Do-it-yourself stained-glass windows - techniques, main stages. Stained glass on glass with your own hands: how to make a stained glass window on glass, step by step instructions Drawings on glass with stained glass paints flowers

Along with traditional mosaics made of colored glass soldered together by metals, do-it-yourself painted stained-glass windows on glass are quite common; stencils, brushes and acrylic paints - almost everything you need to make a stained glass painting. Stained glass craftsmanship is developing quite well in the construction industry and there are already a lot of varieties of technologies with which decorative glass is made.

Stained glass painting technique

According to tradition, stained glass windows in ancient Europe were made only in cathedrals and temples, in the modern world, when glass painting with paints became available due to the appearance of special painting gels that allow you to give the effect of transparent glass.

The technique of stained glass painting is that drawings are applied to one of the sides of the glass with special paints.

To work, you usually need a set of paints in tubes, a thick acrylic gel outline and a gel for pouring paint into the cavity. The paint is baked by heat treatment and makes it possible to wash the surface without damaging the pattern.

At home, this process is pleasant and easy for almost any master, and stained glass painting is included in exciting activities for children. Children are interested in any unusual creative activities and drawing with paints on glass is no exception. Together with your child, you can make an unusual night light for a children's room with glass walls, a home-made chandelier or sconce with LED lighting, paint the outer glass of a wall clock, make a photo frame. Pictures of any complexity, while it will be easy to point with a pencil using templates.

To do high-quality work, decorating a furniture facade or window or door glass requires not only some professional skills, the skill of drawing thin lines, but also taste. It is important that the style of the drawings complement the overall design of the room and be quite appropriate. Therefore, when choosing patterns, it is also important to choose a color scheme.

On furniture or interior doors, the traditional scheme of geometric color patterns, abstract ornaments looks very good, recently it has become possible to make a design style with some kind of folk painting you like, ethnic patterns.

Stained glass painting with paints has become a hobby of many artists, and they paint literally everything around them that is made of glass - bottles painted with stained glass paints, contours that can be used as vases, flowerpots themselves, candlesticks, glasses, glasses. All this began to develop due to the property of indelible paints on glass.

Beautiful painted things are made from boring transparent objects, however, to some extent, continuing the folk craft of painting and decorating objects in a modern hand-made and DIY style.

Contour paints are so fond of artists for their convenient extrusion that they are used even without applying other paints, they draw thin lines and dots, creating very colorful and neat works.

Let's go to the lesson

Consider a good example of working with stained glass painting flowers on a ceiling for beginners with detailed photos.

To work with the master class, we need a sketch of a drawing printed to fit the walls of the ceiling, it can be colored, we will outline only the outlines, stained glass paints of the right colors, contour paints on glass and ceramics, in our case, bronze, synthetic brushes.

First of all, as far as possible, the lamp must be disassembled. Degrease the glass surface with a napkin or cotton pad with nail polish remover or alcohol.

We put the sketch under the glass and fix it either with tape or with a wad of newspapers or fabric.

Draw a contour on the glass along the lines of the drawing and try not to have gaps, since the liquid structure of the paint spreads very much. That is why contours are used. In order for the lines to be thin and uniform enough, you must first practice on a different surface. When you finish all the lines, let the work dry.

We begin to fill in the "islands", pick up paint with a brush and drip inside the sectors, quickly distribute it, so the stained glass gel tends to dry quickly.

If there are errors, use cotton pads and sticks with alcohol or paint thinner, if you have one, and scrape off the remnants with a clerical knife.

At the end of the work, the paints should dry out a little, then it is recommended to bake them with a hairdryer or a heater.

Stained glass painting is used in painting gift sets, plates, as a souvenir for loved ones, friends at a housewarming party, and often needlewomen create beautiful works for sale or to create decor for their own home.

It is very possible to draw Indian patterns, swirls and mandalas. Sketches of such drawings can be printed or drawn by yourself, the drawing process will bring a lot of pleasure.

Video on the topic of the article

Stained glass is a welcome addition to any interior. But professionally made stained-glass windows are expensive. Meanwhile, there are different types of stained glass techniques, and some allow you to make stained glass windows with your own hands. The simplest ones make it possible to make, for example, a stained-glass ceiling window, very similar to a real one, if you do not look closely. And according to more complex, but accessible to the DIYer, a work is obtained that even a specialist without disassembly cannot distinguish from a “real-life” one.

The main secret of technology

The manufacturing technology of any stained-glass window does not require deep knowledge. But you definitely need an accurate eye, a faithful and firm hand and the utmost accuracy. The smallest errors, accumulating as they are made, eventually give the product a not quite attractive, or even just a sloppy look. So the main conditions for success are skill, ingenuity, training. If after three test compositions the size of a large book you get a good real one, you are a nugget.

About sketches and scissors

The basis of any stained-glass window is an element-by-element sketch. Sketches of stained-glass windows are always made in two copies. If they are made on a computer and printed out, there is no problem: the printouts are absolutely identical.

However, for a large panel, the sketch has to be drawn by hand and then copied on a blueprinting machine. Despite such a serious name, the simplest blueprint machine is just a sheet of glass (which will then fit on the base), laid on two chairs, and a light bulb under it.

To make a stained-glass window without errors, you need to firmly remember: the assembly is carried out according to the PRIMARY, most accurate sketch, and a copy from it will go to the templates. Otherwise, inconsistencies are inevitable, and fitting fragments along the way complicates and spoils the work.

Scissors are needed not simple, but special template ones, with three blades. The third cuts a strip 1.76 mm wide. Before cutting, the secondary sketch is glued onto a sheet of thin but dense cardboard (the ideal case is 0.5 mm electric cardboard) and a paper-cardboard puff is already cut. Otherwise, when making fragments, it will be very difficult to outline the contour on soft paper.

When gluing, be careful - paper soaked from any glue stretches when smoothed, and you need to glue it over the entire plane. Each finished template is verified according to the primary sketch. By the way, the pieces of both sketches must be uniformly numbered even before cutting.

A classic or glass stained-glass window is a window made of many multi-colored glasses, transparent or milky; dairy in this case means - opaque dyed in mass. Frosted glass is “roughened” on one side, and is transparent at the break.

Fragments of a stained-glass window are sometimes called stained-glass smalts, so as not to be confused with smalts, from which glass is typed. The stained-glass window originated from the mosaic. Sometimes they even say just “smalta”, because. There are many more stained-glass windows than glass mosaics. Further in the text, smalt is stained glass smalt everywhere.

Each smalt is framed with a U-shaped profile made of lead, tin, copper or brass. Then the smalts are laid directly on the primary sketch, and the seams are soldered. It turns out a window bound from H-shaped profiles. A frame from a brass corner is immediately placed on it, for strength, and soldered already along the contour. The resulting picture is inserted into a window frame or into an opening with backlighting. In this case, smalts are taken matte or milky.

In the figure in the previous section - one of the world's greatest stained glass masterpieces, a stained glass window in the south window of the Cathedral of St. Vincent in Blois. In the picture above - modern stained-glass windows of the classical type. Both there and there, a combined technique with the use of fusing is used, see below. The classical stained-glass window is very difficult to work with, time-consuming and not particularly durable. They were not put in hinged windows - they could crumble from the cotton of the open sash.

From simple to complex

Film and ceiling

A film stained-glass window (the first one on the left in the next figure below) refers to false stained-glass windows: on a glass base, transparent, matte or milky, in one way or another, a pattern is applied with imitation of borders between smalts. In this case, it's just a self-adhesive film; we will talk about imitation of contour borders below, it is not at all difficult.

Making a stained-glass window from a film is no more difficult than just pasting something with self-adhesive tape. The main thing is to degrease the glass well with a solution of dishwashing detergent in water 1:5-1:20 and then rinse with distilled water. Bubbles on the film are pierced with a needle and disappear without a trace in a day or two.

Modern films are quite durable, but close up you can immediately see that this is only an imitation. On the other hand, it doesn't look like it at all. Therefore, film stained-glass windows are most often installed on the ceiling. There they are just in their place - cheap and cheerful.

Previously, ceiling stained-glass windows were not very common: the base is heavy, fragile, and extremely traumatic in case of collapse. According to the properties of the material, the stained-glass window on the glass should not be hanging at all. Now the best basis for ceiling stained-glass windows is acrylic.

Try to bend or break the computer disk. This is the strength of acrylic plastic at a thickness of only about 1 mm. A person throws a sheet of acrylic 3x3 m with a thickness of 2-3 mm by hand, and under its own weight it does not sag for many years. And suddenly it falls out - it quietly plans, swaying. And the film on acrylic is very strong. True, acrylic is much more expensive than glass.

Jellied

Second pos. on the left - a stained-glass window with paints, or a jellied one. From the face, it is already very similar to the real one, but from the inside, a fake is still noticeable, even if it is arranged along with the face in a mirror image.

We will consider the stained-glass window technique in more detail below: from skillful hands, such compositions come out very spectacular from the face, but getting them is not so easy. To complete the effect, you need a double passage of light rays through the base glass; hence the smooth or textured reflective surface underneath. Therefore, the most common application of pouring technique is a stained-glass window on a mirror.

The fact is that the paint, when filled correctly, forms a meniscus, see below. The rays, direct and reflected from the mirror film, pass through its sections with different curvature, and the stained glass plays with colors with might and main. Diffraction at the borders of the border also affects, so it is better to make it dark, but shiny, also see below. Particularly impressive is the “filler” on acrylic mirrors with a reflective tantalum-niobium substrate.

Tiffany

Tiffany stained glass (next left to right pos.) is already a real, full-fledged stained glass window made of glass smalts. The only difference from the classics is that the binding is not made of cast or forged grooves, but is formed right on the end of the smalt from soldered metal foil (folia), which was not yet possible to make in the Middle Ages.

When using brass foil, hard low-melting solders (which did not exist in the old days either) and semi-active tiffany fluxes, it turns out to be quite strong. It will also go as a stained-glass window on the window, incl. hinged or French, and at the door. The tiffany technique allows you to "stained glass" three-dimensional rectangular and curvilinear structures. To do this, the side faces of the smalt are made beveled at 45 degrees or at the angle required for curvature. Industrial equipment is not required for this. We will also analyze the Tiffany technique further.

facet

Faceted stained-glass window, penultimate pos. - an indispensable sign of a prestigious interior. Facet - a wide, at a small angle, optically accurate polished bevel on a thick, from 6 mm, glass plate. The angle of the facet must be exactly matched to the optical properties of the glass to obtain the so-called. diamond facet, giving the greatest light refraction.

Smalts of faceted stained-glass windows are made transparent, colorless or colored, from special types of glass - potash (light, with a lower refractive index) and lead (heavy, with a high refraction). Facet stained-glass windows made of skillfully selected combinations of both (kronflint facets) are especially effective.

Faceted smalts are assembled in special, piece-made profiles made of durable aluminum alloy, due to the large weight. In general, faceted stained glass requires high skill and industrial conditions for manufacturing. Most often, smalts are ordered in batches at optical-mechanical enterprises, and are already assembled in small / medium-sized production.

Fusion

Fusing stained glass, or stained glass fusion (from the English fuse - to melt, melt; the last position) is made from smalt heated to softening (300-1200 degrees, depending on the type of glass), laid out according to a stencil on a heat-resistant plane. The whole set is rolled, thanks to which smooth color transitions are obtained, which is unattainable in other stained glass techniques.

Fusion is the pinnacle of stained glass art. Even when manufactured by robots in an industrial environment, due to rolling, each product is unique. Large fusion stained glass windows cost a lot of money; however, with the development of robotization, prices are steadily falling, here, as they say, two laps ahead of the whole world is China. The fusion technique itself has been known since ancient times; it was according to it that smalts with faces, etc. were made and are being made. for classic stained glass windows.

Video: stained glass using fusing

Making a simple stained glass window

imitations

It has already been said about the film stained-glass window, and there is nothing complicated in it. But, before moving on to colorful, let's talk about the imitation of lead binding; it is common in both cases. A decent-looking imitation of a stained-glass window is largely determined by the similarity of the overlay border to a natural metal cover.

borders

There are three ways to imitate the binding of a classic stained glass window for both film and paint:

• Sticking the borders of the fragments with lead tape. Specially sold for stained glass cases;
• By forming contours from soft wire, see below;
• Guiding contours with contour paste.

First way

Lead tape is the real thing, without quotes, tape: a lead foil tape about 1/8 inch wide, an adhesive layer, the same as on ordinary tape, and a protective film. Unwinding the roll, lay it out along the contour, cut it off, remove the protective film, apply it, press it down - that's all. For film stained-glass windows - after gluing, for flooded windows - before pouring.

Second way

The contour is bent out of the wire and glued (film - after; pouring - before) PVA. But not simple, but dishware. It is a little more expensive than "paper", and the label says: "For gluing glass and porcelain." Reactive adhesives are not suitable, especially cyanoacrylate "Superglue". It is also unusually liquid, it flows everywhere where it is not needed.

The wire for this technique is traditionally used aluminum and then patinated, as for tiffany, see below. But the author of this article has repeatedly successfully used copper winding wire in high-strength enamel insulation (enamel wire). It bends more easily, and in radio shops and radio markets it can be found with insulation of literally all colors of the rainbow, see fig., with a diameter of 0.02 to 2.5 mm round and 1 to 16 mm flat (tire).

The tire is rare and expensive. But each contour curved from a round wire can be leveled and slightly flattened by strongly squeezing it in a bench vise between two even flat steel plates 8-12 mm thick. The insulation of even almost pre-war PEV does not deteriorate from this.

Especially good are copper-wire contours for stained-glass stained-glass windows on mirrors; this has already been discussed. If you need dullness and patina, it is enough to swipe over the finished one with sandpaper, and the exposed copper will soon be covered with the most real, not induced patina.

Third way

We prepare the contour paste according to the recipe:

1. Tableware PVA - 50 ml.
2. Natural black mascara (the best is Dutch) - 20-30 ml.
3. Aluminum powder (silver) - 30-40 gr.

We introduce mascara into PVA, mix thoroughly and add silver in small portions while stirring until a creamy paste is obtained. If you need a brass-like binding, we replace the silver with bronze powder. The "lead content" depends on the ratio of carcass with silver; it is checked with a test, completely dried drop.

Pasta is prepared as needed, it is not stored. When using, you need to stir all the time - the silverfish floats to the top. Apply along the contour with an artistic brush, picking up abundantly so that it lays down with a sausage of equal thickness, a good skill is needed here. More convenient for a beginner is a small confectionery syringe gun, but then, even after washing, it is unsuitable for its intended use.

Video: do-it-yourself English film stained glass window

"Jellied"

The stained-glass window is performed in the following sequence:

• We are preparing the assembly table: a flat shield covered with white calico, felt, flannel or flannel.
• We put a stencil on it - a numbered primary sketch.
• We degrease the glass - the base and put it on the stencil. We take the ends with our hands in new textile gloves; Do not use a suction cup and leave your fingers on your face.
• We bend, level and flatten the contours, one by one from the left (for left-handers - right) upper corner.
• We customize as needed and glue with PVA utensils. Dry for days.
• Fill with paint (see below). Adjacent cells of one color scheme are poured alternately as the previous ones dry out: suddenly it leaks, the dried drip can be easily removed with a safety razor blade.
• We dry for another day after pouring the last cell, insert it into a metal frame - ready for installation!

For the preparation of paints, see the following, but for now let's dwell on the fill; this is the most important procedure. Pour the paint with a richly impregnated brush or syringe from the inside along the contour, but in no case touching the border (see Fig.)! The paint should flow into the meniscus naturally! If the color came out watery, after drying, pour it again in the same way.

Pouring / topping up paint in the middle is unacceptable. If you need a thicker stain there, you need to contour it and pour more in there. In this case, two fills in the frame (along the outer and inner contours) are made without delay one after the other.

The fact is that the "blamba" in the middle will break the light refraction. There will be a “bokeh effect” known to photographers, and a single such element will violate the integrity of the perception of the composition. And if there are a lot of them, then the whole stained-glass window will turn out to be sloppy.

Paints

Homemade stained glass paints are known in four types:

1. On PVA and aniline - the easiest to prepare and the most unstable;
2. Soviet-rare - on BF-2 glue and ballpoint pen paste;
3. Gelatin-aniline - fragile and burn out in direct sunlight, but give an ideal meniscus;
4. Nitrooil - the most expensive, but have all the advantages without the disadvantages.

First. PVA-aniline paints are prepared simply: we dilute 50-100 ml of PVA dishware with distilled water twice or three times. Then, in hot distillate - aniline dye for fabric according to the instructions for the tablet, and filter through calico, gas or thin women's tights. We put a few drops into the PVA emulsion, stir, put a drop on the glass and check the color. Lightened - add a pigment solution; darkened - emulsions.

Second. BF-2 is diluted twice with acetone and hand paste is added dropwise to the solution with stirring. The color is checked with a test drop as above. Gives an excellent meniscus, stance, bright, but - alas! – the turnover of pure acetone is limited, because it is used in artisanal illegal drug production. And you can not replace the nitro solvent or alcohol.

Third. 6 gr. food gelatin is diluted in 200 ml. distillate at 40-50 degrees. An aniline dye solution, the same as for the first paint, is added dropwise after cooling to the same temperature and the color is also checked. Strength and resistance to fading can be slightly increased by coating with a transparent acrylic varnish after drying. Aniline with PVA - it is impossible, it will float.

Fourth. We are preparing a composition of 60% by volume of transparent furniture nitro-lacquer and 40% 647 solvent. Squeeze artistic oil paint directly from the tube with pea-sized balls, stir, check the color for a drop. Suitable for acrylic coating; at the same time, the strength is acrylic, and the durability is practically unlimited.

Notes:

1. Sometimes the paint does not stir, but curdles. This means - the manufacturer is a deceiver: it is not prepared with natural hemp oil.
2. Colors can be mixed as artists do, but following the rules for mixing mineral oil paints. Otherwise, it may turn out, as with Ozerov's paintings.

Video: stained-glass window master class

Tiffany

Tiffany stained glass is an order of magnitude or two more difficult to work with than those described above, so we will deal with them in stages. There are complexities and subtleties at all stages, except, perhaps, patination. And neglect of technique on any of them will spoil the work. In addition, you need to acquire some special tools and materials.

Tool

glass cutter

The main key to success when working on tiffany is a glass cutter, because you need to cut small curvilinear pieces of glass, and stained glass is very viscous. Therefore, only a diamond glass cutter is needed. Advisers are unlikely to manage with roller-coasters themselves through the window.

There are two types of diamond glass cutters: with a point (diamond pencils) and with a curvilinear cutting edge. The former are suitable only for straight cuts, and the latter for curved ones. The type of the cutting part and the method of cutting are indicated in the certificate for the tool, and in appearance - a glass cutter with a curved edge is necessarily massive, with a butt for tapping / breaking, see fig. After cutting with a pencil, the incised piece simply breaks off.

It is undesirable to buy from the hands - in 90% of cases they are sold because the diamond is punctured and does not give a ringing cut (see below). There are also glass files - thin steel strips with diamond coating. They make quite decent curved cuts of large parts (glasses for cabinets, etc.), but they are unsuitable for smalt - you cannot cut a small radius.

Notes:

1. Diamond, so you know, although the champion in hardness, it is fragile. The ancient myth of slaves who were promised freedom if they broke a diamond with a hammer on an anvil is just a myth. It pricks, even dropped on a stone floor. Therefore, the glass cutter must be stored in a regular case and handled with care.
2. Glass cutters from different manufacturers are very, very different in cut quality. A sign of good is a case made of genuine leather with a felt lining.

soldering iron

Tiffany soldering is done by the capillary method, so an electric / radio soldering iron with a long red-copper tip is unsuitable. You need a tool with a bronze nickel-plated sting; it serves only for heating, and the solder does not stick to it during the soldering process. You can recognize this by the initially short white shiny sting (see below in the figure with soldering accessories), and they are sold under the Long Life brand. Power - 100 W, no more and no less.

Abrasive

To finish the smalt after cutting, it is desirable to have a glass grinder, see fig. But it costs a lot, and in any case, for fine-tuning, you need three grinding bars numbered 220-240 and 12-20 mm wide: square, semicircular and triangular. The latter is also necessary if there is a machine for sampling sharp internal corners; in drawings, say, with leaves, it is very difficult to do without them.

Notes:

1. For smalt voluminous stained-glass windows, a grinder is absolutely necessary. It is impossible to accurately maintain the required bevel angles of the side faces with hands.
2. It is also desirable to have a diamond file with a lenticular section - for finishing the same corners on very small fragments.

Bars should be looked for from natural garnet or corundum, heavy and very strong. The "sand" miracles of powder technologies do not sharpen glass, but grind it themselves. But turning smalts even on the best bar is necessary under a layer of water, for which, when turning, the bar is immersed in a bowl, baking sheet or some other suitable tray.

Spatula for patina

We make a spatula for applying patina ourselves - from a toothpick and a piece of dense foam rubber 5-6 mm wide and 3-4 mm thick. We put it on a toothpick and fix it with a thin soft wire.

materials

Glass

Tiffany length smalts can be made from ordinary glass by painting it, as for “filler”. But it is better to buy a special stained glass. Translucent, matte or milky. In sheets, it is expensive, but the same firms sell cheap battle (the material is valuable), but we don’t need much.

Notes:

1. It is not necessary to order immediately cutting into smalts according to the sketch. Expensive, and you will not adjust later. You need to cut the smalts yourself.
2. Since Tiffany is assembled on soldering, the temperature of which the paint does not hold, it must first be completely assembled from plain glass, and only then poured. It is possible on both sides with a different color scheme, which will give the overflow of the picture when viewed from different sides.

Folia

Foil for framing smalt - folia - is sold in art stores especially for stained glass along with lead tape. Unit of goods - a roll of ribbon 4-7 mm. It is undesirable to cut a sheet of foil into strips yourself: the stained-glass window will come out sloppy.

Soldering

Materials for soldering are shown in the figure, there is also a soldering iron. Pay attention to the inscription: "Without rosin." Thread-like solder with rosin inside (harpius) is unsuitable for soldering stained-glass windows. Soldering flux (this is a jar in the figure) is needed with borax or other semi-active, for soldering electronics. Residues of active flux (with phosphoric acid, etc.) cannot be removed from the binding, and it will eventually corrode.

Usually, POS-61 solder is recommended for soldering Tiffany due to its fusibility - 190 degrees. From ordinary tin-lead solders (240-280 degrees), smalts sometimes crack. But POS-61 is fragile, very soft. There is also POS-61M with a copper additive, 192 degrees, but it is only a little stronger.

The best solders for tiffany are with cadmium additives: POSK-50-18 (145 degrees, in the figure) and Avia-1 (200 degrees, strength - like duralumin). POSK-50-18 is weaker, but still much stronger than POS-61/61M. It is inexpensive, unlike Avia-1, it is easily accessible.

Patina

Now in art and construction stores they sell blacksmith's patina of various types. Buy better fluid, ready to use. It will be only slightly cheaper to prepare the powder composition yourself, but difficult, and the quality of the coating will be worse.

Stages of work

Sketch/stencil

Already when choosing a pattern, it is necessary to take into account the features of the technology and its weaknesses. S-, N- and deep U-shaped bends of the edges of the smalts are unacceptable: due to the difference in the TC of glass and metal, the smalts will eventually crawl out and fall out along them. An ideal smalt is an area bounded by convex smooth curves. If a non-monotonic bend is needed, it must be collected from pieces, even if of the same tone, see fig. Suddenly, the finished composition turns out to be flickering / clumsy due to the binding - nothing can be done, you need to change or refine the drawing.

Note: drawings for stained-glass windows are a separate area of ​​pictorial art. There are many on the Internet ready for different techniques, but if you want your own unique one, you need to turn to a stained glass artist or look for creative abilities in yourself.

Smalt cutting

First you need to make a base, the same as for stained glass. With the right cut, the residue breaks off from the slightest push, so you don’t need to immediately bring it to the overhang: after making an incision under the glass, a thin rail is slipped behind the cut, and lightly press your finger on the residue. It didn’t break off - you can tap on weight.

Try cutting a piece of regular window glass. If the cut is creaky, a scratch is visible, and for a break you need to tap several times, it’s too early to take on smalts.

With the right cut, the glass makes a quiet, thin ringing, and the crack is not visible at all. For a break, light pressure is enough or lightly poking from below. To obtain such a cut, you need to maintain the angle of the tool in the direction of the cut (about 45 degrees, or according to the specification for the glass cutter) and keep it strictly perpendicular in the transverse direction.

The second condition is a strictly constant pressing force. The skill in angle and strength must be worked out to full automatism when cutting lines of any kind. It's called putting your hand up.

Note: the exact angle and pressure are individual for each diamond glass cutter. Therefore, aces glaziers do not use other people's tools and do not offer them for rent.

But that's not all. A curved cut by itself will never crack, even though you crack. It will leave the side and, according to Murphy's First Law, just where it will hurt the most. What to do?

Auxiliary cuts on a tangent, the thicker, the more curved, see fig. The general rule is that the deflection between two adjacent auxiliary cuts should not exceed two glass thicknesses. By the way, this circumstance must also be taken into account when developing a stencil. Therefore, if you order a drawing from an artist, then immediately determine the stencil. However, good masters attach a stencil to the drawing without any.

If there is an angle on the smalt, a tangent to the least convex side is required from its beak. An important conclusion follows from the foregoing: do not try to cut out a lot of one-color smalts at once from a large piece. Almost all expensive material will go to waste. In general, smalts are cut one at a time as the stencil is filled, see below.

Here the question arises: how to trace smalt templates? The glass cutter is not a razor blade or a utility knife, it is rather plump. And for this, stencil scissors are needed. The width of the third, middle, blade just takes into account the resulting indent.

Set to composition

Before starting to set the stained-glass window, the stencil on the assembly board is fixed with even rails on the left (for left-handers - on the right) and at the top. From the corresponding far upper corner, they are laying the smalt, see on the left in fig.

Smalts are cut out strictly one at a time, otherwise the whole set will spread before reaching half. Having cut out one, they bring it up and align it according to the stencil (you need an indent inward from the contour of 0.5-0.7 mm for soldering). Then they wrap it with foil and roll its edges with a round piece of wood or plastic (middle pos.) After rolling with the same trowel, iron the side face; for internal sharp corners, it is convenient to use a school plastic ruler with a wedge-shaped edge or a plastic knife from a set of disposable tableware, and add it.

Now the smalt is put in place before soldering, tightly pressed against the previous ones or the side, and the template for the next one is checked against the stencil. If necessary, cut the template with curved nail scissors, and only then return to the glass with a glass cutter. There should be no visible gaps between smalts on the filled part, right pos. in fig.

Note: The best stained-glass windows are obtained by typing on a blueprinting machine, covered with calico or baize. The smallest crack is immediately visible.

Crimping and fluxing

After laying all the smalts, the composition is carefully crimped horizontally with slats, now on the right (left) and bottom. If the smalts at the same time begin to stick out at an upward angle, they iron and finish the foil, press it down from above. After that, they start fluxing.

The used smalt templates are laid out next to the shield according to the composition and numbering. Special accuracy is not needed, as long as the pieces are not mixed up. Now fragments are transferred to this intermediate stencil, starting from the corner opposite the initial one, i.e. in reverse order of assembly. So it is necessary that the flux on the ends of the smalt does not dry out.

Next, the smalts are transferred one by one back to the working stencil in the same way as they were collected. At the same time, the foil frame is smeared with a thin layer of flux (it has the consistency of petroleum jelly) using a match or a toothpick. Having assembled the composition again in the old place, they are again crimped, but the right (left) and lower rails are now fixed with cloves. You can start soldering.

Soldering

The main condition for soldering is not to do a lot at once. Due to the difference in the TCR of glass and metal, when overheated, the entire composition can swell and fall apart. At a time, you need to solder the area in one or two male palms, then let it cool, and solder further. Conduct soldering in the order of laying.

Tiffany is soldered by capillary method. First, along the contour of the next smalt, pieces of a solder thread as wide as a soldering iron tip are dripped onto the seam with a step of 1-1.5 cm. The operation is carried out on weight, without touching the thread of the solder and the sting of the foil. This is painstaking, exhausting and responsible work, so take your time, take breaks for rest.

Then the seams are soldered. Each drop or sausage of solder on the seam is heated until it all at once goes into the seam and spreads over it inside. If the flux evaporates and burns out earlier, this may not happen, so flux generously, but without dirt. The missing flux during the soldering process can be added, then only after the soldered area cools down. It is not necessary to scatter the set, the flux can be applied on top and warmed up a little to flow into the seam.

Video: Tiffany stained glass technique (eng)

framing

The composition is also soldered into the frame. It is not necessary to glue on epoxy or acrylic: due to the difference in TKR, the stained-glass window will not last more than 5-7 years. Make a frame from a brass or bronze corner.

The frame must be solid; one solder joint is allowed in the overlay at the junction of the contour. Therefore, a U-shaped profile is not suitable: how can you put a stained-glass window into it? You can, however, slip it in pieces under the stained-glass window, but then you need soldered scarves in the corners, which will be visible on the finished product. However, again, it's a matter of taste. You can immediately coordinate the pattern with scarves.

The frame is cleaned from the inside with a school eraser to a shine (semi-active flux does not dissolve the oxide film on brass) and thoroughly washed with a cotton swab, richly moistened with alcohol. Then wipe with a new, unused, microfiber eyeglass cloth.

Now the frame from the inside, and the edge of the stained-glass window from the face and side, are smeared with flux, the frame is applied to the composition, and soldered, like smalts, piece by piece. Upon cooling, the stained-glass window is carefully turned over, a flux is applied to the wrong side gap between the edge of the composition and the frame, heated until it spreads, and the gap is soldered. It remains to rinse from the remnants of the flux and patinate.

flushing

It is no longer necessary to waste liters of alcohol to remove flux residues: dish detergents do an excellent job of removing them. A particularly gratifying circumstance for a non-drinker: from “him, darling” during alcohol washing, such a dukhan ...

Wash the stained-glass window (already a stained-glass window) in the bathroom under the shower with a foam sponge soaked in detergent. Particularly sticky flux residues are removed with a toothbrush. They do not lend themselves immediately, so a simple operation turns out to be painstaking: you cannot press hard or cut off. Often, a stained-glass window has to be soaked for a day in a bath, in which a whole bottle of Fairy is thumped, until the flux deposits become limp and come off under the sponge.

Patination

The final stage is patination of the binding. The operation is simple: pour into a small consumable container, collect on a spatula and apply to the binding. Drying excess is washed off with the same dishwashing sponge under the shower without any difficulties.

There is only one nuance when patinating: this is a caustic and harmful thing, ready-to-eat blacksmith patina. Therefore, you need to work in a ventilated area, in protective gloves, goggles, and, preferably, in a petal respirator.

After washing from the remnants of the patina and drying, the stained-glass window is ready - you can insert it into the frame in place and admire it.

About matting

Film and flooded stained-glass windows, used with backlighting, look good if the underside of the base is matte. Do-it-yourselfers are sometimes offered recipes for chemical matting, but these recommenders, it seems, did not sniff this chemistry themselves, since they are alive: deadly volatile components are used in chemical matting - hydrofluoric (hydrofluoric) acid and its compounds. Matting with silicic acid is no better: concentrated sulfuric acid is needed, and poisonous volatile products are also formed.

The easiest way to self-matte the inside of the base is to take and apply plastic tracing paper from the inside. Lasts over 10 years. If the matte base is visible from two sides, then there is a laborious, but completely harmless way:

• We buy 10-50 g, depending on the area, of corundum powder of the smallest fraction (0.05 mm).
• Scatter in small piles over the area of ​​\u200b\u200bglass.
• We drip linseed, rapeseed, palm oil or a spindle into each pile until a slurry is obtained; The list is in order of preference.
• We rub with light pressure with a polisher made of whole, not double, rawhide; a piece of old coarse wide waist belt will work well.
• The three front (smooth) side of the polished, alternating longitudinal-transverse and circular movements. With some skill, in this way it is even possible to obtain frosted glasses for photographic equipment.
• The remains of the abrasive are washed off with water with dishwashing detergent and a sponge.

Note: you need to flush it into the pan, not the bath, otherwise the plumbing died.

Video: Tiffany stained glass show

Finally, aluminum

Someone, after reading the article, will remember: wait, but the glazing of furniture? Why not stained glass? In standard duralumin profiles, cheap, beautiful, shiny. And you can bend them.

No, there is no stained glass. Stained-glass window is a separate transportable product in a solid frame, soldered or cast. Okay, let's sleep. Aluminum is brazed, and even without argon - there are special "scraping" solders (CSP, for example) and not very caustic fluxes based on oleic or palmitic acid.

Yes, but the temperature is needed 350-400 degrees, the glass does not hold this in close contact with the metal. If, however, the entire set is heated very slowly on a refractory shield, it swells and disintegrates from the difference in TCR. Give allowances for thermal expansion - it loosens and falls apart when cooled.

So “real”, not on glue and resins, stained-glass windows in aluminum binding are not yet obtained. If someone figures out how to make them, it will certainly be a revolution in stained glass art: aluminum alloys are light, and comparable in strength to steel.

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Stained glass windows for many centuries make people admire their indescribable beauty. Despite the fact that the origins of this type of art lie in the mists of time, even today it has not lost its relevance and relevance. This is quite logically explained by the fact that such a decor, with a beautiful and neat design, can bring to any room not only comfort and homely warmth, but also a special originality of interior design.

Do-it-yourself stained glass on glass can be created even by a novice master, provided, of course, that a technique available for execution is chosen, of which there are a lot in stained glass art. Nowadays, in specialized stores and art salons, you can find everything you need to make stained-glass windows using modern simplified techniques, which are much easier to perform, unlike classical technology. This became possible thanks to modern developments and special materials that are able to very reliably imitate the "classics".

A variety of stained glass styles and techniques accumulated gradually, taking into account the secrets of the old masters and new established practices. Many are still used today, and they must be considered before deciding which option is best suited not only in terms of the pattern, but also in terms of the complexity of the technological process itself.

What are stained glass windows in terms of technique and style

To make a stained glass window, you can choose drawings in various styles, both “covered with noble antiquity” and ultra-modern. Do not lose popularity compositions in the Gothic, ancient Egyptian, Indian styles. Find their supporters abstract, modern, art deco styles, and others corresponding to different eras and cultures, trends in art.

Each of the existing styles is capable of displaying the commitment of the owner of an apartment or house to a particular era with its plot, shapes and color scheme. All styles of stained glass windows have their own requirements and canons that should be observed in their execution.

For a long time, the style with classic drawings was considered ideal, where the choice of subjects and materials was limited. In connection with the development of art and with the advent of new techniques, the possibilities for making stained glass windows have expanded significantly. Therefore, instead of the calm plots of the classics, expressive colors and drawings of modernity and abstraction began to be used more and more actively.

Quite often, masters in their works use several styles and techniques that can enliven and complement each other, which helps to organically fit stained-glass windows into the overall decor of the house.

Sometimes a stained-glass window for a separate room is chosen as setting the style for the entire interior, while the rest of the items in the room are only its addition and frame. Thus, the stained glass picture becomes the center of the interior.

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stained glass film

If the plans of the residents of the house include decorating rooms in different styles, then stained-glass windows are able to combine them into one composition. Glass paintings that adorn the windows can create an amazing special atmosphere of color and light, which will change depending on the intensity of natural light. In addition, false windows with artificial lighting, which are often installed in bathrooms or on interfloor stairwells, can also be decorated with stained glass.

However, before choosing a style of stained glass, you need to decide on the technique in which it will be performed.

stained glass techniques

As mentioned above, there are many techniques for making stained glass windows, but a few of them can be called the main ones:

classical technique

The classical stained glass technique has been known since the Middle Ages. The paintings made according to it consist of fragments of glass having different shades and set in metal frames.

In terms of manufacturing, this option can be called the most difficult, and usually it is trusted to perform only by experienced professional craftsmen. To make such a picture, you will need a large number of different tools designed for cutting and processing glass, welding or spidering metal frames, as well as a well-lit, spacious separate workplace. All this is worth acquiring and equipping only if you plan to practice this art professionally, since a special tool is not cheap. Yes, and work skills, to be honest, are also required at a very high level.

English or film technique

The film or English technique consists in applying a special self-adhesive film of various colors to the glass, according to a pre-prepared pattern.

Stained glass window made in film technique

Each of the fragments in such a stained-glass window, after gluing them, is framed with a lead tape. If the glass with this stained-glass window is installed in, then the lead tape is glued on both sides. Lead tape does not require soldering, its cut ends are overlapped and rolled.

The advantage of the film technology lies in the fact that all work is carried out on solid glass, which does not require cutting into separate fragments and their complex processing.

In addition, a stained glass window in the English technique can be made much faster than a classic one, and even a novice master can make it on his own with a careful approach.

"Fusing"

"Fusing" cannot be called a new technique for making stained glass paintings, since it has been used since glass began to be produced, of course, having undergone significant improvements over the past time.

Very beautiful and original stained-glass windows made using the "fusing" technology

The name of the technique "fusing" comes from the English word "fusion", which translates as a mixture or alloy. It is this process that occurs with glass during the manufacture of a stained glass window using a similar method. At home, it will not work to make a stained glass window using this technique, since its manufacture requires special equipment for melting glass, which can only be provided at very high temperatures.

A stained-glass window made in this way has no seams and does not require the use of metal frames.

The process of creating a stained glass picture is as follows:

• On transparent glass of the required size, laid on a prepared sheet with a pattern, a mosaic of pieces of colored glass is laid out on a special glue.
• Further, this blank is sent to a special furnace, where the process of sintering of individual glass fragments takes place between themselves and with the base on which they are laid.

The fusing technology consists in the gradual heating of the mosaic and its languishing at a temperature of 800 degrees - this is the level necessary for melting and sintering individual pieces of glass together. Melting takes place under strict control, since the moment of readiness of the product must not be missed, otherwise the process of changing the structure of the material will begin - devitrification, in which the glass crystallizes.

• When the structure of the stained-glass window becomes homogeneous, the stained-glass window must be cooled.
• Then another annealing is carried out, that is, the glass is heated and then cooled.
• "Fusing" includes not only melting and sintering, but also glass processing techniques during these processes. In addition, if the desired result is not achieved, then post-forming is performed, which consists in one more heating and giving the stained-glass window a convex or curvilinear shape.

Upon completion of the work, a glass picture is obtained, made of glass of different shades, reliably and hermetically soldered together. This technique is used for the manufacture of stained-glass windows, performed in various styles, as it gives almost unlimited possibilities in creating paintings of any subject.

"Tiffany"

The tiffany stained glass technique is carried out in a way that is somewhat similar to the classical one. In order to make a picture in this technique, a full-size drawing-template is prepared in two copies, one of which is cut into separate fragments, on which pieces of glass of different colors will be cut.

In many ways repeating the "classics" technique "tiffany"

The edges of the pieces of glass are processed and polished to smoothness. Then, each of the elements of the stained-glass window is bordered with a copper tape, the ends of which are soldered together. In the next step, the framed fragments are interconnected according to the pattern using tin soldering, carried out with a powerful soldering iron.

Unlike the classical one, the tiffany technique uses only copper tape, which is much more flexible and stable than the lead profile and more easily yields to a given deformation, with subsequent shape retention, which allows it to border even small stained glass details. Thanks to this, the tiffany technique is used not only for stained glass windows, but also for the manufacture of a wide variety of interior elements, for example, lampshades for table lamps and chandeliers.

Table lamp shade made using the tiffany technique

All parts “dressed” in a copper frame, after soldering the ends of the profile, before joining into a common composition, are rolled with a roller, during which the tape compresses the glass fragment.

Video: the master's work on a stained glass window using the Tiffany technique

Sandblasting technology

Sandblasted stained-glass windows are made using special equipment that delivers a jet of air with sand under high pressure.

The creation of pivotal paintings using this technique is carried out as follows:

• A transparent sheet of glass is prepared, on the surface of which a pattern stencil is superimposed and fixed.
• The open areas of the stencil are processed with sand supplied in a thin jet under high pressure. The surface from such exposure loses its transparency and becomes matte.
• After completion of the work, the stencil is removed from the glass, and an exquisite air pattern remains on the surface.

This type of stained-glass window does not require the installation of frames and complex curly cutting of glass, as well as gluing the film. But, as already mentioned, a prerequisite is the availability of special equipment. If desired, of course, you can replace the sand stream with sandpaper, but in this case you will have to make it from thin metal, since cardboard is a fragile material, it will begin to wear out and will not allow you to reproduce an accurate drawing. In addition, manual work will take a lot of time, and the quality and depth of drawing will still not be the same.

Cast technique

This infrequently used stained glass technique can be called one of the most difficult, since each of the mosaic fragments is hand-blown or cast from colored glass. In the process of such piece production, glass fragments are given a special designed texture, which contributes to certain optical effects, the play of refraction of light rays, which creates the effect of pronounced three-dimensionality. Then the fragments are assembled into a single picture using mortars and metal reinforcement.

Stained glass window made in cast technique

It is very problematic to make a stained glass window using this technique at home, since, in addition to equipment, very specific technological skills in glass processing are needed here. As a rule, such stained-glass windows are author's works of art, and they are practically not used in the practice of private housing construction.

Etching technique

The technique of creating a relief pattern on glass by etching involves the use of hydrofluoric acid, which has the ability to act destructively on the main component of the glass mass - silicon dioxide.

When acid is applied to glass, its layers begin to break down. In order for the substance to melt only those areas of the glass sheet that are needed, a stencil is applied from an acid-resistant material. Stencils allow you to create clear single-layer or multi-layer patterns on a glass surface, with a pronounced relief of various depths. The more layers in the relief, the more voluminous it is. In this case, the acid is applied to different parts of the picture as many times as the number of layers suggests the selected pattern. A single-layer stained-glass window is performed in one step, and in this case, the application of acid simply clouded the glass, making it dull and rough.

To take on your own, without having practice, for such work is not worth it. Working with such a strong acid requires extreme caution, as you can easily skin or mucous membranes. All operations are carried out in special protective equipment, in a well-ventilated non-residential area, equipped accordingly.

Painted stained glass

The stained glass technique is good because it can imitate any other method of making a glass mosaic picture.

One of the most accessible techniques is glass painting.

The process of working on it includes several stages:

• Making a drawing and preparing glass of the desired size.
• The glass is placed on the table on top of the stained-glass pattern.
• According to the drawing, a contour is applied to the glass with the paint of the selected shade. Usually black is chosen, as it perfectly highlights the elements of the picture. After completing this step, the paint should be allowed to dry well.
• The circled fragments of the stained glass window are painted with stained glass paints.

How to independently create a stained glass picture using this technique will be shown below in the instruction table. In the meantime, we can say that this is one of the most accessible technologies at home, and you can even involve a child in making such a painting - it will be very interesting for him. And the costs, in comparison with all other techniques, are minimal.

Contour filling technique

The pouring technique, just like the painted one, can imitate any method of making a stained glass window, and with it you can make a picture in a variety of styles. This technology is also great for beginners who decide to decorate their home with stained glass windows. In order to reproduce any image on glass, it is necessary to prepare a drawing and stained glass paints, which are usually available in tubes with a special spout - for ease of application and distribution of the composition over the surface.

Pattern made in the technique of contour filling

The first thing to do is to transfer the outline of the drawing to the glass using the tracing method. Before carrying out the following work, it is necessary to wait until the paint of the contour is completely dry.

After that, the space inside the contour is filled with paint of the desired color. If necessary, it is distributed with a brush. The paint is poured in a sufficiently thick 1 ÷ 1.5 mm, even layer, and as it dries, it should give a smooth surface without artistic strokes. If, according to the drawing, individual fragments of the stained-glass window need to be given volume with the help of color, then it is necessary to prepare in advance the paint of different shades, which is poured onto the glass, according to the sample of the drawing.

It should be noted that there are other techniques for making stained glass windows. Many of them include two or even more basic technologies of ways, so they can be safely called combined. For example, to simplify the painted or flood method, color film is used instead of paints. That is, at first, according to the drawing, a film is glued onto the glass, between the fragments of which a gap of 3 ÷ 5 mm is left. Then this gap is filled with black stained glass paint, which creates a border for individual fragments of the overall mosaic.

Check out, as well as photos and videos in a special publication on our portal.

Stained glass styles

Stained-glass windows can be made in various styles, but when choosing a pattern according to this criterion, one should, of course, rely on the design of the entire interior in order to create a harmonious combination of all elements.

Stained glass styles can have many subspecies, and because of this, it is sometimes even quite difficult to determine the most correct classification of the pattern. In this case, it is recommended to rely on the features of the images, colors and canonical characteristics.

antique style

The ancient style is based on the ancient Greek and Roman beginning. The uniqueness and harmony of the elements of these trends have not lost popularity in our time, and, in addition, many details of later styles were borrowed precisely from the antique.

Stained glass windows made in this style usually consist of numerous fragments and can be made using any of the techniques described above. If a decision is made to adhere to a certain direction, then an important condition is the observance of the characteristic features inherent in this particular style:

• The drawing should resemble an antique mosaic containing Greek ornamental elements - these are drawings of amphorae, nymphs, columns, landscapes with architectural structures that have details typical for buildings of that time - colonnades, porticos, triangular pediments, etc.
• Quite often, in the manufacture of stained-glass windows of this style, mixed techniques are used, using not only glass fragments, but also film, ceramics, metal and mother-of-pearl.
• Antique motifs are used in stained-glass windows installed in the form of false windows in the bathroom, when decorating interior glass, and, of course, for window openings with natural illumination.

ancient egyptian style

This interior and stained glass style has never gone out of fashion since Napoleon brought it to European culture after his campaign in Egypt. The stained-glass window in the ancient Egyptian style has not undergone any special changes since that time, retaining the geometry of the pattern and warm colors.

• Characteristic colors of the ancient Egyptian style are warm ocher, sandy, coral, orange and yellow hues, which go well with brown, deep blue ultramarine, cobalt, khaki and grass green, especially when they have a black frame.
• This style uses traditional ancient Egyptian ornaments, scenes from the life of the pharaohs, images of sacred animals, as well as famous hieroglyphs.
• For a stained-glass window of this direction, filler, "tiffany", "fusing", film, as well as classical techniques are suitable.

Egyptian style stained glass is commonly used in bathrooms, balconies or kitchens, and rarely used in living rooms or bedrooms due to the sheer amount of detail.

Gothic style

The Gothic style originated in Western Europe during the Middle Ages, and actively developed in the XII ÷ XV centuries. Over time, it became more complex, enriched with a variety of elements and shades.

"Cold" Gothic style

• At the initial stage of the emergence of the style, stained-glass windows depicted mainly paintings with religious motifs, and later figures of symbolic animals, jousting tournaments, and hunting scenes began to appear.
• Gothic stained glass has deep rich hues such as dark green, burgundy, ultramarine, magenta, violet and black.
• Fragments of the painting are framed with gold, patina or blackened copper, with everything that can emphasize that this element of the interior belongs to Gothic motifs.
• The most optimal techniques for stained glass in the Gothic style are flood, painting, tiffany, classic, film, and also combined.

It must be said that for an ordinary apartment this style of interior design will be gloomy and will not bring comfort and warmth to the house, since it can rather be attributed to the cold monumental direction in art. The Gothic style is more suited to the large reception halls and high ceilings of Catholic churches.

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Indian style

Indian stained glass originated many centuries ago as a window decoration for wealthy houses in India. In the future, like many other styles, it was enriched and somewhat diluted with plots and motifs from other countries, but on the whole it retained its originality.

• The Indian style is distinguished by the brightness of colors that cheer up - these are orange-red, bright yellow and green, light blue and other shades that seem to be illuminated from the outside by the sun. Stained glass windows may contain a large amount of gilding.
• Indian stained-glass windows include images of deities against the background of the water surface, and lush plant or mountain landscapes. The most popular element of Indian floral ornament is the so-called paisley - "cucumber", which is present in almost any picture of this style.

Classics of Indian-style ornaments - paisley or, in other words, "cucumber"

• For the execution of this stained-glass window, the tiffany technique, classical, painting and pouring, is used.

Modern style

Art Nouveau became firmly in vogue after the art exhibition held in Paris in 1900, and, probably, has forever been entrenched among the most popular styles, both in art and in architectural design.

The main idea of ​​this style is the primacy of form, that is, the postulate “form is more important than content” is taken as a basis.

• Art Nouveau style is distinguished by smooth lines, lightness, sophistication and sophistication. It can be a marine or plant theme, as well as the direction of light romance.

Stained-glass windows made in the Art Nouveau style quite often feature wrought iron bars entwined with dense green vegetation interspersed with flowers, or flowerpots with bouquets of unusual shapes installed in them.

• Stained-glass windows of this style are made in pastel soothing colors, and therefore fit perfectly into any interior solution, becoming its center and creating an atmosphere of warmth and comfort in the room.
• The stained-glass window can be made in the technique of "tiffany", pouring, film or painting.

art deco style

Over time, complex intricate weaves of plants, forged lattices, various scenes from the life of knights and religious themes have been replaced by simpler forms of modern styles. One of them, which many liked, is the art deco style.

Art Deco - the predominance of large details and the symmetry of the pattern

This direction appeared in the 20s of the last century, and was especially popular until the 60s. Today, the art deco style is also quite often used in the design of modern apartments and houses.

• Drawings of this stained glass style are distinguished by the symmetry of the arrangement of elements, the clarity of lines and pure colors, perfectly matched to each other, as well as a repeating pattern.
• The art deco style is performed in any of the above techniques, since the drawing usually consists of large fragments that can be cut out of glass or film, and also etched with a special acid or filled with paint.

Stained glass in abstract style

Abstractionism, as a recognized style, appeared in 1910, after the watercolors of French artists presented at the exhibition. Over time, he entered the European fashion, and they began to use it for the manufacture of various elements for decorating the interior, including stained-glass windows.

The abstract style can be chosen for various interior solutions, as several areas of stained glass art have merged in it.

• Abstractionism is distinguished by the numerous regular and irregular fragments, the brightness and richness of colors, which give expression to the entire room where the artistic panel is located.
• Stained glass in an abstract style is made using the technique of painting, fusing, film and pouring.

Having chosen a technique suitable for execution, it is quite possible to make a stained-glass window of this style on your own - there are simply no limits for imagination here.

Children's stained glass

The most interesting and touching can be called children's stained glass style. A variety of themes and motifs of children's motifs gives great scope for the imagination of parents, and it is quite possible to involve children in the process of sketch preparation. Most often, such stained-glass windows depict heroes of favorite fairy tales and cartoons, as well as stylized animals.

• Children's stained glass should have clear forms so that the child can immediately see what is depicted on it. It is necessary to think over the drawing so that it consists of smooth lines that can make the picture soft and calm, but at the same time bright and eye-catching.
• The stained-glass window can be placed on a clock or a mirror built into the closet, but you should not do it on the window, especially if the apartment is located above the first floor. The window is a zone of increased danger, and the child will even unconsciously reach for a beautiful bright image.

• In addition, for security reasons, you need to carefully consider the technique for performing the picture. It should not consist of individual glass fragments, even if they are very well bonded to each other. Sharp relief protrusions must be completely excluded.

The picture should not be boring and uninteresting. For children's stained-glass windows, film, flood and painted techniques are well suited, and even better if the picture is applied to safe synthetic glass.

Find out how in a special publication of our portal.

Making a stained glass window with your own hands

The simplest of all the techniques for making stained glass at home, which are available for beginners to master, are painted and film. It is these techniques that will be discussed in more detail.

Creating a stained glass window using glass painting technique

Illustration
	The first step is to measure the glass on which the stained glass will be applied. According to these dimensions, you need to choose the finished drawing you like, or, with sufficient experience, do it yourself. If the finished drawing is taken from the Internet, then it is printed on ordinary A-4 sheets in any graphics editor using the multi-page printing function (for this, for example, the Publisher application included in the MS Office package is great). Then the fragments are joined and glued along the lines with adhesive tape to recreate a single pattern.
	In this case, the drawing is done independently, by hand. At the same time, it is important to ensure that each of its details is well highlighted, the boundaries are drawn.
	The glass is ideally laid on the finished sketch, onto which the entire drawing will be transferred. Glass must be thoroughly degreased with alcohol or ammonia solutions.
	After cleaning the glass surface, the applied compositions are carefully wiped off, since the “working platform” should not only be free of greasy spots, but also be completely dry.
	In the next step, all the contours of the picture are outlined on the glass according to the template laid under it. These borders are usually applied with black paint, as it highlights all the fragments well and makes the final drawing clearer. For stained glass, as mentioned above, special stained glass paints are used. The applied contour must dry completely, otherwise you can spoil all the work done by accidentally smearing the paint during further operations.
	After the borders have dried, they proceed to coloring the finished drawing. This process can be compared to a children's coloring book, where each of the elements must acquire its own color. This stage of stained glass manufacturing must be approached creatively, but also with the utmost care. Such toning is usually applied with thin brushes - previously applied and dried out borders will not allow the paint to spread.
	Colors should be as pure as possible, bright, be sure to harmonize with each other. If it is supposed to give the drawing a special picturesqueness, then darker or lighter shades are best applied later, after the primary, basic colors have dried. Otherwise, dirt may turn out, and all work will go down the drain.
	The finished stained-glass window should look aesthetically pleasing and neat, as well as harmonize well with the interior style. Glass decorated in this way can be carefully inserted into the frame, for example, of an interior door, or used to decorate furniture doors.

Creation of a stained-glass window in film technique

This stained glass technique involves the use of film and lead tape. Usually, stylized drawings with clear shapes are chosen for film technology - art deco style. With a careful approach, such a stained-glass window is probably even easier to perform than using paints.

Illustration	Brief description of the operation to be performed
	Most often, a drawing for stained glass in this technique is printed on a printer using the already mentioned graphic applications. So you can get accurate and clear lines and shapes of all, even the smallest fragments. If the work is being done for the first time, you should not take a too complex drawing with intricate elements. The lines of the drawing should have a width of about 4÷4.5 mm.
	After printing the drawing on sheets, they are carefully glued together. All lines must match perfectly, as the aesthetics of the final result depends on this.
	The next step, the glass prepared to size must be thoroughly cleaned of dust and dirt, degreased from the side with which it will be superimposed on the pattern. Then, the glass is wiped dry.
	Dry glass is laid on a prefabricated sheet with a pattern. It is important to immediately achieve the necessary evenness of the stack stacking relative to the graphic drawing, so that the work does not go skewed relative to the “canvas”. It is desirable to ensure that the glass is securely fixed so that there is no accidental shift during further operations. It is recommended to use small pieces of thin double-sided tape for this (shown by arrows), placing them in those places where they will not interfere with the pattern of the stained-glass window.
	For work, you need to prepare such special tools as a roller, a squeegee with a felt lining, a narrow knife with removable blades, a clamp, scissors, metal rulers of different lengths. From the materials you will need a stained glass self-adhesive film of different colors and a special lead self-adhesive stained glass tape of a suitable shade.
	The glass laid on the drawing must once again be well degreased from the outside with an alcohol solution, and then wiped dry with clean microfiber, which is guaranteed not to leave small fibers on the surface.
	Next, work begins with the film. Experts recommend using high-quality English-made RegaLead film for installation, but it is several times more expensive than products from other companies. Inexpensive films can be unstable to ultraviolet rays, so they can burn out very quickly if the stained glass window is on the sunny side.
	The film is cut for each element separately according to its size. Here, of course, the best option would be to organize the illumination of the desktop from below. If this is not possible, then you will have to measure each fragment with a ruler and adjust it in place.
	The film is measured and cut out a little larger than a fragment of the picture, and its edges are corrected after gluing.
	Before gluing each fragment, the place where it will be applied is thoroughly wiped (degreased) and dried with a microfiber cloth.
	Further, if the fragment is a strip, then the substrate is removed from the cut piece of film, from one of its edges. The edge of the part is fixed on the glass, smoothing with a squeegee with a felt nozzle. The other edge of the fragment is stretched, which makes it possible to place it exactly along the lines of the picture.
	Then, with a clear and quick movement, the film strip is pressed against the glass with a squeegee. This operation must be carried out quickly so that even the slightest dust does not have time to get on the glass surface, otherwise the effect of accuracy may be irretrievably lost. Excess film along the edges of the glass is cut off with a sharp knife. The adhesive on the back of the film sets almost immediately, but not fully, so it is possible to correct irregularities if they are accidentally created.
	This photo shows two parallel strips pasted on glass well. One of them is already exactly, along the ruler, cut off, and the second has just been pasted, and its edges have not yet been processed.
	The film should be on the black stripe by 1.5÷2 mm. A long ruler is laid exactly along this line, a sharp knife is drawn along it, and the excess part of the film is carefully removed. Later in the course of work, the black lines of the drawing will be covered with lead tape, which is pasted last.
	In the event that a speck of dust nevertheless got under the film, then it must be tried to remove it. To do this, the edge of the fragment is carefully lifted, peeled off from the glass, and with the tip of the knife, carefully, so as not to damage the material, remove a speck of dust. It is strictly forbidden to carry out this operation with your fingers, since the prints from them will certainly remain on the adhesive layer of the film, and will be clearly visible through the light. After removing a speck of dust, the film is again stretched and pressed with a squeegee.
	This illustration shows well two finished fragments of the future stained glass.
	Further, work continues on the same principle. If the drawing element has a curvilinear configuration, then its correction is carried out on the spot.
	To do this, a larger fragment of the film is cut out, and after gluing, excess sections are carefully cut off from it exactly along the black lines of the picture. Here, of course, “fullness of the hand” is very important, so that the manipulations of the knife are carefully verified, and the edges turn out to be even, exactly according to the pattern.
	If there are several small fragments of different colors in the conceived drawing in the neighborhood, then you can do it in two ways. In the first case, the entire multi-colored zone is covered with a film of the same color, and then extra fragments are cut out. So you can significantly win in the speed of stained glass production, but lose in material consumption.
	You can do it differently, in a more professional way, when each fragment of the pattern is covered with a separate piece of film and cut out separately. Material savings are achieved here, but the work, especially in the absence of experience, will take longer, and in addition, there is a high probability of making a mistake. Therefore, if the second method of operation is chosen, fragments of a slightly larger film are glued onto individual elements.
	Cuts are also made along the black lines of the template pattern. In no case should overlaps of films of adjacent fragments remain, since with increasing temperature the material tends to expand, and in the absence of a gap between the individual elements of the mosaic pattern, deformation may appear on the surface. And over time, the film will begin to flake off the glass altogether. Therefore, a gap of 1.5 ÷ 2 mm should remain between the fragments.
	The remaining parts of the pattern are cut out and fixed on the glass using the same technique.
	In the illustration, you can clearly see how elements with complex patterns are glued.
	When all the color fragments are filled with the film, they proceed to sticking the lead tape. This material for framing can be of different colors - a ribbon is produced for gold, silver, copper with a variety of intermediate shades. Lead tape can be matte or glossy, it is plastic, as it consists of 98÷99% pure lead, so it easily takes any given shape, and it is very comfortable to work with it. The lower part of this stained glass material is also covered with a special adhesive, which has excellent adhesion to glass.
	Each fragment of the stained-glass window is framed with a ribbon. When joining several lines of the tape at one point, the edges must be overlapped, that is, if the cuts go to the edge of the entire composition, then they overlap with a segment framing the entire edge. In the middle part of the pattern, the edges of the tape should also overlap each other. After gluing, the tape is carefully rolled on top with a roller.
	The straight lines of the stained-glass window, framed with lead tape, must be leveled with a ruler and a squeegee - this process must be carried out immediately, while the glue is not yet dry.
	A simple way to align straight lines allows you to make them perfectly even. To do this, a ruler is applied to the strip of glued tape, set exactly according to the template, and then an angle or edge of the squeegee is drawn between the ruler and the tape, which finally sets the tape to the specified place.
	As mentioned above, each of the edges of the tape must overlap with the next glued segment. For example, if a round zone with fragments is pasted over, then a whole piece is taken for this and, after laying out the circle, one edge of the tape is superimposed on the other, and then rolled up with a roller. The cut edges must be closed so that during cleaning you do not accidentally touch or peel off any of them. Therefore, it is recommended to carefully consider in advance which of the fragments, where and when to glue. It is necessary to try to plan the sequence of gluing in such a way that at the end of the work, only one open edge of the tape remains.
	After that, the entire glued tape is rolled with a roller.
	Next, using a special clamp, which is usually included in the kit for creating stained-glass windows, you need to go through all the joints, pressing the strips of tape to each other. This is done to avoid the formation of cracks with the subsequent ingress of moisture or detergents into them during operation.
	The tape is pressed on both sides of the joint, which, by the way, gives the overall composition the naturalness of a real stained-glass window - a visual effect of a “forged joint” is obtained. Full sealing of joints and overlaps will ensure the longest possible service life of the created stained-glass window.
	After that, the stained-glass window should be carefully treated with a detergent, but it should not be applied to the glass with a finished pattern, but to a microfiber cloth. The stained-glass window is wiped very carefully, in the direction only along the lead tapes, in order to avoid their shift, since the glue has not yet completely polymerized.
	Further, from under the glass, you can remove the pattern-pattern.
	The finished stained glass should have straight lines and be very neat. Only in this case, it will look spectacular and become a full-fledged decoration of the room, an eye-catching center of interior design.

If one of the simple techniques is chosen for manufacturing, then they can be mastered quickly enough. However, before starting to make a final stained-glass window, you need to practice a little in order to at least “fill your hand” a little. Perhaps this creative process will be able to captivate someone so much that after completing one picture on glass, the novice master will want to do this business professionally.

Stained glass is an unusual type of decor, with which you can not only enrich your interior, but also add zest and individuality to it. This happens not only due to the fact that this type of art can be classified as highly artistic, but also because of its high cost. Stained glass is a manual, creative process that is highly valued. Many, knowing this, believe that it is simply impossible for a person who is far from art to perform it at home. However, it is not. Everyone can decorate their home with unusual stained glass products. There would be a desire.

Stained glass windows - where to start?

Where to start creating your future masterpiece? First you need to develop a sketch of the future drawing. Classical technique and its imitations include:

1. Making a full-size sketch of a stained-glass window on paper or cardboard.
2. All detail lines must be clearly drawn. The pattern must be broken into separate fragments.
3. For convenience, already at the time of sketching on each fragment, you must specify the shade and material.
4. If the stained-glass window is type-setting, you can specify the direction of the glass fibers and part numbers.

Initially, the process of creating a stained glass window may seem very complicated, but once you get started, you will realize that everything is much simpler. The sketch is similar to a children's coloring book, which is divided into separate numbered parts, indicated by arrows and other signs. This makes it easier to assemble the stained glass.

To date, there are many ready-made sketches and stencils for stained glass at home. They can be bought in special stores or downloaded from the Internet.

Stained glass technique

The technique in which you will make a stained glass window with your own hands depends on the object on which it will be applied: it is a window or glass, a mirror or a vase, a lamp or a glass picture. Each item has its own characteristics for the manufacture and installation of stained glass, and this determines the priority technology.

For the manufacture of stained glass drawings at home, there are three main techniques:

• type-setting stained-glass window Tiffany;
• film false stained glass;
• contour stained-glass window.

They do not require special expensive equipment or an equipped workshop, as for complex stained glass windows with frosted glass, where the use of chemicals is necessary.

What is each type of stained glass that anyone can make at home?

stained glass tiffany

• for its manufacture, it is necessary to cut out templates of parts from cardboard;
• then they are circled on glass and cut out with a glass cutter. Each element must be sanded;
• the perimeter of each part is wrapped with copper foil;
• then you need to connect all the elements into a common pattern. To do this, the edge elements are fixed with small nails, the foil at the joints is treated with flux.
• using tin solder, the product is soldered first on one side, then on the other side.
• for a stained-glass window it is better to use a frame made of a metal profile. It is also soldered to the product.

There are few steps in creating a Tiffany stained glass window, but each of them has several nuances:

1. When choosing a sketch for a stained glass window, do not give preference to drawings in which there are several sharp corners or many curves. It is better to draw with soft graceful curves.
2. For work, it is better to use cullet glass, and not sheet glass for stained glass. The first is much cheaper. Cutting parts is best done with a diamond glass cutter. It is better to practice on ordinary glass in advance. This will help to fill your hand, and during the work of the movement will be more confident. When cutting curvilinear figures, auxiliary cuts should be made along the tangent.
3. It is worth making parts and laying a drawing at the same time. First, cut out the top corner piece. Next, it must be sanded, attached to the drawing, wrapped in foil, re-attached and secured. And so is every detail. It is more convenient to assemble a stained-glass window on a surface that is illuminated from below.
4. It is better to solder parts with a 100-watt soldering iron, which has a nickel-plated tip and low-melting tin solder without rosin. It is necessary to solder in small sections, allowing the glass to cool. Otherwise, it may just crack.

Film stained glass

Making film stained-glass windows with your own hands is much easier.

1. To begin with, the glass is thoroughly cleaned. Then a sketch is placed under it and the contours are laid out with a lead tape. The tip of each line must be covered with the next piece of tape. After the contours of the sketch are completely pasted over, the tapes must be rolled with a roller.
2. Glass must be turned over and wiped. After that, along the contour of the lead tape, elements are cut out of the film and pasted on the reverse side. Next, with the help of another roller, the film is rolled.
3. The joints of the film must be pasted over with a lead film, repeating the lines of the tape on the first side. The stained-glass window is again rolled with a roller. It can be wiped with warm water using detergents.

You can decorate a false stained-glass window with glass parts that are planted on a special glue.

How to make a stained glass window

The easiest stained-glass window to perform is a filler. To make it, a polymer contour, acrylic varnish for stained glass or special paint is used.

1. First you need to select a sketch. Draw it or print it on paper. When using transparent glass, you can put a sketch under it. If the surface is matte or mirrored, the drawing is applied with a special disappearing marker.
2. The entire surface is thoroughly cleaned and degreased.
3. It is necessary to apply a polymer contour along the contour of the drawing. All lines must be closed.
4. The contour must be allowed to dry. After that, each part of the drawing is filled with special paint. It doesn't need to be smeared. It is worth dropping paint near the contour, while not touching it, and it will spread over the element itself. The stained-glass window will turn out beautiful, iridescent in the light.

Despite the apparent complexity, making stained glass windows is quite easy. You just need to choose a sketch suitable for your interior, and then a little patience and an unusual decor element is ready.

Do not be afraid to experiment, feel free to show your creative imagination!

Making a stained glass window with your own hands at home in the classical way is not an easy task, it is a laborious process that requires certain skills and the availability of special equipment. English technology has an advantage over other technologies:

1. Production speed - 3 - 4 days. When in the classical version, this work takes several months.
2. When installing a stained-glass window in a window opening, it creates complete tightness, as it is performed on solid glass. This is almost impossible to achieve with the classic stained glass, since there are still gaps between the fragments.
3. Ease of manufacture - even a beginner can master the technology from the first job.

What is English stained glass technology

The simplicity of making stained-glass windows using English technology lies in the fact that it is made from a self-adhesive colored film that imitates stained glass. The film pattern is glued only on one side of the glass, but on the window it is clearly visible from both sides. The joints of the fragments are sealed with self-adhesive lead strips. Lead tape is applied on both sides to indicate the contours.

Film stained-glass windows are made from high-quality English material, which is resistant to high humidity, temperature changes and frost-resistant. The film adheres very firmly to the surface of the glass, which distinguishes the stained glass window by the durability of its service - up to ten years or more.

Making a stained glass window using English technology, a master class for beginners

Master class for beginners with step by step instructions and photos.

For the accuracy of the pattern, you will need a backlit table.

1. First, draw a full size drawing on paper, transfer the pattern to the glass and lay out the outline with lead self-adhesive tape. It is not difficult to do this, it is very easy to apply - first direct it along the contour lines, pressing it with your fingers against the surface of the glass, and then smooth it with a spatula.

1. Then turn the glass over and start sticking the colored fragments of the self-adhesive film.
2. Connect the joints of the films with lead tape. The contours on the glass must match on both sides.

1. All joints of the lead circuit should be soldered using a soldering iron and solder. After that, lead can be treated with a special solution to give it a blackish tint.

What is Tiffany stained glass

Tiffany stained glass windows are made in a different technology, which is much more complicated than English stained glass. The product is made from separate fragments of glass, each of them is pasted over with copper foil and soldered with solder.

Paper stained glass, step by step instructions

Making a stained glass window out of paper is a simple process, mostly a child's activity.

1. Take a ready-made template or make a sketch yourself. Outline the outline with a marker with a wide line.
2. Cut out unnecessary fragments, leaving only the outline.
3. Cut off pieces of colored paper and glue them on the back of the picture. Cut off the excess immediately.
4. When all fragments of the picture are filled, glue the background sheet on the back of the work. Look as shown in the photo.

Filling stained-glass window from self-prepared paint

How to make a stained-glass window with your own hands? This is a kind of stained glass imitation process, performed on a whole sheet of glass with self-made paints. Follow the step-by-step instructions and you will have a wonderful decoration for your interior.

The desktop should be well lit and have a strictly horizontal position, in order to avoid overflowing of paints.

1. Place a large sheet of paper on the table, put a working glass on top of it. Outline the glass and set it aside.
2. Transfer the sketch to paper, circle all the contour lines of the sketch well and put the glass on top again.
3. Now it's time to prepare the paints. To do this, pour 100 ml of PVA glue into a jar and add 40 ml of black gouache and silver to it. Mix well.
4. Draw all the contour lines with the resulting paint.
5. Now prepare the paint for pouring. To do this, pour 30 ml of nitro-lacquer into jars, for each color separately, and dilute it with a solvent to a liquid state. Add artistic paint to each bowl - one pea at a time and mix thoroughly. If the color is not bright, add more paint.
6. Fill the fragments between the contours with paint. Fill in 3 - 4 layers, leaving the varnish to dry after each fill for 10 - 15 minutes.
7. Coat the finished drawing on top with a colorless varnish and leave to dry.
8. After 2 - 3 hours, the flooded stained-glass window will be ready, you can put the glass in place.

Stencil for stained glass

Making a stencil for stained glass is not at all difficult. Take any sketch, draw all the contour lines with a black felt-tip pen. Cut and delete all the fragments that will need to be painted over. The stencil is ready. If you need a reusable stencil, then before cutting out the fragments, paste over the sketch with wide adhesive tape on both sides, then also remove unnecessary fragments, the reusable stencil is ready. After using such a stencil, it is necessary to clean it of paint by wiping it with a cotton pad moistened with alcohol.

Do-it-yourself stained-glass window at home: a master class on how to make film stained-glass windows with a photo

English do-it-yourself stained glass technology at home, a master class with step-by-step instructions, what is English technology, what is Tiffany stained glass, paper stained glass

Do-it-yourself stained-glass windows: video tutorials, photo selection and master classes on basic manufacturing techniques

To add prestige and uniqueness to the interior, stained-glass windows made on window and door glasses are often used. Photo below:

This is a rather expensive pleasure if you buy them in stores, so we suggest you figure out how to make a stained glass window with your own hands: a master class on all techniques will be held below. The work is painstaking, requiring perseverance and accuracy, but if you follow all the rules in the manufacture, the result will exceed all your expectations. There are several technologies by which stained glass can be made. This is a painting with paints or a contour stained-glass window, a film stained-glass window and a Tiffany stained-glass window.

Production of a contour stained-glass window

Perhaps the most simple method, which is often used at home, is contour filling. Now, in almost all homemade stores, special contours for glass are sold, which eliminate the fuss with wire, as it was before. There are many stencils for drawings of various subjects. They can be found both in stores and downloaded on the Internet.

1) We put paper with a pattern under the glass. Glass must be pre-cleaned and degreased.

2) Outline the silhouettes, if necessary, apply a different color.

3) We wait until the contour dries out, and we begin to fill each element with paint. You can do this with a spray can or with a brush. It all depends on the size of the stained glass window and your personal convenience. When pouring, you should not rush; when painting an element, it is better to wait until the adjacent painted part dries. This will allow the colors not to blur and overlap each other.

Creation of a film stained-glass window

It is just as easy to assemble a film stained-glass window, spend more time cutting out a picture from a film.

1) According to this technology, the contour is made with a lead tape according to the same method as in the flooded stained-glass window.

2) Instead of paints, a film coating is applied to the other side of the glass, photo.

3) We lay another tape along the glued coating.

4) We solder the joints with a soldering iron.

It turns out a double-sided film stained glass window. If one-sided stained glass is needed, for example on a mirror, the first step can be omitted and the outline drawn with a special disappearing marker, which can be purchased from a specialized store.

Decoration in Tiffany style

The most complex stained-glass window is Tiffany, which combines elements of flood and film. This video contains a complete master class on its implementation:

In short, Tiffany's technique consists in gluing pieces of glass. Previously, these pieces must not only be painted, but also cut out independently using a stencil and glass. The manufacturing process is quite laborious and complex. The work requires not only good perseverance and accuracy, but also an accurate hand. At the same time, certain skills in working with glass are only welcome. With all the complexity, the result of the finished product will exceed all expectations, and such a stained-glass window will look no worse than the work of professional designers who charge a lot of money for their work.

Do-it-yourself stained-glass windows: video tutorials, photos of finished works and master classes

Do not think that making stained glass is very difficult. Watch our master class, where we explain step by step all the stages of working with glass and paints.

Do-it-yourself stained-glass window at home

In this article: real look for the manufacture of stained-glass windows at home:

• what types of stained glass windows are suitable for making at home
• what tools and materials are needed for work
• which training courses you can trust, find out course reviews And see the work of beginners
• watch video tutorials on making stained glass at home
• find out where to start

Creating stained glass windows is an ancient art that was previously available only to selected masters, but in our time it is very possible to make a beautiful stained glass window yourself at home. Of course, you cannot make a stained-glass window using medieval technology in this way, but modern materials and modern technologies allow you to create very beautiful compositions that look little different from those very ancient stained-glass windows.

Methods for creating stained glass windows, which are suitable.

There are many ways to make stained glass. In some cases, the manufacture of stained glass windows is a rather laborious and complex process that requires the mandatory availability of special equipment, while other methods make it relatively easy to make a stained glass window with your own hands at home. The word relatively is the key. A stained-glass window cannot be made without cost and effort.

As a rule, stained-glass windows are classified according to the method of their manufacture and the materials used. Some techniques are not very different from each other, but there are differences in the materials used.

Classic stained glass

This is the very first stained glass technique known since the Middle Ages. Such stained-glass windows are assembled from pieces of glass held by metal partitions. This is a rather complicated and time-consuming work that requires special equipment and skills, moreover, such stained-glass windows are expensive. And they turn out to be quite heavy, so you can not install such a stained-glass window on some fragile structure. However, as they say, “hunting is worse than bondage”, and such trifles cannot stand in the way of creating beauty.

Now you can buy ready-made glass for stained glass in specialized stores. The choice is fascinating, as the variety of colors and textures can awaken the imagination of even the most conservative person.

However, the cost of such glasses is very high, and for the manufacture of 1 sq.m of stained-glass surface, as a rule, 1.5 - 2 sq.m. glass. For the manufacture of lamps, floor lamps, chandeliers, glass is used with a thickness of 3-4 mm, and the thickness of different types of glass may fluctuate within one sheet of glass, so it is difficult to calculate the required amount of glass per product. Surely there will be unclaimed pieces of expensive material.

Tip from an experienced stained glass artist:

“You don’t need to buy a glass grinder yet,” said the salesman in the store, “at first, just take a whetstone and grind the sharp edges. Then, when you gain skills, buy a typewriter.

The advice seemed reasonable, and the rather high price of the machine pushed me to postpone its purchase until later. And we followed this advice.

So, gentlemen, if someone ever advises you like this, send the adviser to hell. The very first thing that a novice stained glass artist should buy is a glass grinder.

Without it, work will turn into torment. Especially at first, when you have not yet learned how to cut glass exactly along the contours and you will have to remove a lot of excess in order to give the curved lines of the parts an accurate shape.

This type of stained glass also includes Tiffany technology, which involves collecting pieces of glass on a copper tape.

stained glass tiffany

At home, you can make a stained glass window using Tiffany technology, but this will also require the ability to work with glass.

• Stained glass work begins with a sketch. The details should also not be too small, otherwise they simply cannot be cut out of glass normally.
• The sketch is cut into parts, each part is applied to a sheet of colored glass of the desired color, after which, with the help of a glass cutter, a part is cut out.
• Then the edge of the parts will need to be turned evenly and wrapped with copper foil. When everything is ready, the parts need to be folded into a composition, tightly pressed against each other.
• The edge of the foil must be coated with soldering acid, and then the seams must be joined using tin and a soldering iron. At the end of the work, it will be necessary to wash the stained-glass window so that no plaque remains on the seams. You can do this with a regular detergent.
• The seams will need to be covered with a patina, and then washed again, thereby completing the work.

Film stained glass

stained-glass windows of such a type best for home use, since there is no need to buy special equipment and expensive materials. This is a stained glass window, but on a single piece, the glass does not need to be cut into pieces, it does not need to be turned, no need to spend money on adhesive tapes, because no cuts on fingers. The entire drawing is mounted on solid glass. It can be a window glass, a door or a decorative wall panel or a tiny decorative element.

To do film stained glass, You will need a special film. The leaders in quality available on our markets are English films from Regalead. This is not an ordinary self-adhesive film, it is an amazingly technological imitation of glass, the film consists of a dye located between two durable layers that do not transmit ultraviolet light and protect paint from fading, and also withstand temperatures from -45 degrees to +135 degrees Celsius. The films have an incredible range of colors and textures, and also differ in the degree of transparency.

To cut the film, you do not need special machines or other devices, although enterprises or private workshops where they work with a large number of orders use plotters, digital devices for precise cutting according to the applied pattern. At home, it is enough to have scissors.

And, of course, special lead tape for connecting pieces of film. And, of course, a good teacher. These include the artist Irina Kiseleva, who will tell and show, teach where to get what and how to do it, publish an electronic magazine to help beginners, create stained-glass windows and teach how to create stained-glass windows professionally.

In another way, this technique is called sintering. On a colorless glass base, pre-cut pieces of multi-colored glass are laid out, placed in an oven and, under the influence of temperature, the glasses are sintered together. Also, other objects can be used to create a pattern, for example, colored sand, with which patterns are laid out, or wire. Of course, contour images cannot be obtained by this method, but the abstractions are bizarre and beautiful. The technique is attractive, the products are bewitchingly beautiful, but look at the video what equipment is used to make such gizmos.

Sandblasted stained glass

The technique for making stained glass windows of this type is the use of air flow and sand. There are three subspecies of stained glass windows of this type, which differ in the way they use an air jet and colored sand.

Stained glass windows are made with acid. A special protective film is applied to the glass, as well as a stencil with the contours of the pattern, along which the image is melted. Such stained-glass windows are embossed, with three-dimensional drawings. It is worth noting that the technique of working with acid is very dangerous and therefore rarely used. In order not to be poisoned by acid fumes, artists wear respirators and special clothing. Totally unsuitable for the home.

Cast stained glass

A complex technique in which each glass module is cast or blown by hand, while the glass is given a special texture that enhances the refraction of light and gives expressiveness to the stained glass. Glasses are fastened together with metal fittings and cement mortar.

Painted stained glass

This technique implies the mandatory use of painting. And such a product can be called a stained glass window with a big stretch, but nonetheless. The surface of the glass is painted either with acrylic opaque paints and then, after drying, varnished, or painted with expensive silicone transparent stained glass paints, and then the glass is fired in a special furnace. Of course, no one wants to burn anything at home.

Filled contour stained glass window

In fact, this is just an imitation of a classic stained glass window, since no glass processing is required here. stained-glass windows this type is performed using a special paint. First, a contour is applied that imitates a stained glass frame, and then another layer of paint is poured into the area bounded by the contour.

Where to begin?

Choose a drawing, or draw it yourself, go to the store, on the advice of a cheerful seller, buy a bunch of unnecessary materials and ... FLUSH THE WHOLE BUSINESS?

Creating stained glass windows, however, is not the easiest thing. Even the easiest way, film, requires certain knowledge and skills. After all, what is a profession - this is knowledge of the nuances! So if you want to know how to make stained glass windows, contact professionals who own professional nuances, do not enter into statements about the ease of the process that does not require preparation, this is not.

Go to courses in your city in workshops for artists, buy special literature, watch video lessons. Although the Internet enough stupid advice on the product of stained glass paints with your own hands, for example.

Therefore, the phrase "contact professionals" will never lose its relevance. Turn to professionals, it will save you your time and your money.

Making stained glass windows at home

Making stained-glass windows at home is realistic if simple technologies are used. Industrial methods are not suitable. What types of stained glass windows can be made at home

We make a stained-glass window on our own: methods, materials, technologies, subtleties

Stained glass is a welcome addition to any interior. But professionally made stained-glass windows are expensive. Meanwhile, there are different types of stained glass techniques, and some allow you to make stained glass windows with your own hands. The simplest ones make it possible to make, for example, a stained-glass ceiling window, very similar to a real one, if you do not look closely. And according to more complex, but accessible to the DIYer, a work is obtained that even a specialist without disassembly cannot distinguish from a “real-life” one.

The main secret of technology

The manufacturing technology of any stained-glass window does not require deep knowledge. But you definitely need an accurate eye, a faithful and firm hand and the utmost accuracy. The smallest errors, accumulating as they are made, eventually give the product a not quite attractive, or even just a sloppy look. So the main conditions for success are skill, ingenuity, training. If after three test compositions the size of a large book you get a good real one, you are a nugget.

Stained glass in the Cathedral of St. Vincent in Blois

About sketches and scissors

The basis of any stained-glass window is an element-by-element sketch. Sketches of stained-glass windows are always made in two copies. If they are made on a computer and printed out, there is no problem: the printouts are absolutely identical.

However, for a large panel, the sketch has to be drawn by hand and then copied on a blueprinting machine. Despite such a serious name, the simplest blueprint machine is just a sheet of glass (which will then fit on the base), laid on two chairs, and a light bulb under it.

To make a stained-glass window without errors, you need to firmly remember: the assembly is carried out according to the PRIMARY, most accurate sketch, and a copy from it will go to the templates. Otherwise, inconsistencies are inevitable, and fitting fragments along the way complicates and spoils the work.

Scissors are needed not simple, but special template ones, with three blades. The third cuts a strip 1.76 mm wide. Before cutting, the secondary sketch is glued onto a sheet of thin but dense cardboard (the ideal case is 0.5 mm electric cardboard) and a paper-cardboard puff is already cut. Otherwise, when making fragments, it will be very difficult to outline the contour on soft paper.

When gluing, be careful - paper soaked from any glue stretches when smoothed, and you need to glue it over the entire plane. Each finished template is verified according to the primary sketch. By the way, the pieces of both sketches must be uniformly numbered even before cutting.

Types of stained glass

A classic or glass stained-glass window is a window made of many multi-colored glasses, transparent or milky; dairy in this case means - opaque dyed in mass. Frosted glass is “roughened” on one side, and is transparent at the break.

Fragments of a stained-glass window are sometimes called stained-glass smalts, so as not to be confused with smalts, from which a glass mosaic is assembled. The stained-glass window originated from the mosaic. Sometimes they even say just “smalta”, because. There are many more stained-glass windows than glass mosaics. Further in the text, smalt is stained glass smalt everywhere.

Each smalt is framed with a U-shaped profile made of lead, tin, copper or brass. Then the smalts are laid directly on the primary sketch, and the seams are soldered. It turns out a window bound from H-shaped profiles. A frame from a brass corner is immediately placed on it, for strength, and soldered already along the contour. The resulting picture is inserted into a window frame or into an opening with backlighting. In this case, smalts are taken matte or milky.

Stained glass windows made in classical technique

In the figure in the previous section - one of the world's greatest stained glass masterpieces, a stained glass window in the south window of the Cathedral of St. Vincent in Blois. In the picture above - modern stained-glass windows of the classical type. Both there and there, a combined technique with the use of fusing is used, see below. The classical stained-glass window is very difficult to work with, time-consuming and not particularly durable. They were not put in hinged windows - they could crumble from the cotton of the open sash.

From simple to complex

Film and ceiling

A film stained-glass window (the first one on the left in the next figure below) refers to false stained-glass windows: on a glass base, transparent, matte or milky, in one way or another, a pattern is applied with imitation of borders between smalts. In this case, it's just a self-adhesive film; we will talk about imitation of contour borders below, it is not at all difficult.

Making a stained-glass window from a film is no more difficult than just pasting something with self-adhesive tape. The main thing is to degrease the glass well with a solution of dishwashing detergent in water 1:5-1:20 and then rinse with distilled water. Bubbles on the film are pierced with a needle and disappear without a trace in a day or two.

Modern films are quite durable, but close up you can immediately see that this is only an imitation. On the other hand, it doesn't look like it at all. Therefore, film stained-glass windows are most often installed on the ceiling. There they are just in their place - cheap and cheerful.

Previously, ceiling stained-glass windows were not very common: the base is heavy, fragile, and extremely traumatic in case of collapse. According to the properties of the material, the stained-glass window on the glass should not be hanging at all. Now the best basis for ceiling stained-glass windows is acrylic.

Try to bend or break the computer disk. This is the strength of acrylic plastic at a thickness of only about 1 mm. A person throws a sheet of acrylic 3x3 m with a thickness of 2-3 mm by hand, and under its own weight it does not sag for many years. And suddenly it falls out - it quietly plans, swaying. And the film on acrylic is very strong. True, acrylic is much more expensive than glass.

Second pos. on the left - a stained-glass window with paints, or a jellied one. From the face, it is already very similar to the real one, but from the inside, a fake is still noticeable, even if it is arranged along with the face in a mirror image.

We will consider the stained-glass window technique in more detail below: from skillful hands, such compositions come out very spectacular from the face, but getting them is not so easy. To complete the effect, you need a double passage of light rays through the base glass; hence the smooth or textured reflective surface underneath. Therefore, the most common application of pouring technique is a stained-glass window on a mirror.

The fact is that the paint, when filled correctly, forms a meniscus, see below. The rays, direct and reflected from the mirror film, pass through its sections with different curvature, and the stained glass plays with colors with might and main. Diffraction at the borders of the border also affects, so it is better to make it dark, but shiny, also see below. Particularly impressive is the “filler” on acrylic mirrors with a reflective tantalum-niobium substrate.

Tiffany stained glass (next left to right pos.) is already a real, full-fledged stained glass window made of glass smalts. The only difference from the classics is that the binding is not made of cast or forged grooves, but is formed right on the end of the smalt from soldered metal foil (folia), which was not yet possible to make in the Middle Ages.

When using brass foil, hard low-melting solders (which did not exist in the old days either) and semi-active tiffany fluxes, it turns out to be quite strong. It will also go as a stained-glass window on the window, incl. hinged or French, and at the door. The tiffany technique allows you to "stained glass" three-dimensional rectangular and curvilinear structures. To do this, the side faces of the smalt are made beveled at 45 degrees or at the angle required for curvature. Industrial equipment is not required for this. We will also analyze the Tiffany technique further.

Faceted stained-glass window, penultimate pos. - an indispensable sign of a prestigious interior. Facet - a wide, at a small angle, optically accurate polished bevel on a thick, from 6 mm, glass plate. The angle of the facet must be exactly matched to the optical properties of the glass to obtain the so-called. diamond facet, giving the greatest light refraction.

Smalts of faceted stained-glass windows are made transparent, colorless or colored, from special types of glass - potash (light, with a lower refractive index) and lead (heavy, with a high refraction). Facet stained-glass windows made of skillfully selected combinations of both (kronflint facets) are especially effective.

Faceted smalts are assembled in special, piece-made profiles made of durable aluminum alloy, due to the large weight. In general, faceted stained glass requires high skill and industrial conditions for manufacturing. Most often, smalts are ordered in batches at optical-mechanical enterprises, and are already assembled in small / medium-sized production.

Fusing stained glass, or stained glass fusion (from the English fuse - to melt, melt; the last position) is made from smalt heated to softening (300-1200 degrees, depending on the type of glass), laid out according to a stencil on a heat-resistant plane. The whole set is rolled, thanks to which smooth color transitions are obtained, which is unattainable in other stained glass techniques.

Fusion is the pinnacle of stained glass art. Even when manufactured by robots in an industrial environment, due to rolling, each product is unique. Large fusion stained glass windows cost a lot of money; however, with the development of robotization, prices are steadily falling, here, as they say, two laps ahead of the whole world is China. The fusion technique itself has been known since ancient times; it was according to it that smalts with faces, etc. were made and are being made. for classic stained glass windows.

Making a simple stained glass window

It has already been said about the film stained-glass window, and there is nothing complicated in it. But, before moving on to colorful, let's talk about the imitation of lead binding; it is common in both cases. A decent-looking imitation of a stained-glass window is largely determined by the similarity of the overlay border to a natural metal cover.

There are three ways to imitate the binding of a classic stained glass window for both film and paint:

• Sticking the borders of the fragments with lead tape. Specially sold for stained glass cases;
• By forming contours from soft wire, see below;
• Guiding contours with contour paste.

First way

Lead tape is the real thing, without quotes, tape: a lead foil tape about 1/8 inch wide, an adhesive layer, the same as on ordinary tape, and a protective film. Unwinding the roll, lay it out along the contour, cut it off, remove the protective film, apply it, press it down - that's all. For film stained-glass windows - after gluing, for flooded windows - before pouring.

Second way

The contour is bent out of the wire and glued (film - after; pouring - before) PVA. But not simple, but dishware. It is a little more expensive than "paper", and the label says: "For gluing glass and porcelain." Reactive adhesives are not suitable, especially cyanoacrylate "Superglue". It is also unusually liquid, it flows everywhere where it is not needed.

The wire for this technique is traditionally used aluminum and then patinated, as for tiffany, see below. But the author of this article has repeatedly successfully used copper winding wire in high-strength enamel insulation (enamel wire). It bends more easily, and in radio shops and radio markets it can be found with insulation of literally all colors of the rainbow, see fig., with a diameter of 0.02 to 2.5 mm round and 1 to 16 mm flat (tire).

The tire is rare and expensive. But each contour curved from a round wire can be leveled and slightly flattened by strongly squeezing it in a bench vise between two even flat steel plates 8-12 mm thick. The insulation of even almost pre-war PEV does not deteriorate from this.

Especially good are copper-wire contours for stained-glass stained-glass windows on mirrors; this has already been discussed. If you need dullness and patina, it is enough to swipe over the finished one with sandpaper, and the exposed copper will soon be covered with the most real, not induced patina.

Third way

We prepare the contour paste according to the recipe:

1. Tableware PVA - 50 ml.
2. Natural black mascara (the best is Dutch) - 20-30 ml.
3. Aluminum powder (silver) - 30-40 gr.

We introduce mascara into PVA, mix thoroughly and add silver in small portions while stirring until a creamy paste is obtained. If you need a brass-like binding, we replace the silver with bronze powder. The "lead content" depends on the ratio of carcass with silver; it is checked with a test, completely dried drop.

Pasta is prepared as needed, it is not stored. When using, you need to stir all the time - the silverfish floats to the top. Apply along the contour with an artistic brush, picking up abundantly so that it lays down with a sausage of equal thickness, a good skill is needed here. More convenient for a beginner is a small confectionery syringe gun, but then, even after washing, it is unsuitable for its intended use.

The stained-glass window is performed in the following sequence:

• We are preparing the assembly table: a flat shield covered with white calico, felt, flannel or flannel.
• We put a stencil on it - a numbered primary sketch.
• We degrease the glass - the base and put it on the stencil. We take the ends with our hands in new textile gloves; Do not use a suction cup and leave your fingers on your face.
• We bend, level and flatten the contours, one by one from the left (for left-handers - right) upper corner.
• We customize as needed and glue with PVA utensils. Dry for days.
• Fill with paint (see below). Adjacent cells of one color scheme are poured alternately as the previous ones dry out: suddenly it leaks, the dried drip can be easily removed with a safety razor blade.
• We dry for another day after pouring the last cell, insert it into a metal frame - ready for installation!

For the preparation of paints, see the following, but for now let's dwell on the fill; this is the most important procedure. Pour the paint with a richly impregnated brush or syringe from the inside along the contour, but in no case touching the border (see Fig.)! The paint should flow into the meniscus naturally! If the color came out watery, after drying, pour it again in the same way.

Filling stained glass cell with paint

Pouring / topping up paint in the middle is unacceptable. If you need a thicker stain there, you need to contour it and pour more in there. In this case, two fills in the frame (along the outer and inner contours) are made without delay one after the other.

The fact is that the "blamba" in the middle will break the light refraction. There will be a “bokeh effect” known to photographers, and a single such element will violate the integrity of the perception of the composition. And if there are a lot of them, then the whole stained-glass window will turn out to be sloppy.

Homemade stained glass paints are known in four types:

1. On PVA and aniline - the easiest to prepare and the most unstable;
2. Soviet-rare - on BF-2 glue and ballpoint pen paste;
3. Gelatin-aniline - fragile and burn out in direct sunlight, but give an ideal meniscus;
4. Nitrooil - the most expensive, but have all the advantages without the disadvantages.

First. PVA-aniline paints are prepared simply: we dilute 50-100 ml of PVA dishware with distilled water twice or three times. Then, in hot distillate - aniline dye for fabric according to the instructions for the tablet, and filter through calico, gas or thin women's tights. We put a few drops into the PVA emulsion, stir, put a drop on the glass and check the color. Lightened - add a pigment solution; darkened - emulsions.

Second. BF-2 is diluted twice with acetone and hand paste is added dropwise to the solution with stirring. The color is checked with a test drop as above. Gives an excellent meniscus, stance, bright, but - alas! – the turnover of pure acetone is limited, because it is used in artisanal illegal drug production. And you can not replace the nitro solvent or alcohol.

Third. 6 gr. food gelatin is diluted in 200 ml. distillate at 40-50 degrees. An aniline dye solution, the same as for the first paint, is added dropwise after cooling to the same temperature and the color is also checked. Strength and resistance to fading can be slightly increased by coating with a transparent acrylic varnish after drying. Aniline with PVA - it is impossible, it will float.

Fourth. We are preparing a composition of 60% by volume of transparent furniture nitro-lacquer and 40% 647 solvent. Squeeze artistic oil paint directly from the tube with pea-sized balls, stir, check the color for a drop. Suitable for acrylic coating; at the same time, the strength is acrylic, and the durability is practically unlimited.

1. Sometimes the paint does not stir, but curdles. This means - the manufacturer is a deceiver: it is not prepared with natural hemp oil.
2. Colors can be mixed as artists do, but following the rules for mixing mineral oil paints. Otherwise, it may turn out, as with Ozerov's paintings.

Tiffany stained glass is an order of magnitude or two more difficult to work with than those described above, so we will deal with them in stages. There are complexities and subtleties at all stages, except, perhaps, patination. And neglect of technique on any of them will spoil the work. In addition, you need to acquire some special tools and materials.

Tool

The main key to success when working on tiffany is a glass cutter, because you need to cut small curvilinear pieces of glass, and stained glass is very viscous. Therefore, only a diamond glass cutter is needed. Advisers to manage with roller Pobedit are unlikely to be able to cut a piece of glass into the window.

Diamond glass cutter for curved cuts

There are two types of diamond glass cutters: with a point (diamond pencils) and with a curvilinear cutting edge. The former are suitable only for straight cuts, and the latter for curved ones. The type of the cutting part and the method of cutting are indicated in the certificate for the tool, and in appearance - a glass cutter with a curved edge is necessarily massive, with a butt for tapping / breaking, see fig. After cutting with a pencil, the incised piece simply breaks off.

It is undesirable to buy from the hands - in 90% of cases they are sold because the diamond is punctured and does not give a ringing cut (see below). There are also glass files - thin steel strips with diamond coating. They make quite decent curved cuts of large parts (glasses for cabinets, etc.), but they are unsuitable for smalt - you cannot cut a small radius.

1. Diamond, so you know, although the champion in hardness, it is fragile. The ancient myth of slaves who were promised freedom if they broke a diamond with a hammer on an anvil is just a myth. It pricks, even dropped on a stone floor. Therefore, the glass cutter must be stored in a regular case and handled with care.
2. Glass cutters from different manufacturers are very, very different in cut quality. A sign of good is a case made of genuine leather with a felt lining.

Smalt grinder

Tiffany soldering is done by the capillary method, so an electric / radio soldering iron with a long red-copper tip is unsuitable. You need a tool with a bronze nickel-plated sting; it serves only for heating, and the solder does not stick to it during the soldering process. You can recognize this by the initially short white shiny sting (see below in the figure with soldering accessories), and they are sold under the Long Life brand. Power - 100 W, no more and no less.

To finish the smalt after cutting, it is desirable to have a glass grinder, see fig. But it costs a lot, and in any case, for fine-tuning, you need three grinding bars numbered 220-240 and 12-20 mm wide: square, semicircular and triangular. The latter is also necessary if there is a machine for sampling sharp internal corners; in drawings, say, with leaves, it is very difficult to do without them.

1. For smalt voluminous stained-glass windows, a grinder is absolutely necessary. It is impossible to accurately maintain the required bevel angles of the side faces with hands.
2. It is also desirable to have a diamond file with a lenticular section - for finishing the same corners on very small fragments.

Bars should be looked for from natural garnet or corundum, heavy and very strong. The "sand" miracles of powder technologies do not sharpen glass, but grind it themselves. But turning smalts even on the best bar is necessary under a layer of water, for which, when turning, the bar is immersed in a bowl, baking sheet or some other suitable tray.

Spatula for patina

We make a spatula for applying patina ourselves - from a toothpick and a piece of dense foam rubber 5-6 mm wide and 3-4 mm thick. We put it on a toothpick and fix it with a thin soft wire.

Tiffany length smalts can be made from ordinary glass by painting it, as for “filler”. But it is better to buy a special stained glass. Translucent, matte or milky. In sheets, it is expensive, but the same firms sell cheap battle (the material is valuable), but we don’t need much.

1. It is not necessary to order immediately cutting into smalts according to the sketch. Expensive, and you will not adjust later. You need to cut the smalts yourself.
2. Since Tiffany is assembled on soldering, the temperature of which the paint does not hold, it must first be completely assembled from plain glass, and only then poured. It is possible on both sides with a different color scheme, which will give the overflow of the picture when viewed from different sides.

Foil for framing smalt - folia - is sold in art stores especially for stained glass along with lead tape. Unit of goods - a roll of ribbon 4-7 mm. It is undesirable to cut a sheet of foil into strips yourself: the stained-glass window will come out sloppy.

Materials for soldering are shown in the figure, there is also a soldering iron. Pay attention to the inscription: "Without rosin." Thread-like solder with rosin inside (harpius) is unsuitable for soldering stained-glass windows. Soldering flux (this is a jar in the figure) is needed with borax or other semi-active, for soldering electronics. Residues of active flux (with phosphoric acid, etc.) cannot be removed from the binding, and it will eventually corrode.

Usually, POS-61 solder is recommended for soldering Tiffany due to its fusibility - 190 degrees. From ordinary tin-lead solders (240-280 degrees), smalts sometimes crack. But POS-61 is fragile, very soft. There is also POS-61M with a copper additive, 192 degrees, but it is only a little stronger.

The best solders for tiffany are with cadmium additives: POSK-50-18 (145 degrees, in the figure) and Avia-1 (200 degrees, strength - like duralumin). POSK-50-18 is weaker, but still much stronger than POS-61/61M. It is inexpensive, unlike Avia-1, it is easily accessible.

Now in art and construction stores they sell blacksmith's patina of various types. Buy better fluid, ready to use. It will be only slightly cheaper to prepare the powder composition yourself, but difficult, and the quality of the coating will be worse.

Stages of work

Making a Nonmonotonic Bend

Sketch/stencil

Already when choosing a pattern, it is necessary to take into account the features of the technology and its weaknesses. S-, N- and deep U-shaped bends of the edges of the smalts are unacceptable: due to the difference in the TC of glass and metal, the smalts will eventually crawl out and fall out along them. An ideal smalt is an area bounded by convex smooth curves. If a non-monotonic bend is needed, it must be collected from pieces, even if of the same tone, see fig. Suddenly, the finished composition turns out to be flickering / clumsy due to the binding - nothing can be done, you need to change or refine the drawing.

Note: drawings for stained-glass windows are a separate area of ​​pictorial art. There are many on the Internet ready for different techniques, but if you want your own unique one, you need to turn to a stained glass artist or look for creative abilities in yourself.

Smalt cutting

First you need to make a base, the same as for stained glass. With the right cut, the residue breaks off from the slightest push, so you don’t need to immediately bring it to the overhang: after making an incision under the glass, a thin rail is slipped behind the cut, and lightly press your finger on the residue. It didn’t break off - you can tap on weight.

Try cutting a piece of regular window glass. If the cut is creaky, a scratch is visible, and for a break you need to tap several times, it’s too early to take on smalts.

With the right cut, the glass makes a quiet, thin ringing, and the crack is not visible at all. For a break, light pressure is enough or lightly poking from below. To obtain such a cut, you need to maintain the angle of the tool in the direction of the cut (about 45 degrees, or according to the specification for the glass cutter) and keep it strictly perpendicular in the transverse direction.

The second condition is a strictly constant pressing force. The skill in angle and strength must be worked out to full automatism when cutting lines of any kind. It's called putting your hand up.

Note: the exact angle and pressure are individual for each diamond glass cutter. Therefore, aces glaziers do not use other people's tools and do not offer them for rent.

An example of the location of auxiliary cuts

But that's not all. A curved cut by itself will never crack, even though you crack. It will leave the side and, according to Murphy's First Law, just where it will hurt the most. What to do?

Auxiliary cuts on a tangent, the thicker, the more curved, see fig. The general rule is that the deflection between two adjacent auxiliary cuts should not exceed two glass thicknesses. By the way, this circumstance must also be taken into account when developing a stencil. Therefore, if you order a drawing from an artist, then immediately determine the stencil. However, good masters attach a stencil to the drawing without any.

If there is an angle on the smalt, a tangent to the least convex side is required from its beak. An important conclusion follows from the foregoing: do not try to cut out a lot of one-color smalts at once from a large piece. Almost all expensive material will go to waste. In general, smalts are cut one at a time as the stencil is filled, see below.

Here the question arises: how to trace smalt templates? The glass cutter is not a razor blade or a utility knife, it is rather plump. And for this, stencil scissors are needed. The width of the third, middle, blade just takes into account the resulting indent.

Set to composition

Before starting to set the stained-glass window, the stencil on the assembly board is fixed with even rails on the left (for left-handers - on the right) and at the top. From the corresponding far upper corner, they are laying the smalt, see on the left in fig.

Laying smalt on a stencil

Smalts are cut out strictly one at a time, otherwise the whole set will spread before reaching half. Having cut out one, they bring it up and align it according to the stencil (you need an indent inward from the contour of 0.5-0.7 mm for soldering). Then they wrap it with foil and roll its edges with a round piece of wood or plastic (middle pos.) After rolling with the same trowel, iron the side face; for internal sharp corners, it is convenient to use a school plastic ruler with a wedge-shaped edge or a plastic knife from a set of disposable tableware, and add it.

Now the smalt is put in place before soldering, tightly pressed against the previous ones or the side, and the template for the next one is checked against the stencil. If necessary, cut the template with curved nail scissors, and only then return to the glass with a glass cutter. There should be no visible gaps between smalts on the filled part, right pos. in fig.

Note: The best stained-glass windows are obtained by typing on a blueprinting machine, covered with calico or baize. The smallest crack is immediately visible.

Crimping and fluxing

After laying all the smalts, the composition is carefully crimped horizontally with slats, now on the right (left) and bottom. If the smalts at the same time begin to stick out at an upward angle, they iron and finish the foil, press it down from above. After that, they start fluxing.

The used smalt templates are laid out next to the shield according to the composition and numbering. Special accuracy is not needed, as long as the pieces are not mixed up. Now fragments are transferred to this intermediate stencil, starting from the corner opposite the initial one, i.e. in reverse order of assembly. So it is necessary that the flux on the ends of the smalt does not dry out.

Next, the smalts are transferred one by one back to the working stencil in the same way as they were collected. At the same time, the foil frame is smeared with a thin layer of flux (it has the consistency of petroleum jelly) using a match or a toothpick. Having assembled the composition again in the old place, they are again crimped, but the right (left) and lower rails are now fixed with cloves. You can start soldering.

The main condition for soldering is not to do a lot at once. Due to the difference in the TCR of glass and metal, when overheated, the entire composition can swell and fall apart. At a time, you need to solder the area in one or two male palms, then let it cool, and solder further. Conduct soldering in the order of laying.

Tiffany is soldered by capillary method. First, along the contour of the next smalt, pieces of a solder thread as wide as a soldering iron tip are dripped onto the seam with a step of 1-1.5 cm. The operation is carried out on weight, without touching the thread of the solder and the sting of the foil. This is painstaking, exhausting and responsible work, so take your time, take breaks for rest.

Then the seams are soldered. Each drop or sausage of solder on the seam is heated until it all at once goes into the seam and spreads over it inside. If the flux evaporates and burns out earlier, this may not happen, so flux generously, but without dirt. The missing flux during the soldering process can be added, then only after the soldered area cools down. It is not necessary to scatter the set, the flux can be applied on top and warmed up a little to flow into the seam.

framing

The composition is also soldered into the frame. It is not necessary to glue on epoxy or acrylic: due to the difference in TKR, the stained-glass window will not last more than 5-7 years. Make a frame from a brass or bronze corner.

The frame must be solid; one solder joint is allowed in the overlay at the junction of the contour. Therefore, a U-shaped profile is not suitable: how can you put a stained-glass window into it? You can, however, slip it in pieces under the stained-glass window, but then you need soldered scarves in the corners, which will be visible on the finished product. However, again, it's a matter of taste. You can immediately coordinate the pattern with scarves.

The frame is cleaned from the inside with a school eraser to a shine (semi-active flux does not dissolve the oxide film on brass) and thoroughly washed with a cotton swab, richly moistened with alcohol. Then wipe with a new, unused, microfiber eyeglass cloth.

Now the frame from the inside, and the edge of the stained-glass window from the face and side, are smeared with flux, the frame is applied to the composition, and soldered, like smalts, piece by piece. Upon cooling, the stained-glass window is carefully turned over, a flux is applied to the wrong side gap between the edge of the composition and the frame, heated until it spreads, and the gap is soldered. It remains to rinse from the remnants of the flux and patinate.

It is no longer necessary to waste liters of alcohol to remove flux residues: dish detergents do an excellent job of removing them. A particularly gratifying circumstance for a non-drinker: from “him, darling” during alcohol washing, such a dukhan ...

Wash the stained-glass window (already a stained-glass window) in the bathroom under the shower with a foam sponge soaked in detergent. Particularly sticky flux residues are removed with a toothbrush. They do not lend themselves immediately, so a simple operation turns out to be painstaking: you cannot press hard or cut off. Often, a stained-glass window has to be soaked for a day in a bath, in which a whole bottle of Fairy is thumped, until the flux deposits become limp and come off under the sponge.

Patination

The final stage is patination of the binding. The operation is simple: pour into a small consumable container, collect on a spatula and apply to the binding. Drying excess is washed off with the same dishwashing sponge under the shower without any difficulties.

There is only one nuance when patinating: this is a caustic and harmful thing, ready-to-eat blacksmith patina. Therefore, you need to work in a ventilated area, in protective gloves, goggles, and, preferably, in a petal respirator.

After washing from the remnants of the patina and drying, the stained-glass window is ready - you can insert it into the frame in place and admire it.

About matting

Film and flooded stained-glass windows, used with backlighting, look good if the underside of the base is matte. Do-it-yourselfers are sometimes offered recipes for chemical matting, but these recommenders, it seems, did not sniff this chemistry themselves, since they are alive: deadly volatile components are used in chemical matting - hydrofluoric (hydrofluoric) acid and its compounds. Matting with silicic acid is no better: concentrated sulfuric acid is needed, and poisonous volatile products are also formed.

The easiest way to self-matte the inside of the base is to take and apply plastic tracing paper from the inside. Lasts over 10 years. If the matte base is visible from two sides, then there is a laborious, but completely harmless way:

• We buy 10-50 g, depending on the area, of corundum powder of the smallest fraction (0.05 mm).
• Scatter in small piles over the area of ​​\u200b\u200bglass.
• We drip linseed, rapeseed, palm oil or a spindle into each pile until a slurry is obtained; The list is in order of preference.
• We rub with light pressure with a polisher made of whole, not double, rawhide; a piece of old coarse wide waist belt will work well.
• The three front (smooth) side of the polished, alternating longitudinal-transverse and circular movements. With some skill, in this way it is even possible to obtain frosted glasses for photographic equipment.
• The remains of the abrasive are washed off with water with dishwashing detergent and a sponge.

Note: you need to flush it into the pan, not the bath, otherwise the plumbing died.

Finally, aluminum

Someone, after reading the article, will remember: wait, but the glazing of furniture? Why not stained glass? In standard duralumin profiles, cheap, beautiful, shiny. And you can bend them.

No, there is no stained glass. Stained-glass window is a separate transportable product in a solid frame, soldered or cast. Okay, let's sleep. Aluminum is brazed, and even without argon - there are special "scraping" solders (CSP, for example) and not very caustic fluxes based on oleic or palmitic acid.

Yes, but the temperature is needed 350-400 degrees, the glass does not hold this in close contact with the metal. If, however, the entire set is heated very slowly on a refractory shield, it swells and disintegrates from the difference in TCR. Give allowances for thermal expansion - it loosens and falls apart when cooled.

So “real”, not on glue and resins, stained-glass windows in aluminum binding are not yet obtained. If someone figures out how to make them, it will certainly be a revolution in stained glass art: aluminum alloys are light, and comparable in strength to steel.

Do-it-yourself stained-glass windows: on glass at home

We make a stained-glass window on our own: methods, materials, technologies, subtleties Stained-glass window is a welcome decoration of any interior. But professionally made stained-glass windows are expensive. Meanwhile, there are