Although glass cutting may seem a very specific hobby with limited purpose, there are many different crafts that involve cutting glass.
The most obvious one is making stained glass windows or artwork, though you can do other things by cutting glass, too.
You can cut wine bottles or other glassware to create new drinking glasses, planters, or decorations, or you can cut mirrors into small pieces to make a mosaic art piece. There are many DIY crafts you can do that involve cutting glass.
Regardless of which activity you choose, there are certain tools that are must-haves for those who want to dive into glass cutting. One of those tools is glass cutting oil.
So, what is the best oil for glass cutting? The best oil for glass cutting is compatible with multiple glass types and cutting tools, prevents rust on your glass cutting tools, extends the life of your tools, and is viscous enough not to leak but fluid enough to lubricate sufficiently.
If you’ve cut glass before and experienced the headache of a poor-quality glass cutting oil, keep reading to find out what to look for in your next bottle. You can even choose one from our list of recommended products below.
How To Cut Glass
For those who are looking into cutting glass for the first time, it’s a good idea to have a quick overview of how the process works.
The set of steps below will provide a summary for how to cut glass:
- Prepare your work surface by laying down a piece of cardboard, project mat, or towel. This should be laid on top of a flat, stable surface like a large table.
- Lay your glass flat on the work surface and clean it with glass cleaner. Cutting glass works best when the glass is clean.
- Use a ruler to help mark where you want to cut. You’ll need to make a marking on both sides of the glass to line everything up right. Use a grease pencil or permanent marker to make the mark.
- Place a straight edge on your glass, lining it up with where your two markings are.
- Apply 2-3 drops of glass cutting oil to your cutting tool.
- Put on work gloves (if you haven’t already done so). Holding firmly to the glass and straight edge, run your glass cutting tool across the glass, making sure to score along the line of the straight edge.
After that one score, your glass is now cut! To separate the two pieces, try laying the glass down on the edge of a table, lining up the score line with the table edge. Give it a quick snap to break the pieces apart.
Be sure to always wear your work gloves when handling glass. Even before the cut has been made, glass is still sharp around the edges and can easily cut you.
If you’d like to see how glass cutting is done in real time, check out the video below by WoodworkersJournal. He’ll take you through the process step-by-step to help you learn the proper way to cut glass.
Why Do You Need Oil For Glass Cutting?
Glass is a delicate material. Although it feels hard to the touch, it can shatter or crack easily if handled in the wrong way.
When using a glass cutting tool, you’ll get better results using oil than not using oil. It helps the tool run smoothly across the glass, ensuring a clean score every time.
Since you only ever need to run the cutting tool across glass once to cut it properly, you want to make sure that first cut is the right cut.
Cutting oil will also help extend the life of your glass cutting tool and help prevent rust. Whether you plan to cut glass often or just once or twice a year, keeping your tool in its best shape will help you have more success with your projects.
Alternative Glass Cutting Oils
There are several bottles of glass cutting oil on the market because you need that special formula to have the perfect oil for this project.
You wouldn’t want to substitute glass cutting oil with vegetable oil, because you won’t get the same results. Vegetable oil doesn’t have the same viscosity and isn’t made from the same type of oils as glass cutting oil, so it won’t lubricate the same.
You also shouldn’t substitute other kinds of oils, like baby oil. When searching for an oil to use for glass cutting, it’s best to stick with products that are specifically made and formulated for glass cutting.
The only exception would be kerosene. Before glass cutting oils were made, people often used kerosene as a lubricant to cut glass.
If you’re going to use kerosene, just be careful not to use it near flames or heat sources. Kerosene is a type of lamp oil, now commonly used as aviation fuel, that is flammable. Take proper safety precautions if you’re going to use this instead.
The 5 Best Qualities Of Oils For Glass Cutting
1. Compatible With Multiple Tools
There are several different types of glass cutting tools out there. You can use a diamond wheel, diamond tip, drill bit, and carbide tip to name just a few.
If you want to have versatility in your shop, you want a glass cutting oil that’s going to be useful for all different types of tools.
You may like using a diamond wheel on regular glass, but a carbide tip on a mirror. Having the freedom to switch back and forth between glass cutting tools is essential for anyone who cuts glass for different projects.
The best oils for glass cutting will be made for that and can be applied to any type of glass cutting tool you’re using.
Before purchasing, check the product label or listing to see what types of tools it says it works best with. You want to look for one that has a long list of several different tools for best results.
2. Prevents Rust
Glass cutting tools utilize metal components, not only for cutting the glass but for the body or handle of the tool. Metal, as we all know, is prone to rust. To help prevent your tools from rusting, it’s best to use them with oil.
Keeping the metal components of your glass cutting tools free of rust is vital to helping them score your glass smoothly.
If your wheel-type glass cutting tool has rust build-up around the wheel bearing, it will have shallow and deep nicks along the score line. You can also have issues with your wheel sliding out of place or getting stuck as you’re running your score line.
To prevent these types of issues with glass cutting, it’s best to use oil so your tool doesn’t get a build-up of rust.
3. Extends Tool Life
Thanks to the ability of glass cutting oils to prevent rust, they’re also extending the life of your glass cutting tools.
For those who use their tools on a frequent basis, you want to get as much work out of your glass cutting tools as you can. The better you can maintain your glass cutting tools, the better they’ll run.
For those who don’t use their tools often and maybe cut glass only a few times a year, you want to make sure your tools are always ready to go when you are.
If your tools sit around collecting dust for months, it’s just as important to use oil as it is if you use them every day. The oil will help keep the mechanisms of your tool, whatever those may be based on your tool type, in top shape.
Premium glass cutting oils will have properties and components that do a great job of extending the life of your glass cutting tools.
4. Right Viscosity
One big characteristic of high-quality oils for glass cutting is that they have a perfect viscosity level.
The best glass cutting oils will have enough viscosity not to run down the tool and all over the glass, making a mess everywhere and spilling oil in places you don’t need it.
However, it will also be thin enough that it lubricates the cutting tool smoothly and allows for a smooth, seamless score along the glass surface.
Some lower quality oils for glass cutting will either be so thick that they don’t lubricate well enough, or they’ll be so thin that they make a mess.
If you want to have the most success with glass cutting, you need to find oils that have just the right balance of viscosity to lubrication.
5. Works With Multiple Glass Types
Just as you would want an oil that can work well with multiple glass cutting tools, you also want one that can work well with different glass types.
From window panes to mirrors to wine bottles to stained glass, you want a glass cutting oil that works well for all the types of glass that you may want to work with for your projects.
Most glass cutting oils are designed to work with multiple glass types, but it’s always best to double check the product listing and ensure it will work for a variety of glass types.
The 7 Best Oils For Glass Cutting
| Rank | Product | Key Features |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | IMPRESA Glass Cutting Oil | Compatible with all types of glass |
| 2. | Godora Glass Cutting Oil | Works on tile, non-toxic, odorless |
| 3. | UniKitchen Premium Glass Cutting Oil | Precision application, prevents rust on tools |
| 4. | CRL Professional Glass Cutter Oil | Works on multiple glass types, easy to use |
| 5. | Novacan Cutter Oil | Ideal for stained glass, non-toxic |
| 6. | GAI Toyo Cutting Oil for Glass Cutters Tool | Regular and stained glass |
| 7. | HemBorta Glass Cutting Oil | Versatile, effective, extends cutting tool life |
1. IMPRESA Glass Cutting Oil
IMPRESA Glass Cutting Oil is one of the most popular products on the market. This company makes a fantastic glass cutting oil that works great for multiple applications.
The IMPRESA oil for cutting glass not only works well on all types of glass cutting tools, but also for all types of glass you may need to cut.
It also has a precision application top on the bottle to help you use only what you need. Use the special top to apply 2-3 drops on your cutting tool before cutting.
Since glass cutting oil is another expense in glass cutting, you want to make sure you get your money’s worth. With the IMPRESA precision application top, you’ll be sure to only use what you need and not waste any excess drops.
2. Godora Glass Cutting Oil
Another popular brand for glass cutting oil is Godora. The Godora Glass Cutting Oil is another product that works great for all glass types and all cutting tools. It even works on tiles!
Although it doesn’t have the precision application top, it does come with a dropper to help you apply only what you need and save the rest.
This glass cutting oil is professional grade, non-toxic, and completely odorless.
Working with this oil will be as simple as opening the bottle, applying a few drops with the dropper, and cutting your glass.
3. UniKitchen Premium Glass Cutting Oil
If you like the precision application top from IMPRESA, try this bottle of Premium Glass Cutting Oil from UniKitchen.
Their bottle also comes with a precision application top to ensure you don’t waste a single drop of your glass cutting oil.
The UniKitchen Premium Glass Cutting Oil is specially formulated to work great on all glass types, providing the best balance of lubrication with viscosity.
It also works great for all cutting tools, preventing rust and keeping them in peak performance for the long-term.
4. CRL Professional Glass Cutter Oil
The CRL Professional Glass Cutter Oil may look different than the others, but it will work just as great.
It comes in a simple bottle, ready to be poured very lightly to achieve just a couple drops’ worth of oil. You can also purchase a dropper separately if you want to be more precise in your application.
The product listing on Amazon is a little sparse, but you can gather from reviews that this oil works great on multiple glass types and with the various tools you may use.
5. Novacan Cutter Oil
For those working specifically with stained glass, Novacan Cutter Oil is the ideal choice for you.
Novacan made their glass cutting oil specifically formulated to work best with stained glass. This doesn’t mean it won’t work on regular glass, but it will have the best performance on stained glass.
It lubricates your cutting tools perfectly and helps extend the life of whatever tool you use it with.
It’s also non-toxic, making it a safe and easy-to-use oil choice for schools or use in an open environment.
6. GAI Toyo Cutting Oil for Glass Cutters Tool
GAI, or Glass Accessories International, makes a great class cutting oil specifically formulated to work best with Toyo Supercutters.
You’re certainly welcome to use the GAI cutting oil with your other cutting tools, but keep in mind it is specially formulated to work best with the metal used in Toyo Supercutters.
GAI Toyo Cutting Oil is also designed to work specifically for regular glass and stained glass. If you’re going to try cutting mirrors, you may want to choose a different product.
However, if you’re primarily working with stained glass or regular glass and you have a Toyo Supercutter tool, then the GAI Toyo Cutting Oil is the perfect choice for you!
7. HemBorta Glass Cutting Oil
Our last recommended product for glass cutting oil is the HemBorta Premium Glass Cutting Fluid.
Right on the front label, you can see that Hemborta cutting oil is designed to work with all types of glass cutting tools. This makes it a great choice for those who like to work with different tools for each project.
Not only does it work great to extend the life of your cutting tools and prevent rust, but HemBorta Glass Cutting Oil is also great for any type of glass you may use.
If you’re looking for another versatile glass cutting oil option, this product is a great one to try.
Up Next: The Best Stained Glass Kits For Adults – Ultimate Guide
