Fusemaster transparent enamels

[sashaz]

Hello,

I would appreciate a piece of advice on using Fuse Master transparent enamels.
I ordered a sampler and colors look truly gorgeos, bright colors, very smooth coat. Then when I got my own set and fired them according to the instruction (mixed with water friedly medium and water, fired up to 1175 and hold for 5 minutes) I didn't get the same results. When I was mixing paints there were dots like sugar specs in them and these didn't melt during firings.
Transparent white looked very matte after the firing. Does it need a higher temperature?

My intention is to use there paints for stained glass windows (on the inside of the window) and any help with the problem will be highly appreciated.


Sasha Zhitneva
sasha@szd.net
http://www.szd.net

[Bert Weiss]

Hello,

I would appreciate a piece of advice on using Fuse Master transparent enamels.
I ordered a sampler and colors look truly gorgeos, bright colors, very smooth coat. Then when I got my own set and fired them according to the instruction (mixed with water friedly medium and water, fired up to 1175 and hold for 5 minutes) I didn't get the same results. When I was mixing paints there were dots like sugar specs in them and these didn't melt during firings.
Transparent white looked very matte after the firing. Does it need a higher temperature?

My intention is to use there paints for stained glass windows (on the inside of the window) and any help with the problem will be highly appreciated.


Sasha Zhitneva
sasha@szd.net
http://www.szd.net

Sasha

It sounds to me like you didn't mix the enamels well enough. I use a cake spreader, that I got at a restaurant supply, as a palette knife. I often mix the enamel on a glass palette for up to 10 minutes. You might have applied it too thickly. I am not sure about the temp for those enamels, but what the sellers tell you should work. They should come out with a nice transparent glossy surface.

[sashaz]

Bert,

thank you very much! I don't have a mullet, but I used a glass paperweight to grind it, and it fired beautifully! I still didn't get white to be shiny, have you used it in your work?

[sashaz]

Hello Bert,

one more question: do you apply paints with an airbrush or use traditional glass painting technique? If you use an airbrush is there any specifics that I need to know before buying one?

I looked at your website and saw the window I read an article about in one of the glass magazines! It's like meeting an old friend.

Thank you again.

[Bert Weiss]

Hello Bert,

one more question: do you apply paints with an airbrush or use traditional glass painting technique? If you use an airbrush is there any specifics that I need to know before buying one?

I looked at your website and saw the window I read an article about in one of the glass magazines! It's like meeting an old friend.

Thank you again.

Sasha

I have never used the fusemaster enamels. The primary reason is that I buy my Ferro enamels directly from the manufacturer and pay significantly less for my enamels. The only catch is that Ferro does not sell their transparent glass enamel line in the USA, only in Germany.

I use their Sunshine and Summerday series china paints that fire in around 1480ºF. They are excellent for fusing temps and can be thinned with clear flux to become more transparent.

If what you are shooting for is vibrant transparent color, the Fusemaster transparent enamels are likely a good source.

I usually apply my enamel paint with a Windsor Newton badger hair varnish brush and then stipple with my 4" Hamilton's badger blender. These are pretty traditional glass stainers tools.

Sometimes I spray on color. For my BIG jobs, I have a Binks HVLP spray gun with a quart sized cup. You can also use a regular small airbrush with the tiny cup. IF you look in the old board archives under "Airbrush" and "Avery Anderson", you will find some recommendations about airbrushes. Avery does very nice detail work with her airbrush.

No matter what technique you use to apply the enamels, the trick is getting the right density of application. Too thin and it disappears. Too thick and it bubbles and cracks. When you pass light through enamel and glass, you are aware of every particle that has been applied. This is much less forgiving than painting on a opaque surface like paper or canvas or black glass.

I am teaching a 3 day workshop on using the Sunshine enamels, at Millennium Arts Center, before the Warm Glass Weekend conference. The class is aimed at people who are experienced painters in other media, and want to adapt their skills to painting on glass. There are still some openings for this class. The 6 day post conference class has a waiting list. For contact info look on the WGWE BB.