WELL. Turns out I discovered the secret to window painting AFTER completing this large project, but that's ok because now I can share the secret with you!

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I recently painted my large kitchen windows BLACK and am so happy with the results! I painted the "muntin" or "sash bars" but since nobody knows what those words mean, we'll just say that I painted my windows and move right along.

I pieced together and IGTV video of the process, which you can watch here or you can watch the YouTube version below. Overall, this is a simple project, but it was time consuming, tedious work to tape all of the window panes and then cover all of the glass with paper or plastic.

First, I'll show you the before photo. It's not great, because I HATE taking before photos, but at least it gives you a frame of reference. (Good news: since this photo, we have started the backyard landscaping process, but it's slow going!) We had these awful silver sash bars, and I hated them.

Supplies

• spray paint - I used Krylon ColorMaxx indoor/outdoor in flat black
• painters tape
• plastic tarps and butcher paper or wrapping paper to cover glass/surrounding area
• Xacto knife or utility knife
• cleaning supplies (to clean before you start taping)

Steps

1. Clean, clean, clean! Before you can tape or paint anything, you need a clean surface! Start with a multipurpose cleaner or glass cleaner, then use a sponge to get into the sash bars and corners between each window pane.

2. Tape, tape, tape. Like I said the steps are SIMPLE but they take a long time. We spent about 4 hours taping these windows! Like I said, now I know an easier way which I'll share at the end! I'm all about speed, so chose to move quicker but waste more paper...first we taped around the windows, then we went back and tape the paper onto each window pane and around the edges. Since we were spray painting indoors, we used plastic tarps to build a semi-enclosed area to protect from overspray (SO IMPORTANT!).

3. Now you're ready to paint! I used Krylon ColorMaxx in flat black and it dries in 10 minutes! I sprayed a light, even first coat to see how coverage would work. It's important to have a steady arm and method while spraying. After the first coat dried, I could see where I didn't have enough coverage, so I made sure to cover those areas on the second coat. Spraying only took about 30 minutes total! The majority of this process is definitely the prep work.

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After the second coat dried, we slowly peeled off the paper coverings then the tape. We had great results with no drips!

Depending on what paint you're using or what kind of material you are painting, you may be able to use a different method! I JUST discovered a product that I will be trying on my next painting project- it's call Masking Liquid H2O and it comes in a paint can! Instead of taping the glass and covering the window panes, you "paint" the glass with this masking liquid, then paint, then peel off the masking liquid! Think of it like a very loose glue, then you peel the glue off after painting! I'll definitely be trying this when I paint my side yard French Doors and a few more windows in the house!