In 1986 my mom gave my son, (who's now 33), a Christmas Santa mug for his hot chocolate. I mistakenly put it in the dishwasher throughout the years and the red paint from Santa's cap came off.

My mom has since passed away and I'd now love to give this to my granddaughter, but would like to repaint it first. Is there a safe way to do that? What kinds of paint would I use, please?

Thanks for your help!

Check the craft store for the glass paints, that set permanently in medium oven heat?
These are often now used to decorate clear glass ware, so see if you can find opaque colors that are close to the original. (Many may be transparent, so check the labels)

Thanks, Conrad. We're in a rural area, but there's a Michael's craft store about 30 miles away. I'll check there.

Thanks, again!

Here is a Michaels link for you.
Click on link below?

glass painting

I would be really leary of using a painted ceramic for food or drink.

when it comes to real ceramics, the glaze is actually glassine with pigments, and you fuse it in a kiln something over 1200 degrees.

and with acidic food or drink, or alcohol, you can still leach the colorants out of the glaze. stuff that used to be used included uranium for oranges and browns, hexavalent chromium for green and yellow, and other such un-fun materials.

many nasty toxic metals are still used as pigments. only art stuff with the ACMI's "AP" seal should be used on anything that might be ingested. it's the seal on boxes of crayons and stuff. http://www.kinderart.com/teach...materialsafety.shtml

This message has been edited. Last edited by: swschrad,

Good point, swschrad.
My assumption was the painted area (santa's cap) would be on the outside of the mug, in an area not placed against the lips nor on the inside, in contact with the mug's contents. This would then be a safe area to use these types of "bake in the oven" type of paints.

Hey, Everyone...

The Christmas mug turned out GREAT and I want to thank all of you for the suggestions!

I used 'DecoArt Crystal Gloss Enamel' paints that I found at Michael's. It DOES have the 'AP' seal on it, too. They're in 8 tiny containers, like those used in paint-by-number kits. They had pastels and other types, too. My set had red, orange, pink, white, yellow, green, blue and purple.

Anyway, I painted the red cap and pink nose and cheeks. He already had blue eyes and black lashes, so I didn't need to touch them up.

Per the directions, after painting, I let it set for 4 days, then baked it in the oven at 275* for 30 minutes. It then cooled in the oven with the door open. It had no smell while baking and I didn't notice a smell as I applied the paint either. The package says it's dishwasher safe, but I wrote on the bottom of the mug with red permanent marker in big letters, 'NO DISHWASHER' and 'NO MICROWAVE'. I just thought it would last even longer with some extra care.

The painted area is not an area where it would come in contact with food, drinks or one's lips.

Thanks again for all the suggestions and I hope you all have happy and blessed holidays!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: BigDogLou,

Thanks so much for taking the time to get back to us with your results!
Have a great Xmas!

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Instead of painting it thoroughly, Make some design or write quote/ Message on it with glass paint as you are giving it to your granddaughter. It will always be a memory of you for her in future.