Thread: aging glass?

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Hi! ok so browsing through here, i'm definitely going to need a bigger kitchen and bathroom for all of the potion bottles you guys have inspired me to make
i was wondering if you guys could help me brainstorm how to age new glass? i have lots and lots of bottles i've found at yard sales this summer, but most of them have shiny new glass and it's really not the look i'm going for. I love "sick" glass- glass that's so old it's mottled white and dull. i have tried flat white paint, diluted flat white paint, but it just doesn't look right. I'm going to try the glass etching stuff next with a sea sponge, i'll be sure to report back on how that works. any other ideas? they don't all have to be white...grungy, dirty looking glass would work too. any thoughts?
Thanks!

2 ways i can think of,

one
put a small amount of clorox bleach in the bottle and shake it up...let it drip down the inside and let it dry to make a milky coating...wait till that coat is dry and give the bottle a light shake and let it drip again... with the combination of drying and natural evaporation you will not need to por out the excess...

two
if you want something less toxic...try doing the same thing with a water and elmers glue solution.

if you do try it let me know how it gos

I was just wondering how to do something similar. I was wanting to age some glass as well, but more in a dirty way.

My plan was to sand on the glass a little with sandpaper, see if that made a difference, and then maybe soak it in coffee, see if that will stick to it at all?

Just my two cents. Maybe it will help you, and maybe we'll get some even better advice!

thanks to both of you! maybe a combo of both would work? i have friday set aside for my projects, i can't wait to give them a shot!

add some elmers glue and food dye. swirl it around a bit and it will coat the inside.

Pumpkinrot did these and they look fantastic! He talks about the process in the blog post but doesn't go into great detail...maybe enough to figure it out though.
PUMPKINROT.COM: What's Brewing: Witch Jars

If you don't want to use Elmer's glue, you can use Rustoleum's Frosted Glass spraypaint. Looks pretty good on dark bottles as well:

I worked on a few smaller jars I happened to have laying around and here are the results.

Blank jars:



Here are the finished jars:



Some small beakers I also "aged":




From left to right, these are the steps I used to age my jars. I had various results and opinions of each.

Jar 1: I used diluted black acrylic craft paint (just mixed with water) and swished around. I would let it dry and do it again until I got results I wanted. Don't think I like this one much.

Jar 2: I dripped white candle wax to give it some depth in areas but figure this won't matter if you are going to burn a candle in it. Then took some black paint and dribbled it down the sides.

Jar 3: I put Elmer's glue on the outside of the jar and let dry. I then took dark brown acrylic craft paint, watered it down. I got a medium sized bushy brush and let it soak up the pain then dribbled all down the jar and let dry.

Jar 4: I did the same as #3 except I splattered the inside with dark blue and red paint before the steps in #3.

For both beakers I used the same process as in Jar 3 and used a mix of black, green and red for the darker beaker. I think this is the process I like best although I think I need to find a way to seal it. Not sure how since the glue moves when you get it wet again.

Hey newgirl, my vote is definitely for jar #3!
Funny, I was just wondering what to do with all my odd-shaped empty bottles.
Gigglemommy, hope you post pics of your finished project as well!

I think some of the best aged glass I've seen had a little paint swirled in the interior, but then the interior was half-heartedly scrubbed with a piece of wool steel, which scrapped a little paint away, leaving streaks and clusters.

Also, the dabs of Elmer's glue mixed with coffee grounds or cinnamon on the outside for exterior grime looks great. Don't cover it with this, just dabs, especially around the lip and the upper sections.