Surface Enhancement with Glazing and Staining 401 Ceramic tile may be painted on using stencils or paint stamps and enhanced with two-dimensional texture techniques and trompe l'oeil for highlights and lowlights. Ceramic tile is often painted on pressed board tile paneling, which helps render the tile pattern. These panels are not very convincing, so you may need to do some glaze work with shellacs or water-based urethane for variation. Individual tiles can be cut from ¼-inch Masonite for greater realism. The edges of these homemade tiles may need to be sanded down or rounded over and then primed with a stain obstructing primer. Spraying the primer and base coat may be the most efficient method of handling all the edges of the individual tiles. The base coat, any pattern, and texture techniques can be done with water-based paint. After the tiles have been painted, they can be given the desired sheen with water-based urethanes. Then the tiles are installed with ceramic or linoleum tile adhesive. If the tiles need to look truly realistic, they can be grouted with tile grout or a mixture of drywall compound and fine silicate sand. Also, water-based paint can be added to any clear water-based finish or medium, such as water-based urethanes, polyvinyl and acrylic finishes, PVA, CrystalGel, Sculpt or Coat, Flex Glue, vinyl wallpaper pastes, animal glue, and wheat paste, to tint these mediums and create a transparent glass. Colorants can also be used with these products to create glazes because all the finishes and adhesives mentioned here are binders as well. Furthermore, any of these aforementioned mediums can be thinned down further to enhance coverage and cut down on the inherent sheen of most of these products. One caveat: never try to tint a casein-based glue with casein paint because it clots and turns into a rubbery mess, which is fun if you are doing it on purpose. Stains All the products discussed in association with glazes can be used as stains of a sort. The difference between a stain and a glaze is that a glaze is a transparent layer that sits on the surface and modifies color, and a stain penetrates the surface. An example is wood stain. Wood stains come in a variety of mediums, including very thin solvent-based, water- and solvent-based gel stains, and stain and finish combined (see Figure 15-15, wood SURFACE ENHANCEMENT WITH GLAZING AND STAINING Oftentimes the scenic artist is not called upon to actually transform a