I was a Mercury Glass / Looking Glass newbie

 

You all know what “mercury glass” is, right? 

Pottery Barn has made it famous.
 

Well, it’s not the cheapest thing in the world to buy.  And, I kept seeing Krylon’s “LOOKING GLASS” all over the Internet….with promises that it resembled mercury glass.  So I decided to try it.

It was a pill to find. 

Contrary to all the places it was supposed to be……

It was not at Hobby Lobby.

Not at JoAnn’s.

Not at Walmart.

But I did find it at Walmart.com.

So I ordered some. 

 
 
 
 
The stuff is WEIRD!!!! You have to spray the INSIDE of whatever you are painting.  So…you couldn’t use it on a chandelier or a candlestick or a lamp….all the things I would love it on.
 
But you can Looking Glass the heck out of some Salvation Army glass vases!!!! And I did!
 
 

The first coat was thin and yucky and runny and I wasn’t sure if this stuff was working right.

But I followed the directions (pretty much) and sprayed 3 thin coats (I think) and wondered if the runs would cover up???? (I eventually “broke” the runs up with rubbing alcohol!)

 It’s not like regular spray paint.  It smells different, it feel different.  Just fyi.
  

So after spraying the 3 coats and letting it dry…..I sprayed a 4th coat and spritzed rubbing alcohol on it.
 
Some of the online instructions I found said to dab the now wet inside of the vase with a rag in order to “break up” the finish to look more authentic.  But, it was hard to get a rag into the skinniness of the vase….
 
So I MacGyver’d this project and wrapped a kitchen spoon with a paper towel….slipped my hand in the vase (see pic below) and dabbed away.
 
 
 
(see my hand in there?)
 
 
(Sidenote:  I may need to warn you about eating soup at our house…..as I’m unsure what I did with this spoon!)

And lookie here…..perfect mercury glass!!!!!

 
 
 
Not bad for my first time, huh?
 
 
 
So have YOU tried “Looking Glass” yet?

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4 comments

  1. I searched for the stuff for years and never found it. I finally got a bottle and I love it. I’ve used it on wine bottles, lots of goodwill jars and cups and can’t wait to find more projects. I love your vase! maybe that is next on my list?!

  2. I have tried it, and I’m still not completely sold. Maybe the piece I tried it on wasn’t the right style, but it just didn’t have the right “feel”. I have considered spraying a very light coat of gold on the inside of the piece once everything has dried. It seems like maybe that’s part of what feels off for me, the lack of that subtle gold haze I see on most mercury glass.
    Oh, and I’ve bought mine at Michael’s in Wichita.

    Jeannine @ The Concrete Cottage

  3. I found a cheap 1980’s console table complete with smoked glass ( that apparently the seller saw as a high selling feature based on the wording of his ad) on Craig’s List today that I was thinking about doing this to. Maybe your post is a sign 🙂
    Good work, girl!

  4. Maybe you could turn a vase into a lamp by using a lamp kit? The challenge might be figuring out what to use to “plug” the opening.

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