe on a glass jar.  The original recipe is fairly simple:

• 1 tsp. Mod Podge (or Elmer's White glue)
• 3 drops food coloring
• 1½ tsp. water

Because my test jar is so small, I cut the recipe in half.  I also used 2 drops of food coloring:  1 red and 1 blue.  This is an attempt to achieve a shade of purple.

I put all the ingredients into the bottle and mixed them using a paint brush.

I then capped the bottle and shook it vigorously to get the glue drips along the side.  The mixing went very nicely.  Because there was still a lot of liquid remaining in the bottle, I poured out the excess.&nbps; According to the original directions, I capped the jar and turned it upside down to drain.

When I returned to remove the cap, I found a large drop at the bottom of the bottle.  This is due to the bottom being convex (curved like the exterior of a sphere) rather than flat.  I should not have this problem with a lens because I can use the concave (curved like the interior of a sphere) side.

Emptying the remaining liquid caused a drip to run from the peak of the convexity down the side of the jar.  Again, this should not happen on the lens due to its concavity.  Now all there is to do is wait for the bottle to dry and inspect the results.

This is the result at 6 hours.  As you can see, it is quite cloudy instead of having that clear look as in the original picture.

Now I have to decide how to proceed.  Clearly, this result demonstrates this method cannot be used on eyeglasses, but how did the inspirational picture end up with clear glass?  One thing I can attempt is to simply paint Mod Podge on a glass and see if it dries clear.  If it dries cloudy, then it is the Mod Podge that is causing the problem.  Perhaps I used the wrong Mod Podge, as there are at least 7 different formulas.  The original tutorial does not specify which one to use, only that one could use white Elmer's glue instead.  However, it does say that the recipe will make 3 jars.  It could be that I spread mine on too thick.  It could also be that the recipe is not correct.  The consistency of the original tutorial is not the same as mine.  Ah, decisions, decisions.

As always, I welcome your comments.  Click on the Comment link below; it may say "No" or have a number in front of it.

Mod Podge method, the inspiration

Still on the hunt for a way to custom color or tint eyeglass lenses, I came across a curious website.  At the Craftberry Bush website, they use a mixture of Mod Podge (kind of like Elmer's glue), food coloring, and water to achieve colored glass, as seen below.

Seeing this picture just reminded me of tinted eyeglass, so I am going to see if this can be used to achieve that result.  There are two problems I will need to overcome in my testing:  Streaks (which I experience on every painted-on method) and water solubility.  The latter I can combat with spraying on an acrylic coating; the former will be much tougher, but the website shows a method to simply shake the jar to coat it with the Mod Podge solution.

Here, then, are my test steps:

• Buy and clean the jar
• Test the original recipe
• Investigate the failure
• Test #2
• Test #3
• Working on my own formula

As always, I welcome your comments.  Click on the Comment link below; it may say "No" or have a number in front of it.

Jar cleaning

To prepare the glass jars I bought for these projects, I currently have them soaking in hot soapy water.  When they are dry, I will proceed with the tests.  In the meantime, I am off to Amazon to find citric acid and translucent white glass frit.

As always, I welcome your comments.  Click on the Comment link below; it may say "No" or have a number in front of it.