Americana - Triple Thick Glaze

This post is to show how the triple glaze worked out but, before that, I must start with an admonition - seriously - to any newbie following this blog this is the biggest tip I can give you.....  Try to spend some of your mini spends on tools for the job.  I have a pretty measly hobby pocket and at the beginning (three years ago) I tried my best to make do with anything I already had around the house when it came to tools as I begrudged every penny not being spent on something lovely.  Here's a clue as to why you need the basics:

My kit is in the UK and no way do I want to duplicate stuff by buying it again over here.  I used a small sharp fruit knife to cut the tabs holding the pieces in their frame; this is the result.  Luckily it is easily cured with sand paper but it does add another process and it  risks snapping the pieces.  You need a decent knife......  and small sharp scissors.  I cut out the paper tile frame with curve-bladed nail scissors - need I say any more.......

I have a list of essential tools at the top of the blog you might want to check out.

On to the glaze.....

Being impatient I hate waiting for things dry.  This is even worse when something needs two or three coats to get the finish you want: tiles for example.  I wondered if this triple glaze was the answer.  It claims to do what it says - that is - give you the equivalent of three coats of a gloss finish.  I have used acrylic gloss and clear nail polish over the years and they each do the job but, generally, they need more than one coat.

$1.99

It is pretty easy to get; just Google it for the nearest place to you.  Mine came from Jo-Ann's.com but I had a poor shopping experience with them, hence my not recommending my source.

from the kit

This is the printed paper from the kit.

one coat

This is one coat of the glaze drying.  It didn't seem to make the ink run though you could matte spray coat it first with a fixative if you were concerned.  It smells a little like nail polish but washed out of the brush with water so I assume it is acrylic and/or water soluble.  There are no brush cleaning instructions.  It took about ten minutes for me to be able to handle it OK - I imagine longer would be better - as I said, I am not patient.

Finished

It gave a good glaze, pretty clear and with a little profile so it does look quite like tiles.  As with all these things it would work really well at 1/12th but it is acceptable if you really can't bear to be doing three coats to get here.  The imperfections around the edge of the glass (it is actual mirror glass) are nothing to do with me.  I presume it comes from cutting mirror pieces that small (?).  It adds to the 'rustic' charm.  This mirror will be in Lucien and Matilde's apartment - bought on holiday in Spain.

The kit is a Petworth Miniatures one:  Tiled Mirror Kit  1/4 scale  Q830  $5