Plexiglas painting: how and what to do

Gusevsky Andrey Anatolyevich

How to color plexiglass

How to paint plexiglass at home, we will consider today. After all, the ability to do beautiful things with your own hands always inspires respect. In any interior, the place of attraction will be a handmade product. It will want to consider, or touch.

Recently, a new direction in "hand made" has become popular - the manufacture of miniatures from plexiglass. This sonorous name hides amazing material.

Painting of this material is not done so often, but sometimes this millet is necessary. Today we will consider this issue in detail. Also in the video in this article and photo you can see the most difficult moments of work.

What are the advantages of plexiglass worth remembering

The price of the material is not high, but when painting you can completely deprive it of its attractive appearance. Although it can be useful for many reasons, this should be kept in mind.

So:

• It is not affected by ultraviolet radiation (does not turn yellow, does not become brittle)
• High light transmission (95% transparency)
• Comparative lightness (3 times lighter than ordinary glass)
• High water resistance (used for the manufacture of products in contact with water, for example, aquariums, bathtubs)
• Strength (5 times superior to ordinary glass)
• Environmental friendliness (does not emit harmful substances)
• Dielectric
• Not afraid of low temperatures
• Easy to process (you can create products of various complexity and color scheme)

Minuses:

• Fast flammability
• Exposure to external damage
• The formation of thermal vacuum at low tide

Effectively look products from this material in its natural transparent form. But, if we are talking about plexiglass miniatures, then you just can not help creating an image that hides behind the “burqa” of color. You can achieve the goal in the process of priming and painting the material.

Plexiglass Coating Tips

Plexiglas coloring at home is done subject to certain conditions.

Let's get to know them better:

• Light tones of the primer (gray, white) will make it easier to achieve the brightness of the model (which makes her smart but not tiring), and matching the selected color
• Uniform coating will allow to avoid heterogeneity when painting
• Spray the primer in a dust-free room.otherwise, any shades will look dirty or blurry, so that they can no longer be illuminated and warmed
• At least 30 cm distance to the sprayer
• Dry in a clean and dry place.for 30-40 minutes
• The choice of palette for the model determines the color of the base paint layer, they must "keep up" with each other

Painting options

What to paint plexiglass now consider in detail. There are several options here and we need to choose the most optimal one. Instructions for each of them are given below.

How to color plexiglass in blue

First staining method

It is carried out using zaponlak - a nitrocellulose solution, usually - black, purple, red and blue, but other colors are also possible.

Instruction:

• You need to acquire a glass or enamel container of the required size in advance
• Pour dye into it.
• Immerse it in a piece of organic glass
• Hold for a period of time from a few seconds to 15 minutes, depending on the degree of saturation of the desired hue
• You can test the resulting tone by applying it to a small glass fragment
• If additional coloring is necessary (for a more saturated color), re-immerse plexiglass in zaponlak, having completely dried it in advance

Second method

This option is suitable for painting small surfaces, parts, plexiglass products.

Do the painting

Attention: Provides for the independent manufacture of varnish, consisting of organic glass sawdust and vinegar essence (6: 1 ratio), the ingredients must completely dissolve.

• Next, dye must be added to the mixture and diluted. Most often, ordinary ink is used from ballpoint pens, but this significantly reduces the color spectrum of the dye. Possible colors: red, black, green, blue.
• Precautions should not be neglected during cooking. Try to prevent the varnish solution from getting on your skin and clothing. If this still happened, you must immediately thoroughly rinse the affected area with water.
• Such a varnish is capable of dissolving organic glass material, so the details need to be carefully painted over, but without direct immersion in the varnish.

In the end result, the treated surface becomes more durable, resistant to fading, it is easier to polish.

Third method

It includes the preparation of a glass plane, it will need to be treated with gasoline, and then wait for complete drying.

• Next, the glass is placed in a mixture of detergent (temperature - about 500 C), it must be left in this state for 10-15 minutes. And, subsequently, rinse with cool water, after which immediately proceed to staining.
• The washing solution consists of water and washing powder in a ratio of 1: 1.
• The paint is prepared in advance by mixing 20 g of benzyl alcohol, 5 g of a dye (for acetate silk) and 2-3 g of washing powder. Then it is diluted with 1 liter of hot water (approximate temperature - 80^about C) to obtain the desired consistency.
• Now you should place the glass material in the paint, and hold it for 15 minutes, not forgetting to mix the dye throughout the entire colorization procedure.

If desired, you can create a kind of decor from plexiglass and cover it with multi-colored stains.

You will need:

• Nitro-paint of different shades
• Pour 2-3 tablespoons of background paint onto a sheet of paper
• Apply the rest of the dyes on the resulting base, in random order (about 5 drops, 2-3 tones)
• Fold a sheet of paper in an arc shape and pour the contents onto a glass surface
• Make sure that the paint fills the entire plane (do not use a brush, this will damage the picture)
• Place the glass slightly at an angle, in case of large sagging, to get rid of excess
• Pre-prepare the workspace, put something under the processed plexiglass (you can have a large piece of cardboard)

Attention: If the final result is unsatisfactory, it is better to clean the surface of dyes, using a swab soaked in solvent, and repeat the painting process.

Depending on your preference, organic glass products can be given a white color.

• This is carried out using an etching procedure, during which the organic material is first immersed in a solution of concentrated sulfuric acid, and then removed, and carefully washed under running water.
• The last stage must be carried out very carefully, since the acid softens the glass surface somewhat, and a sharp collision with any foreign object leads to the formation of furrows.
• In addition, it should be borne in mind that 1-3 minutes of exposure to sulfuric acid makes the material milky white, and longer - contributes to the loss of gloss and the appearance of a matte effect.
• Noteworthy are also hand-made decorative products of various configurations made of plexiglass with a printed pattern, which can reflect any creative ideas of the author.

Step-by-step plan for transferring a picture or inscription to plexiglass:

• Prepare a sketch for a drawing or lettering
• Melt the paraffin in a water bath to a liquid state
• Warm up a sheet of Plexiglas, not lower than 60 ° C
• Spread paraffin over the surface evenly, let it set
• Using a needle (for convenience, you can attach it to a ballpoint pen), draw the outline of the pattern on paraffin
• Deepen the contour groove to lightly touch the surface of the plexiglass (the depth should be the same along the entire length of the furrow)
• Pour (through a syringe) a concentrated solution of sulfuric acid and leave to react for 10 minutes
• Rinse under medium pressure of running cold water
• Remaining paraffin carefully, so as not to damage the plexiglass, remove with a knife

It is necessary to immediately determine the direction of lighting of glass products, because thanks to the play of light and shadow, the picture may visually appear larger, more voluminous.

• At the initial stage, you should not carefully paint over the smallest details of the drawing on the glass, but be sure to keep their boundaries and draw the main contours.
• If you plan to paint the base of the miniature separately from other, smaller ones that make up the composition, it is better to darken and lighten these details at the same time. Then the background ceases to be the background. There is a game of layers.

Although such a creative process does not require extreme efforts, it’s worth it to be patient, and then the result will not leave anyone indifferent. Plexiglas painting is a creative and necessary business.