A few months ago, some videos of vases being painted with baking soda went viral. So, I did an experiment by painting three different vases three different ways–this article is going to have all the information you need on how to paint a vase for the RIGHT result.
Supplies You Need to Paint a Vase
- A vase or glass bottle
- A paint brush
- Paint – I used latex paint
- (Optional) Baking soda and a mixing stick
Three Different Ways to Paint Vases
- Plain latex paint
- Latex paint + baking soda
- Plain paint over baking soda + paint
How to Paint a Vase
Okay, this is going to get bumpy, so hold on for the ride….
Step 1: Get paint and a paintbrush (and baking soda if you choose)
Step 2: Dip your brush in the paint
Step 3: Paint your vase
Step 4: Let it dry
….Okay so obviously I was being sarcastic. It’s VERY easy to paint a vase, and there aren’t really any tricks. However, I do have a few tips to perfect the end result.
A Few Tips When Painting Glass
- You will need multiple coats. I often ended up painting three.
- Don’t paint all the way to the bottom of your vase if it’s sitting on a table–it will get stuck and the paint will come off. Instead, once your coat is dry, turn the vase upside to get the bottom and the edges.
- Only paint when it’s completely wet or completely dry. If you overwork it too much after the paint starts drying, you’ll get weird lumps. They’re especially visible since glass is such a smooth surface.
How to Do the Baking Soda and Paint Trick
Simply pour a little bit of paint into a container and add some baking soda. This is probably a 4:1 of paint ratio–but you can change that depending on the results below and the results you are looking for.
You can also see how un-technically I add my baking soda in the video at the bottom of this post.
What does baking soda and paint do?
Here are the results I got from painting vases three different ways. Can you spot the difference?
A few people in my Facebook group got it right immediately–but I can’t tell a difference.
Here are a few more close up shots:
If you’re still not sure, the smaller vase is painted with baking soda and paint, and the larger vase is painted with JUST paint.
The only difference between the painted vases is the texture.
So. How do you make glass look ceramic?
The simple answer is: you paint it!
The rougher the texture you want, the more baking soda you can add.
However, it seems to me like even vases painted with only paint look like ceramic. So the decision is totally up to you!
Want to see the process in motion? Here it is:
