Applying Silver Stain by Hand

Silver stain applied with a brush

Wear a dust mask while handling the dry pigment. Use brushes with plastic ferrules, when possible, and mix stains in glass or plastic containers as silver stain is corrosive to metal. Clean your brush immediately after use. A dedicated set of silver stain brushes is recommended as silver stain can contaminate your other pigments. Silver stain can be mixed with any glass painting medium. Oil vs. water techniques will have an effect on the density and texture of the application but will not effect the color of the stain. The color results from the reaction of the chemistry of the stain and the chemistry of the glass. For the samples in this study I mixed the stains with distilled water and applied them with an airbrush. To achieve a gradation of color by hand: wet surface, apply stain, and blend with a badger blender. This guideline holds for both water or oil mixtures. It is better to achieve a gradation by diluting and blending while wet than by stippling the dry application. Most stains have their own binder so it is not necessary to add gum Arabic although adding gum may improve the flow of water mixtures. In some stains the binder is very stiff so you may find it easier to clean up stain while it is slightly damp or take my approach and mask areas to be stained with contact paper.