The type of glass most popular in the glass paint industry to create back painted glass backsplashes is “Low-Iron Glass” also known as “Starphire Glass”. This glass is used for back painted glass because of its optically clear properties unlike regular glass (regular glass gives a green tint effect that distorts the back painted color). The Industry standard thickness for colored glass backsplash applications is 1/4″ or 6mm.

Is Back Painted Glass Tempered?

Generally back painted glass is not tempered (just like glass mirror). Tempered back painted glass is only recommended if the glass will be subject to fast temperature fluctuations like behind a stove or cook top, as well as in front of a fire place etc… If your application requires tempered glass, the glass must be tempered before painting.

The same type of Starphire Glass is used for back-painted glass counters. The Industry standard thickness for colored glass counter top applications is 3/4″ or 19mm.

Thoroughly scrub glass surface with #000 or #0000 steel wool and rubbing alcohol. Next, clean glass surface with rubbing alcohol and clean new paper towels until dry. Make sure glass surface has a squeaky clean feel/sound while being wiped dry.

Spraying is the best application method. It is best to use an HVLP spray gun with a tip size of 1.5-2.0 mm. Spray paint with 40-120 psi. Spray 3-4 coats onto glass waiting at least 5 minutes in between each coat. We recommend thinning paint 15% (1 part) with conventional acetone when spraying.

*note: some bright colors require more coats to reach full opacity. Some applicators like to put a final coat of a light gray color to achieve quicker opacity with minimal coats when applying bright colors.

It is best to use a mohair roller to prevent roller hair/lint shedding. Use a roller to your desired size. Roll 3-4 coats onto the glass waiting at least 20-30 minutes in between each coat. We do not recommend thinning for rolling.

Don’t worry if you get slight overspray of glass paint either on the glaze side or on the edges of your glass. To clean paint overspray, all you need to do is polish it off using #000 steel wool once the paint is dry. If the paint build-up is larger, or if a big area was affected with a light overspray, first use acetone to treat the area and wipe it with paper towels. Thick layers of paint can be cleared off with a single-edge razor blades, and polish it off with #000 wool.

Painting glass can have flawed results for a number of reasons – improperly cleaned surface, dust, air debris or even small insects can get caught in the paint while you apply it. The best way to deal with these flaws is to wait for the paint to finish drying and curing. Once done, gently sand off the paint at the location of the imperfection (a fine sandpaper is suitable for this, look for 220-320 grit sandpaper). If the sanding causes the glass surface to be slightly occluded, don’t worry. When the imperfection is gone, clean the area once again with paper towels and rubbing alcohol. Now that the surface is ready, it can be repainted with any tool of your choosing – spray gun or roller. (Please note that the color tone may change as the paint dries) – even if the wet paint tone seems lighter, it will blend perfectly once it’s dried and cured.

Note: due to its bonding properties, it’s only possible to remove Glassprimer™ glass paint from a pane of glass for up to 2 weeks after it’s been applied.

To strip any glass surface of Glassprimer™ glass paint, put down the piece of glass horizontally with the paint facing up, then cover it with conventional polyurethane paint stripping compound, either by pouring or spraying. Let the paint stripper stand for around 15 minutes. After this time, you should notice as the paint detaches and even jumps off the glass. Wash the loose paint off with water – we recommend a pressure hose – and, if there is still paint remaining, repeat the process. When most of the paint is gone, use a de-greaser and sponge to clean up the surface of the glass. If necessary, you can use single-edge razor blades to scrape the paint off. If you want to repaint the glass, you can just clean it again with isopropyl alcohol and paint it with another batch of Glassprimer™ glass paint.

To clean the canister of your paint gun, we recommend dabbing a cloth or small brushes in acetone. After cleaning the canister, spray acetone for 30 to 60 seconds through the paint gun, until the stream is clean. If necessary, repeat. We suggest taking the paint gun apart and using acetone to clean all the parts. Do dissolve all the paint, you can also soak the paint gun for a few hours in a container of acetone.

Back-painted glass can be installed exactly like a mirror. The industry’s favored solution include paint can style black mirror mastic, glazer’s double-sided tape and neutral-cure silicone gluing compounds (GE Silicone II works great). Pay attention that you don’t get acid (acetoxy) cure silicone glues – these are mostly for masonry, tiles and other kiln-cured materials, and are corrosive to metals. Most silicone glues from the GE Silicone II line are neutral-cure glues. While acetoxy silicone glues don’t have negative interactions with Glassprimer™ paint, we nonetheless don’t recommend their use for installing backpainted glass.

Neutral (meaning neutral alkoxy) silicone glues have practically no smell, since during the curing process they release alcohol. For this reason, this type of glue is also called “acid free silicone glue”. We recommend this type of silicone glue for mounting back painted glass.

Acetoxy silicone glues release acetic acid during the curing process, which gives them a slight vinegary odor. Acetoxy silicones can corrode metals, and are therefore harmful to the reflective backing on mirrors. For this reason, acetoxy glues are not to be used to mount mirrors or backpainted glass.

Back painted glass for backsplash and cabinet coverings are generally always lightly seamed (sanded) they are not polished. Back painted glass counter tops are generally machine polished with an arris or bevel of your choice or flat polished.