Glass Muller (gler til að rífa litakorn)

This glass muller is handmade from Germany. It is used on a sandblasted piece of glass to slowly grind oil into the pigment. With the help of the glass runner, the pigments are rubbed into the oil.

Selecting the right glass muller is key to efficiently blending pigments into paint. It's important to think about how you'll use this tool—what types of paint you'll be making, how much, and how often. Essential for creating smooth, clump-free oil paint, the glass muller works by applying shear forces to finely crush pigment particles, ensuring they mix evenly with the oil. This tool isn't just for oil paints; it's also effective for water-based paints, including natural dyes like indigo and synthetic-organic pigments, which can be tough to grind to a smooth consistency using traditional methods.

For both oil and watercolor paints, pigments can be ground directly with their binding agents. With fast-drying paints such as acrylics, it's best to initially mix the pigment with water, adding the binder once a uniform paste is achieved.

In addition to the glass muller, you'll need a palette knife or paint spatula and a grinding surface. This surface could be polished glass or marble, provided it is smooth and flat for efficient grinding. The texture of the surface (rough or smooth) is less important than its flatness; uneven surfaces won't work well with the muller, leading to unevenly ground paint. Your grinding surface should be thick enough (1.5 to 2.5 cm) and large enough to allow for easy spreading of the paint without it dripping off the edges. For smaller tasks, a glass plate measuring 32 x 25 cm is ideal, while larger projects and mullers will require a plate of at least 40 x 60 cm.