Review of Waterbased Glass Paints

A Review of Water Based Glass Paints, mainly Rainbow glass, gallery glass and Anita's [Edit: Please note that this review is now getting a little old, Rainbow Glass Paints are no longer available and Gallery Glass Paints can be very difficult to get hold of in some countries such as the U.K. We will be doing a new version of this review shortly]

On the whole water based glass paints do not last as long as solvent based ones, neither are the colours as vibrant. Finally they are not water proof (obviously) and can even discolour in a damp atmosphere.

There is a positive side, water based paints don't smell, anyone who has used solvent based paints will no doubt remember that they can smell very very strong, a bit like nail varnish! Water based paints are child safe and you can do "pipe and peal" work with them.

You will notice that most water based paints are quite thick when they come out of the tube/bottle. Don't worry, if its too thick for you to use just add a few drops of water. Rainbow Glass even do a thickening agent so you can make the paint even thicker or even turn it into an outliner!

We tested three water based paints, in fact the same three brands as with the outliner, Anita's, Plaid Gallery Glass and Rainbow Glass Water Based Paints.

We were looking at several thing, colour, thickness and its ability to "pipe and peal"

Plaid Gallery Glass Window Color

Probably the best known water based glass paint and definitely one of the best. Flows well, excellent colour range and has no problem with the pipe and peal work. Like most thicker paints it can be relatively difficult to achieve a smooth finish and air bubbles can prove to be a bit of a problem!

Sizes Available: 59ml

Rainbow Glass Water Based Paint

Another great water based paint. Slightly thicker than the others which allows it to do some types of work which are difficult with other waterbased paints. They supply a great colour range including a pearl, Iridescent and Luminous. It also has the added bonus of a thickening agent which will let you turn any of the colours into an outliner. Rainbows also produce a Video to go with this paint which will show you techniques you never dreamed off!

Sizes Available: 30ml

Anita's Glass Paint.

Very nice colour. A lovely smooth paint which flowed with a minimum of bubbles. The main problem was it did really seem to want to pipe and peal, the first attempt tore when we tried to get it off the glass! This may have been our fault as they do sell a specific "sheet" for use when doing PandP which we do not have.

Sizes available: 59ml