Drinks make great base for glazes
Open up your fridge and prepare to use some of your favorite drinks in new and unusual ways. Two decorative painting pros have shared with us a couple of favorite glaze mixes that are easy to concoct at home.

Mike Krawiec teaches decorative painting techniques to union painters in the Chicago Area Painters and Decorators Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee (JATC) program.

He likes to create an inexpensive glazing liquid by mixing flat beer, whiting and colorant. “What’s nice about it is it’s water soluble until you lock it down,” said Krawiec. “We lock it down with a shellac. If we’re doing a wall surface we thin it 50 percent with denatured alcohol.” Krawiec uses foam brushes to apply the shellac because they hold a lot of material and can quickly cover a lot of surface.

Decorative painter Mike Macneil uses a mixture of 7 UP and pigment. “I do a lot of marbling with 7 UP,” said Macneil, who uses the mixture as a glaze. “I can build multiple layers quickly because it dries fast. I clear coat in between.” He may add a drop or two of dish soap to the mix, which — along with the sugar in the 7 UP — acts as a binder for the pigment.

“I’ll use a glaze for the last coat so I have more open time to create a little bit more depth and make some finishing vein structures,” said Macneil.