How to apply Folk Art Glass and Tile Medium

 This tutorial is for the use of Folk Art Glass and Tile Medium as 

a base coat, or primer under air dry paints to prevent shine and create a lovely matte finish.  

It is designed as a primer for glass to allow paint to stick to it so it is best used UNDER the paint.  

If you find that you must use it over the paint to eliminate shine, please make sure that your Genesis Heat Set Paints are FULLY baked and cure and that your air dry paints have had 1-2 weeks to fully cure.  The solvent structure in the Folk Art Glass and Tile Medium can interact with uncured paints and ruin your paint job.  It is always safer and recommended to apply before you paint, however, it is not designed to be baked.  

Before you begin, shake the bottle of the Folk Art WELL! 

And shake throughout the use of it. 

I have found that the best way to apply the Folk Art Glass and Tile medium is by using a wedge. 

Have a couple of dishes of warm water available to you as you will get sticky doing this and might want to clean up some, plus you will need to rinse out brushes that you use.

On a small plate, place a small puddle of FAG&T medium (FULL STENGTH~do not thin it), no more than the size of a nickle.  The medium dries and thickens fast so you don't want too much on the plate. 

Barely dab the end side of a dry wedge into the puddle then pounce it quickly on the plate leaving just a thin coating on the wedge.  A very thin layer is all that is needed on the vinyl. 

Pounce it onto the vinyl in small sections....say the back of the head.  Using a clean, dry wedge, pounce the medium until JUST DRY.  Over-pouncing will cause it to pill and get grainy. 

Do another section, paying close attention to joining the sections together.  Change your pouncing wedges often as they will begin to build up too much medium causing problems when you pounce.

It is important to change your application wedge after each piece of vinyl as it begins to build up, and change your plate.  I just use a wedge to clean off the medium that is left, then use water from the dishes to fully clean the plate then dry the plate with a clean paper towel. 

Use a damp brush to apply in creases and in hard to reach places.  Use a dry brush (it's good to have several for when they get too much medium on them you can wash and switch) to pounce out those areas. 

I like to brush the medium onto the nails creating a texture.  This you would not pounce out.  You can create some texture on the lips by brushing and pouncing, but it's not as good as Genesis Matte Varnish for texture.  I also create textured brows with a brush and toothpicks after I have the layer applied onto the head and it has had time to dry. 

Let the kit dry overnight then you can start painting.