For millions of Americans, a great, and sometimes only, way, to stay sane is to engage in a productive hobby in their free time. These hobbies range in variety from people going to target shooting matches, drawing, writing poetry, sailing boats and even jumping out of perfectly good airplanes; one of the few hobbies that has been passed down through the generations is the art of creating stained glass.

Stained glass is technically glass that has been painted or colored before molding in an attempt to create colorful patterns. These patterns are designed to be seen inside during the day or when an artificial light offers a backlight and outside when the interior of a building is lit up after dark. In order to allow the light to pass through easily to create the glowing effects most people are looking for with stained glass, the paint must be very transparent and will generally be water, vinegar or oil based. However, there are a great number of different paints that can be used and each one will have slightly different directions for properly applying, mixing, and even curing the paint which is necessary to fuse the tiny glass particles in the paint to the actual window.

With the variety of paints available it is important that you get the staining paint for the glass and not just a paint that sticks on the glass. To make it simpler, there are now enamels that contain small particles of glass and allow the glass to be stained in a traditional manner. While many people who stain glass frown upon the simple painted glass, there is no denying that it can be just a beautiful way to express your creativity and art. No matter what you choose there is sure to be a stain or paint to suit your needs.