Mercury Glass - a side by side paint comparison

Hi, friends! I wanted to briefly address something I've had quite a few emails and comments about: the necessity of the Krylon Looking Glass spray paint in my faux mercury glass technique.

It's pretty darn necessary.

To illustrate this we'll have a head-to-head battle of reflective fabulosity between my current paint boyfriend, Krylon Looking Glass paint...

...and a much less expensive spray paint with a lid that's equally as shiny, Krylon Original Chrome:

  

Ahem. Exhibit A, the chrome paint on the inside of the cup (or glass. Use your imagination.)

My thoughts: MEH. As in, yuck. Doesn't even look metallic, just gray.

Exhibit B, the same chrome paint sprayed on the outside of the glass (cup!)...

My thoughts: Much better, definitely has some chrome-y shine to it, but no reflective qualities. Definitely the stronger contender from the chrome paint options though.

Exhibit C, the Looking Glass paint (left) along side the chrome paint on the outside of the cup (right).

My thoughts: Um, hello gorgeous! That Looking Glass paint is fabulous. Both finishes have a shine to them, but the Looking Glass paint resembles a real reflective mirror surface. Looooove it!

{Update: The chrome paint does, however, do a fabulous job at faux silver leaf, check it out here!}

In closing, here's a photo of the faux mercury glass using the chrome paint:

And a photo of the technique using Looking Glass paint: 

Even if the spray paint lid is very shiny, the paint finish is not going to look like that; that's one of the difficulties you encounter when painting things to resemble metal. I think it's much easier to achieve good results when trying to mimic a brushed metal finish vs. a polished finish.

My final thoughts on the subject: The Looking Glass paint is definitely worth the extra cost when you're trying to achieve realistic results. If you can't afford it, go for the Original Chrome but make sure to paint on the outside of the glass, not the inside (full discosure: the photo of the mercury glass technique using the chrome paint was taken over a month ago when I first attempted mecury glass, and I did paint the inside of the glass, so I'm 100% positive it would look better than that if you sprayed the chrome paint on the outside.)

Also, if you use the chrome paint please note that the vinegar/water paint solution might not work as well -- the two paints are very different, and I had good luck using a very fine sanding block when I painted with the chrome paint. When I tried the sanding block after using the Looking Glass paint, it just ripped and peeled that ultra-thin coat of paint right off like peeling nail polish.

Wondering where to find the Looking Glass paint? I found mine at Hobby Lobby (take a coupon and save some money!), and I'm pretty sure larger Michael's or JoAnn's stores would have it too (call to check first). If you're having a difficult time, try skipping the spray paint section and going to the glass paint section -- you might have better luck! You can also purchase it on Amazon.com here and Ace Hardware's website here.

(No, I wasn't paid anything for this but if anyone from Krylon's reading this you're welcome to drop a couple bottles of that Looking Glass paint in the mail to me, haha!)  <-- I love that they DID! Oh, Krylon, bless your heart.